Lk 6:20-26
20Raising his eyes toward his disciples, [Jesus] said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
21Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
23Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
24But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
26Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
Reflection:
Blessed are you who are poor, now hungry, now weeping. Is life like a wheel, where those who are down now will be on top someday, where the poor and the hungry and the suffering will have their day? Will heaven reverse the situation and bless those who have less in this life? Are the beatitudes of Jesus only meant to console?
No, I believe that the life hereafter will not reverse things or correct the situation as we perceive it to be. Heaven will only reveal who are truly blessed before God’s eyes. In the afterlife, we will realize that the blessed and the happy are those who are poor and hungry and the people we often hate.
Let us review our definition of true blessedness.
Rejoice and leap for joy for who you are and your state of life today.