Sunday, February 1 @ 10:00 AM
St. Augustine Cathedral
My dear sisters and brothers,
The task my mother gave to my father was a simple one: watch your son.
My dear sisters and brothers, as you and I know, the four evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—present the events of Jesus’ life in a very particular way, each slightly different. They do this because they are trying to give us a picture, an image, a way to understand who this Jesus is, to answer the question: Who do you say that I am?
For example, in St. Luke’s Gospel—Luke himself was a doctor, a physician—when you read his Gospel, Jesus is presented as the physician of mercy and compassion. The parable of the Good Samaritan and the woman at the well remind us of that aspect of the ministry of Jesus that is so crucially important.
Today, we hear from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Matthew, remember, was a tax collector—a Jew by birth and training. He understood Jesus as the new Moses. As we hear in the Gospel today, in the nine Beatitudes, the Lord teaches us what is the new law that the new Moses has come to give so that we might find our path to heaven. It is the fulfillment of the law of the first Moses.
It is interesting if you consider that the Gospel says today Jesus went up the mountain and the people followed Him and sat down. The first Moses came down the mountain and gave the law to the people. St. Matthew is telling us that this law is far greater.
As Jesus always does in His great compassion, He gives us nine Beatitudes, the first of which helps us understand the other eight. In fact, if we fail in the first, we will most certainly fail the other eight. That is why, my friends, when He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven,” He is telling us that what comes from being poor in spirit is eternal life.
So the question you and I need to ask ourselves is: What does it mean to be poor in spirit? My hunch is that you and I know the answer to that question instinctively. The Lord is not speaking about material poverty. He is talking about the recognition that I am incomplete, that my heart is searching for something, that I am restless within myself, and that in the end, what I am seeking is not a what but a who.
In the end, in your life and in mine—different as they are—the only one who can give us satisfaction, fulfillment, hope, and joy is God, namely, the Lord Jesus.
Our task is to detach from everything that distracts us, overwhelms us, preoccupies us, and even addicts us. We leave all that behind and focus on the One who will lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven. When we do that, all the good things in our lives are not sacrificed, but are given back to us in their proper place.
Whether it is my spouse, my child, my grandchild, my coworker, my mother, my father, or my friend, we receive all those blessings again—but in their proper place.
When you and I recognize, acknowledge, thank, and allow God always to be at the forefront of our minds, then, my friends, it becomes easier to be meek. Meekness reminds us of our own need for humility before the One who is the source of every blessing—even my next breath.
If you and I are poor in spirit, it is easier for us to be pure and not to lust after anything in life that can never fulfill us.
If you and I give God His proper place in our life and in our mind, then we can go out and seek justice and righteousness in a world that does not want it and does not want to hear it. Yet you and I will stand firm and courageous, standing with those who have no one to stand with them, because God leads us—not me, not you, not our talents.
God will lead us, and we will know it, because He will be right in front of us, inspiring us to action. And the list goes on and on and on.
My friends, for you and me in this church, of course we want to make God the center of our lives. We want to be attached to Him and detached from everything that leads us away from Him. We would not be here if we were not striving to do that.
But may I suggest—hard as it is to believe—that in two weeks we will begin Lent. Two weeks from Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday. Where did Christmas go? That’s a whole other story.
I am going to give you spiritual homework—and I am giving it to myself as well. Perhaps in the next sixteen days, you and I can use the Beatitudes as an examination of conscience.
You and I may be making progress in purity, but not in seeking justice. We may be making progress in mercy, but not in something else the Lord teaches us. So may I suggest that perhaps one Beatitude a day, you sit with it, read it before you begin your work or your busy life, let it sink into your mind, and ask yourself—as I will ask myself—Where is God in this? Am I able to live what the Lord is asking? And if I am not, am I meek and humble enough to admit it?
Because in Lent, if you are looking for something spiritual to do, this may be the work of greatest benefit—for me and for you.
In the end, my friends, remember what happened when Moses came down the mountain with the law. The people had become depraved. Do you remember the story? They were reveling in a calf made of gold—the ultimate attachment to something other than God. And Moses smashed the tablets on the ground because God’s chosen people were not ready to accept the law in their hearts.
You and I stand before the new Moses. Are we ready to accept what He teaches us?
