Homily
for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)
Based
on Mt 5:1-12
(Gospel), Zep 2:3; 3:12-13 (First Reading) and 1 Co
1:26-31 (Second
Reading)
From
the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
WAY TO SURVIVAL AND DEFEAT
“Happy those who
hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6).
The Gospel
reading for this 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is from Mt
5:1-12 under the title “The Beatitudes”. Parallel
text for the title is Lk 6:20-23 that says: The
inaugural discourse.c The
Beatitudesd Then fxing his eyes on his disciples he said: ‘How happy
are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God (v. 20). Happy you who are
hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh (v.
21). ‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce
your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man (v. 22). Rejoice when that
day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This
was the way their ancestors treated the prophets (23). Footnote
c says “Luke’s form is shorter than Matthew’s because he has not filled out the
discourse as Mt has done and has even left out materials of a Jewish character
which he thought would not interest his readers, cf. Mt 5:1.”; and Footnote
d says “Mt has eight beatitudes, Lk four, and four maledictions, Mathew’s
beatitudes are a formula for the good life, and they promise heavenly rewards;
Lk speaks of material conditions in this life to be reversed in the next, cf.
16:25. IN Mt, Jesus uses the third person, in Lk he directly addresses his
audience.”
Verses 1, 2
and 3 say: Seeing the crowd, he went up the hill.b There he sat down and was joined by his
disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: ‘How
happy are the poor in spirit; c theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Footnote b says “One
of the hills near Capernaum.”; and Footnote c says “Jesus
uses the word ‘poor’ with the moral shade of meaning already noticeable in Zp
(2:3+) but here made explicit by the phrase ‘in spirit’, absent from Lk 6:20.
Because they are destitute and oppressed the ‘poor’, or the ‘lowly’, are apt
subjects for the kingdom of God - this is the theme of the Beatitudes (cf. Lk
4:18; 7:22; Mt 11:5; Lk 14:13; Jm 2:5). ‘Poverty’ goes hand in hand with
‘spiritual childhood’ required for entrance into the kingdom, Mt 18:1f=Mk 9:33f,
cf. Lk 9:46f; Mt 19:13p; 11:25p-the mystery revealed to ‘little ones’, nepioi,
cf. Lk 12,32; 1 Co 1:26f. They are the ‘poor’, ptochoi the ‘lowly’, tapenoi (Lk
1:48, 52; 14:11; 18:14; Mt 23:12, 18:4) and both are the ‘last’ as opposed to
the ‘great’ (Lk 9:48; cf. Mt 19:30p; 20;26p- cf. Lk 17:10). Although the
formula of Mt. 5:3 stresses the spirit of poverty for the rich as for the poor,
Jesus usually has in mind actual poverty, especially for his disciples (Mt
6:1f, cf. Lk 12:33f; Mt 6:25p; 4:18p. cfLk 5:1f) 9;9p; 19:21p; 19:27; cf. Mk
10:28p; cf. Ac 2:44f; 4:32f. He himself sets the example of poverty (Lk 2:7; Mt
8:20p) and of lowliness (Mt 11:29; 20:28p; 21:5; Jn 13:12f; cf. 2 Co 8:9; Ph
2:7f). He identifies himself with the little ones and the wretched (Mt. 25:45;
cf. 18:5p).”
Parallel texts for verse 3 are:
1.
Mt 19:21,29 - Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and
give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure I heaven; then come, and
follow me’ (v. 21). Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father,
mother, childreni or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a
hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life (v. 29). Footnote i says “Add,
‘wife’.”
2.
2 Co 8:9 - Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was:b
he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his
poverty. Footnote b says “Lit.
‘the generosity (or perhaps ‘grace’) of the Lord Jesus’.”
Verse 4
says: Happy the
gentle;d they shall have the earth for their heritage. Footnote d says “Or
‘the lowly’; the word is taken from the Greek version of the Psalm. V. 4 is
possibly only a gloss on v. 3; its omission would reduce the number of
Beatitudes to 7, cf. 6:9.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ps 37:1 - Do
not worry about the wicked, do not envy those who do wrong. Quick as the grass
they whither, facing like the green in the field.
2.
Gn 13:15 - All
the land within sight I will give to you and your descendants forever.
3.
Pr 2:21 - For
the land will be for honest men to live in the innocent will have it for their
home…
Verse 5 says: Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.
Footnote
1.
Ps 126:5 - Those
who went sowing in tears now sing as they reap.
2.
Is 61:2-3 - To proclaim a year of favor from Yahweh, a day of vengeance for our
God, to comfort all those who mourn (v.2) and to give them for ashes a garland;
for mourning robe the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise. They are to be
called ‘terebinth of integrity’, planted by Yahweh to glorify him.
Verse 6 says: Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be
satisfied.
Footnote
Parallel texts are:
1.
Pr 21:21 - He who pursues virtue and kindness shall find
life and honor too.f Footnote f says “‘life
and honor’ Greek; ‘life, justice and
honor’ Hebr.”
2.
Is 51:1 - Listen
to me, you who pursue integrity, who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock you were
hewn from, the quarry from which you were cut.
3.
Am 8:11 - See what days are coming – it is the Lord
Yahweh who speaks – days when I will bring famine on the country, a famine not
of bread, a drought not of water, but of hearing the wordl of Yahweh. Footnote l
says “‘the word’ Greek; ‘the
words’ Hebr.”
4.
Pr 9:5 - Come
and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared!
5.
Si 24:21 - They
who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more.
Verse 7 and
8 says: Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart; they shall see God.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ps 24:3-4 - Who has the right to climb the mountain of Yahweh, who has the right to
stand in his holy place (v. 3)? He whose hands are clean, whose heart is pure,
whose soul does not pay homage to worthless things and who never swears a lie
(v. 4).
2.
Pr 22:11 - Yahwehc loves the pure in heart,
friend to the king is the man of gracious speech. Footnote c says “‘Yahweh’
following versions.”
3.
Ex 33:20
- ‘You
cannot see my face’ he said ‘for man cannot see me and live.’I Footnote
i says “God’s sanctity is so removed from man’s
unworthiness, see Lv 17:1+, that man must perish if he looks on God, cf. Ex
19:21; Lv 16:2; Nb 4:20, or even hears his voice, Ex. 20:19; Dt. 5:24-26 and
18:16. For this reason Moses, Ex. 3:6, Elijah, 1 K 19:13, and even the
seraphim, Is 6:2, cover their faces in his presence. The man who remain alive
after seeing God is overwhelmed with astonishment and gratitude, Gn 32:31; Dt
5:24, and with awe, Jg 6:22-23; 13:22, Is. 6:5. It is a favor God rarely
concedes, Ex 24:11; he grants ‘it to Moses his ‘friend’, Ex 33:11; Nb 12:7-8;
Dt 34:10, and to Elijah, 1 K 19:11f, the two who looked on the New Testament
theophany, the transfiguration of Christ, Mt. 17:3p. Hence, in Christian
tradition Moses and Elijah (together with Apostle Paul, 2 Co 12:1f) are the
three pre-eminent mystics. In the New Testament the ‘glory’ of God, cf. 33:18
and 24:16+, is manifested in Jesus, Jn 1:14+; 11:40, who alone has gazed on the
Father, Jn 1:18, 6:46; 1 Jn 4:12. Man cannot look on God’s face except in
heaven, Mt 5:8; 1 Jn 3:2, 1 Co 13:12.”
Verse 9 says: Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ps 34:14…never
yield to evil, practice good, seek peace, pursue it.
2.
Pr 12:20 - Bitternesse is in the heart of the
schemer, joy with those who give counsels to peace. Footnote e says “‘Bitterness’
conj.; ‘deceit’ Hebr.”
3.
Pr 15:18 - The
hot-headed man provokes disputes, the equable man allays dissensions.
4.
Zc 8:16 - These
are the things that you must do. Speak the truth to one another: let the
judgment at your gates be such as conduce to peace.
Verse 10 says: Happy are
those who are persecuted in the cause of right, theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Footnote
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 P 3:14…if you do have to suffer for being good,
you will count it a blessing. There is no need to be afraid or to worry about them.d Footnote d says “Om.
‘or to worry about them.’”
2.
Ws 2:16 - He hold aloof from our doings as though from
filth; he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happyj Footnote j says “Possibly
alluding to the story of Job. 42:12-15, cf. Jm 5:11. On the early reward of the
virtuous, see Introduction to Wisdom Books.”
3.
Ac 5:4 - While
you still owned the land, wasn’t it yours to keep, and after you had sold it
wasn’t the money yours to do with as you liked? What put this scheme into your
mind? It is not to men that you have lied, but to God.’
Verse 11
says: Rejoice and be glad, for
your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets
before you.e Footnote e says “Christ’s
disciples are the successors of the prophets, cf. 10:41; 13:17; 23:34.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Mt 23:34 - This is why, in my turn, I am sending you
prophets and wise men and scribes:m some you will slaughter and
crucify, some you will scourge in your synagogues and hunt from town to town… Footnote m says “Terms of Jewish origin but here applied to Christian missionaries, cf.
10:41; 13:52.”
2.
Ph 1:29…
that he has given you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of
suffering for him as well.
3.
Col 1:24 - It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am
suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has
still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. m Footnote m says “Lit. ‘all that is lacking from the
sufferings of Christ…Church’. Jesus suffered in order to establish the reign of
God, and anyone who continues his work must share this suffering. Paul is not
saying that he thinks his own sufferings increase the value of his redemption
(since that value cannot be increased) but that he shares by his sufferings as
a missionary in those that Jesus had undergone in his own mission, cf. 2 Co.
1:15, Ph. 1:20+. These are the sufferings predicted for the messianic era, Mt.
24:8, Ac. 14:22 , 1 Tm.
4:1+, and are all part of the way in which God had always intended the Church
to develop. Paul feels that, being the messenger Christ has chosen to send to
the pagans, he has been especially called on to experience those sufferings.”
4.
Heb 10:34 - For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison,e
but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you
owned something that was better and lasting.
Footnote
5.
Jm 1:2 - My
brothers, you will always have your trials but when they come, try to treat
them as a happy privilege.
The First Reading is from Zep 2:3; 3:12-13.
Chapter 2,
verse 3 says: Seek the LORD, all you, the humble of the earth,e who obey
his commands. Seek integrity, seek humility; you may perhaps find shelter on
the day of the anger of Yahweh. Footnote e
says “The ‘humble’ or ‘poor’, anawim
in Hebr. These play a large part in the Bible. Though wisdom literature looks
on poverty, resh, as the result of idleness, Pr 10:4, the prophets are aware
that the poor usually the oppressed, aniyyim;
they demand justice for the weak and lowly, dallim, and for those in
need, ebionim, Am 2:6f; Is 10:2; cf. Jb 34:28f; Si 4:1f; Jm 2:2f. The humane
legislation of Dt. Shows the same attitude of mind, Dt 24:10f. With Zephaniah’s
poverty assumes a moral and eschatological significance, 3:11f, cf Is 49:13;
66:5; Ps 22:26; 34:2f; 37:11f; 69:33; 74:19; 149:4; and see Mt 5:3+; Lk 1:52;
6:20; 7:22. In short, the anawim are those Israelites who submit to the will of
God. In LXX period , the word anaw (or ani) has the added meaning of
thoughtfulness for others, Zc 9:9, cf.
Si 1:27. It is to the ‘poor’ that
the Messiah will be sent, Is 61:1, cf Lk 4:18. He himself will be humble and gentle,
Zc 9:9, cf Mt 21:5, and the victim of oppression, Is 53:4; Ps 22:24.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Am 5:4-6 - For Yahweh says this to the House of Israel.
Seek me and you shall lived (v. 4). Do not seek Bethel, do no go to
Gilgal, do not journey to Bersheba,e since Gigal is going to be
exiledf and Bethel brought to nothing (v. 5). Seek Yahweh and you shall live, or
else he will rush like fire on the House of Joseph and burn it up, with none at
Bethelg able to put out the flames.h Footnote
d says “The santuaries will be destroyed, v. 5, and sacrifice to them is not
sufficient means of salvation; a man must ‘seek Yahweh’, i.e. to seek to know
his will and do it, ‘seek good and not evil’, 5:14. Hence men ‘seek’ Yahweh
(verb: darash) by visiting his sanctuaries, Am 5:5; 2 Ch 1:5; Dt 12:5, but also
by ‘questioning’ him (cf. 1 S 14:41+) through the medium of a man of God, Gn
25:22; Ex 18:15; 1 S 9:9; 1 K 22:8, or again by ‘seeking the word’, 1 K 22:5;
cf. 14:5, either in a book, Is 34:16, or through the medium of a man of God, Gn
25:22; Ex 18:15; 1 s 9:9; 1 K 22:8, or again by ‘seeking the word’, 1 K 22:5;
cf. 14:5, either in a book, Is 34:16, or through the mediation of a propet, 1 K
22:7. A similar expression (the verb being normaly biqqesh) means rather to
seek the face, i.e, the presence of Yahweh, Ho 3:5; 2 S 21:1; 1 Ch 16:11 (=Ps
105:4); Ps 24:6; 27:8 and (probably in the same sense) Zp 1:6; Ho 3:5; 5:6; Ex
33:7+, etc. But the two expressions are related: a man seeks ‘the face’ of
Yahweh in order to learn his will, whose presence is often manifisted by way of
oracles. In the O.T. this ‘seeking Yahweh’ is an imperative necessity of man’s
religious life; in the N.T. the equivalent is to ‘seek the kingdom’, Mt 6:33.“;
Footnote e says “A famous shrine in patriarchal times, Gn
21:31-33; 26:23-25.”; Footnote f says “Gilgal
galoh yigleh, pun on Gilgal; so too on Bethel (=house of God, now ‘house of
nothing’).”; Footnote g says “‘at
Bethel’ Hebr.; ‘in the house of Israel’ Greek.”; and Footnote h says “We
put v. 7 after v. 9.”
2.
Est 1:1k
- Light came as the sun rose, and the
humble were raised up and devoured the mighty.
3.
Ps 72:3-4 - Let the mountain and hills bring a message of peace for the people.
Uprightly he will defend the poorest, he will save the children of those in need, and crush their oppressors.
4.
Si 3:20 - For though the power of the Lord is, he
accepts the homage of the humble.h Footnote h says “The
verse calls attention to God’s condescension in welcoming the homage of the
lowly. Hebr. ‘for great is the mercy of God; he makes his secrets known to the humble’,
cf Pr. 3:32; Ps 25:14.”
5.
Si 11:12 - Another
man is poor creature begging for assistance, badly off for support, but rich in
poverty, and the Lord turns a favorite eye on him, sets him on his feet out of
his abject condition, and enables him to hold his head high, to the utter
amazement of many.
6.
Dn 3:87 - Devout
and humble-hearted men! Bless the Lord: give glory and eternal praise to him.
Ananiah, Azariah, Mishael! Bless the Lord: give glory and eternal praise to
him.
7.
Jm 2:5 - Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who
are poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faithc
and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who loved him. Footnote c says “I.e.
poor in money, rich in faith, cf 1:9+; this letter is not concerned to advocate
social reform since it emphasizes that the poor already have the truest wealth.”
8.
Is 57:15 - For
thus speaks the Most High, whose home is in eternity, whose name is holy: ‘I
live in a high and holy place, but I am also with the contrite and humble
spirit, to give the humbled spirit new life, to revive contrite hearts.
Chapter 3, verse 12 says: In your midst, I will leave a humble and
lowly people,
Parallel
text is Rv 14:1 that says: The
companions of the Lamba Next in my vision I saw Mount Zion, and
standing on it a Lambb who had with him a hundred and forty-four
thousand people, all with his name and his Father’s name written on their
foreheads. Footnote a says “The
followers of the beast who are branded with his name and number, 13:16-17, are
now contrasted with the followers of the Lamb marked with his name and the name
og his Father. This is the ‘remnant’ of the new Israel, Is 4:3+, the faithful
Christians who have survived persecution and who are to begin the restoration
of God’s kingdom when its enemies have been destroyed.”; and Footnote b says “Var
‘the Lamb’.”
Verse 13
says: and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of
Yahweh. They will do no wrong, will tell no lies; and the perjured tongue will
no longer be found in their mouths. But they will be able to graze and rest
with no one to disturb them.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Is 53:9 - They
gave him a grave with the wicked, a tomb with the richg, though he
had done no wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. Footnote g says “With DSIa, Hebr. ‘in his death he is with
the rich man’. Early Christian preaching seems to have had this text in mind
when recording the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea, ‘a rich
man’, Mt 27:57-60. It is possible to correct to ‘in his death he is with the
evil-doers’, Lk. 22:37 which, however, refers rather to v. 12.”
2.
Rv 14:5 - The never allowed a lieg to pass
their lips and no fault can be found in them. Footnote g says “i.e.
they have not invoked false gods, the beast.”
The Second Reading is from 1 Co 1:26-31.
Verse 26
says: Take yourselves
for instance, brothers. At the time when you were called: how many of you were
wise in the ordinary sense of the worldj, how many were influential
people, or came from noble families? Footnote j says “Lit.
‘according to the flesh’. Paul is explaining God’s purpose, but at the same
time he sardonically reminds the Corinthians that they have no reason to be
proud.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Dt 7:7 - If
Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you, it was not because you outnumbered
other peoples: you were the least of all peoples.
2.
Si 10:19f
- What race deserves honor? Those who
fear the Lord. What race deserves contempt? Those who break the commandments.
3.
Rm 7:5 - Before our conversionsd our sinful
passions, quite unsubdued by the Law, fertilized our bodied to make them give
birth to death. Footnote d says “Lit.
‘While we were in the flesh’, 1. The
primary meaning of the ‘flesh’ is the matter which the body is made, 1 Co.
15:39; cf. Lk. 24:39; Rv. 17:16, 19:18; it is the opposite of spirit, Rm. 1:9+;
it is the body with its senses, Col. 2:1,5, and
especially the medium of sexual union, 1 Co. 6:16; 7:28, Ep. 5:29,31;
cf. Mt. 19:5p; Jn. 1:13, Jude 7, by which people become parents and heirs, Rm.
4:1, 9:3-5, 11:14, cf. Heb. 12:9. Thus ‘flesh’, like basar in biblical usage,
emphasizes the weak and perishable side of human beings, Rm. 6:19, 2 Co. 7:5,
12:7, Ga. 4:13f; cf. Mt. 24:22p. Lk. 3:6, Jn. 17:2, Ac. 2:17, 1 P. 1:24. This
explains the words Paul uses when comparing nature with grace ‘according to the
flesh’, 1 Co. 1:26, 2 Co. 1:17, Ep. 6:5, Col. 3:22, cf. Phm. 16, Jn. 8:15,
‘flesh and blood’, 1 Co. 15:50, Ga. 1:16, Ep. 6:12, Heb. 2:14, cf. Mt. 16:17,
and ‘fleshly’, Rm. 15:27, 1 Co. 3:1,3, 9:11, 2 Co. 1:12, 10:4. 2. Since the sending of the Spirit is
what gives this eschatological age its character, Paul can use the word ‘flesh’
to signify the old dispensation as opposed to the new, Rm. 9:8, Ga. 3:3, 6:12f,
Ph. 3:3f, Ep. 2:11, cf. Heb. 9:10,13, Jn. 3:6, 6:63; so also the phrase
‘according to the flesh’, 1 Co. 10:18, 2 Co. 11:18, Ga. 4;23,29; cf. Rm. 1:3f,
2 co. 5:16, and ‘fleshly’, Heb. 7:16, but cf. 1 Co. 10:3f. 3. For Paul the ‘flesh’ is especially the sphere in which the
passions and sin operate, Rm. 7:5,14,18,25, 13:14, 2 Co. 7:1, Ga. 5:13,19, Ep.
2:3, Col. 2:13,18,23; cf. 1 P. 2;11 2 P. 2;10,18, 1 Jn. 2:16, Jude 8,23,
condemned to corruption, 1 Co. 15;50, Ga. 6;8, cf. Jm. 5;3, Ac 2;26,31, and to
death, Rm. 8:6,13; 1 Co. 5:5, 2 Co. 4:11, cf. 1 P. 4:6, so much so that ‘flesh’
becomes personified as a Power of evil hostile to God, Rm. 8:7f, and to the
Spirit, Rm. 8:4-9,12f, Ga. 5:16f. Christ has defeated this Power by assuming
‘sinful flesh’, Rm. 8:3, cf. 1 Tm. 3:16, Jn. 1:14, 1 Jn. 4:2, 2 Jn. 7, and
putting it to death on the cross, Rm. 8:3, Ep. 2:14-16, Col. 1:22, cf. Heb.
5:7f, 10:20, 1 P. 3:18, 4:1. Being united with him, Jn. 6:5f, the Christians
are no longer ‘in the flesh’, Rm. 7:5, 8:9, since they have crucified the
flesh, Ga. 5:24, cf. I P. 4:1, and cast it off by baptism, Col. 2:11; more
precisely, they are still ‘in the flesh’ as long as they remain in this world,
Ph. 1:22-24, cf. 1 P. 4:2, but are not slaves to the flesh any more, 2 Co.
10:3; they are its masters through their union with Christ by faith, Ga. 2:20,
and suffering, Col. 1:24.”
Verse 27 says: No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish
by human reckoning, and to shame what is
strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning;
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jg 7:2 - The Yahweh said to Gideon, ‘There are
too many people with you for me to put Midian into their power; Israel might
claim credit for themselves at my expense: they might say, “My own hand has
rescued me”.
2.
1 S 16:7…but
Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I
have rejected him; God does not seeb as man sees; man looks at
appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart’. Footnote b
says “‘God sees’ Greek.”
3.
2 Co 4:7 - We are only the earthenware jarsb
that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes
from God and not from us. Footnote b
says “Free interpretation, in the
rabbinic style, of Ex 34:33-35.”
4.
Jm 2:5 - Listen,
my dear brothers: it was those who are poor according to the world that God
chose, to be rich in faithc and to be the heirs to the kingdom which
he promised to those who loved him. Footnote
c says “I.e. poor in money, rich in faith, cf 1:9+;
this letter is not concerned to advocate social reform since it emphasizes that
the poor already have the truest wealth.”
Why are the ‘Beatitudes” a way
to survival?
According to Robert W. Felix,
in his book “Not By Fire but by Ice” (1997: Sugar House Publishing, Bellevue,
Washington DC, USA.), the secret to escape extinction is contained in one of
the injunctions of the Beatitudes “Blessed are the meek”. Having an attitude of
meekness will make a person to be calm and not panic during a calamity. A meek
person is therefore likely to survive a disaster because he will avoid the urge
to get out of a dangerous situation and to step on others but stay put until
help comes or until danger is over. Panic and commotion is a sure way to die
during danger.
The way to survival is likewise
stated in Amos 5:4 that says: “For Yahweh says this to the House of Israel.
Seek me and you shall live” (Am 5:4).
Seeking Yahweh is a sure way to survive because Yahweh is “to be.” Yahweh
is the force to beingness and the power to realize one’s self because it is the
creative power.
The Beatitudes are also a way
to defeat. Being defeated is what 1 Co 1:26-31, the Second Reading for this
Sunday, is what is telling us and concerned about.
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