Meek and Humble

Reading: Luke 6:20-26

Looking at his disciples, he said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Reflection
Poor, hungry, weeping, hated. Who would pick these things over peace, joy, wealth, and fortune? It is easy to confuse the experience of peace and contentment with following God’s plan. I can experience laughter, a full belly, and security in life, while ignoring the neighbor who faces discrimination and hardship. I move throughout my day to day motions of life, not really recognizing where Christ has appeared as the meek and lowly. 

Sometimes God’s call, or the sense of deep inner consolation, comes from hearing the challenging and difficult invitations from God. The hardest for me, is to bear those who speak ill of me and those I love. “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” When the external feedback is positive: likes on social media, revering the creative and outside the box work, the work of the Lord is easy. When I stand alongside the vulnerable or the misunderstood, I enter into their pain and discomfort and feel it for myself. In moments of true consolation, I see the genuine needs of others more clearly and my attention is directed away from self-pity and despair.

Prayer
First Principle and Foundation

Translated by David Fleming, SJ

The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit.
All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily. As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.

In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God.

Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening his life in me.