Posts Tagged ‘The beatitudes as a Way of Life’

What It Means to Be a Saint

Sunday, November 1st, 2015

All Saints Day

Rev 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3; Mt 5: 1-12a

Dc. Larry Brockman

Good News, in fact Great News! This is our feast day. That’s right. It’s your feast day and my feast day because we are the saints that the readings today are all about.

You see, the vision that St. John describes in Revelation, the one of the countless folks with the white robes- these are the believers who survived the great period of trial. And we are those true believers- that’s why we are all gathered here, because we are the believers. And so, as the saying goes, the Kingdom of God is ours for the taking. All we have to do is believe and survive the great period of trial- the life God gave us on earth.

Now as I listen to the Gospel, I hear the great period of trial described for each of us. Because I can’t help but think that life is all about learning the lessons that each beatitude teaches.

And so, each of us must first learn we are “poor in spirit” because each of is lacking in one way or another. It is important that we recognize that- it’s the virtue of humility.

Each of us experiences losses- loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of health; and we mourn these losses. But God wants us to know that in the face of any such losses, He still loves us. And so, we will be comforted, always.

Each of us needs to learn to step back and not be too pushy at times- in other words, be meek. Life is not all about us- life is about give and take. Each of us needs to seek God’s will for us in all of the circumstances of life-. That is what it means to hunger for righteousness because righteousness is defined as harmony with God.

And everyone who hopes that God will show them mercy knows that they must show mercy to others. Jesus taught us that in the “Our Father”. We also need to be pure of heart- that is, have a clear conscience. When we do not have a clear conscience, it is God who is nudging us to make things right. Life has many ways of showing us how violence and bickering lead to disaster. That’s how we learn to be peacemakers.

But make no mistake about it. Every single one of us will be challenged at some point in our lives to stand up for what is right, and to reject what is wrong. Yes, every one of us will face some sort of persecution for our faith. It may not be like the Christians in Syria facing the ISIS threat. But it is persecution just the same: the cynical look of peer pressure to “go along or be ostracized” when we object to today’s loose morals; pressure from elected officials to “get with it” when we take a staunch respect life position; or any of a number of other things society or the government does to pressure people who hold to their convictions.

Yes, the beatitudes kind of sum up the lessons each of us faces in life. And yet, as Jesus proclaims, if we learn the lessons implied in the beatitudes, then we will have survived the great period of trial, and the Kingdom of heaven is ours.

In the second reading, we learn what the Kingdom of God will be like. We are children of God now, and we are treated as children of God. Our duty is to believe God’s word, and to act on it in love, always, even when we can’t understand everything. Then, when we pass on to the next world, we will enter the Kingdom of God; we will be part of that great multitude of folks wearing white robes.

As John so eloquently says it, we will be like Him. Indeed, God made us in his own image and likeness, so man will share in the glory of God. And there can be nothing like that!