Jesus is the new moses (fourth sunday in ordinary time, Year A)
Commentary 4th Week in Ordinary Time A
Jesus is the new Moses. The torah was received on a mountain, now Jesus is giving the new law from a mountain side to his disciples. What they receive from Jesus is a teaching about how somebody, who believes that the kingdom is at hand, should live, i.e., as a disciple. The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, therefore, are a concise summary of the way of Christ (CCC 1697). They pronounce “blessed” or “fortunate” various circumstances that are, by worldly standards, accursed: poverty, mourning, persecution, and so forth. Yet these are the circumstances of Christ’s own life on earth. Matthew’s beatitudes differ from Luke’s in several ways. In Matthew’s account, Jesus states his blessings in the third person (“Blessed are they…”), while in Luke he uses the second person (“Blessed are you …”). Also, Luke’s blessings, unlike Matthew’s, are followed by curses, statements that begin, “But woe to you …” Christ’s Beatitudes are “eschatological.” They pronounce blessings that will only be completely fulfilled at the end of time; but they proclaim them as “blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples” (CCC 1717). There are eight beatitudes, and they can be grouped into two sets of four.
The first set is concerned with the way the needy disciple relies on the Lord. The second set focuses on the wise and good activity of a disciple in relationship to other people as a result of his or her reliance on the Lord.
1] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” i.e., people who for one reason or another, e.g., material poverty, mental health problems, addiction are aware of their need of God. Such people are open to receive the unmerited gift of God’s merciful love and gifts. i.e., the kingdom of heaven. “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found.”
2] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” When Matthew talks about mourning, rather than referring to the sadness one experiences when a loved one dies, he is referring to those who feel remorse on account of their personal sins and the sins of others. One commentator suggests the mourning might be the result of the persecution of Christians. They are aggrieved that while now the wicked prosper, the saints do not, and God has not yet righted the situation.
In the OT the Lord promised to comfort such people, e.g., in Is 40:1; 51:3; 61:2. There is a between comfort and consolation. Comfort comes from Latin and means, “with strength” whereas, consolation refers to pleasant feelings. God affirms those who mourn, affirmare. In Latin, which means “to make steady; strengthen; confirm”, by means of the Holy Spirit’s power experienced in weakness. “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps 34:6).
3] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Ps 37:11 promised that the meek (the humble, the lowly, those who depend on the Lord rather than themselves) would inherit the earth. Although this could simply mean “the land” in Jesus’ day Jewish people would have spoken about the righteous inheriting the kingdom, and thus ruling the world (cf. Dan 7:14).
4] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” This beatitude praises those who seek what is just according to God’s will and law>Those seeking justice in any sense are satisfied by the kingdom of God. Speaking of the kingdom St Paul said that it, “is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rm 14:17).
5] “Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.” Mercy embraces both forgiveness for the guilty and compassion for the suffering and needy. No particular object of the demanded mercy is specified, because mercy is to be a function of Jesus' disciples, not of the particular situation that calls it forth. This beatitude, too, is tied to its context. "It is `the meek' who are also `the merciful'.
6] “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” To be 'pure in heart' (cf. Ps 24:3-4) means harmony between inward thought and outward deed; it involves a singleness of intention, that intention being the doing of God's will. Reference to the vision of God is eschatological.
7] “Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God.” Jesus does not limit the peacemaking to only one kind, and neither will his disciples. In the light of the gospel, Jesus himself is the supreme peacemaker, making peace between God and man, and man and man. Our peacemaking will include the promulgation of that gospel
8] “Blessed are they who are persecuted.“ This point embraces two beatitudes to do with the same subject of persecution. They envisage the most difficult aspects of discipleship, namely persecution and ridicule. They offer consolation not only by promising reward in heaven but also by observing the similar ill-treatment of 'the prophets’ including Jesus.
