Jesus upturns the values we would normally consider desirable.
These people have recognized their spiritual poverty before God and have come to Him.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

１Corinthians 7:25-31

With regard to those

Who remain virgins, I have no special commandment from the Lord, but I give some advice, hoping that I am worthy of trust by the mercy of the Lord.

 I think this is good in these hard times in which we live. It is good for someone to remain as he is.   If you are married, do not try to divorce your wife; if you are not married, do not marry.   He who marries does not sin, nor does the young girl sin who marries. Yet they will face disturbing experiences, and I would like to spare you.

 I say this, brothers and sisters: time is running out, and those who are married must live as if not mar­ried;   those who weep as if not weeping; those who are happy as if they were not happy; those buying something as if they had not bought it, and those enjoying the present life as if they were not enjoying it.   For the order of this world is vanishing.

 

Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17

Listen to me daughter; see and bend your ear.

     

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Luke 6:20-26

 Then looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Fortunate are you who are poor, the kingdom of God is yours.”  Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

Fortunate are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Fortunate are you when peo­ple hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man.   Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Re­member that is how the ancestors of this people treated the prophets.

But alas for you who have wealth, for you have been comforted now. Alas for you who are full, for you will go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.  Alas for you when peo­ple speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of these people treated the false prophets.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Chicken or Egg?

When it comes to the Commandments and the Beatitudes, some Christians have the same difficulty as we have in deciding if chicken or egg comes first. Here are some insights to help us decide.

The Ten Commandments are all about “doing”,; but the Beatitudes are primarily about “being”. It is our being that comes first; doing flows from our being. In other words, what we do is determined by who we are.

Many Christians look tired, bored, and bereft of joy, precisely because they predicate their faith on this laborious dos and don’ts without having discovered the love that makes it possible.

It is hard to keep doing stuff when it does not flow from our being. To paraphrase an insight from theologian James Alison, Christian faith is not about doing good, it is not even about being good; it is all about being loved!

Once we realize that we are loved “no matter what”, our self turns noble (Beatitudes) and right actions simply flow from us (Commandments).