Sunday, Feb. 13, is the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: Jeremiah 17:5-8; Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20; Luke 6:17, 20-26.

The Gospel is Luke’s version of the beatitudes, and there are also woes described for those who reject the Lord’s offer. Let’s pair them up and consider them together, seeing the choice the Lord presents in each case: blessing or woe.

Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

The poor are those who, by God’s grace, have their true treasure in heaven rather than on earth. They are poor to this world but rich in God. They have learned to depend on him and are not obsessed with or dependent on the passing riches of this world. They are blessed because they are free from the countless fears that flow from an endless quest for illusory control.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

If wealth is all you live for, that’s all you’ll get. When it’s over, it’s over, and then comes the judgment. If we hoard wealth when others are in need or use our wealth in unjust ways, we may enjoy comforts in this world, but a stern judgment awaits. 

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.

All of us hunger physically or, from time to time, for wealth, power, popularity or the latest fad. But the important thing is to hunger for God and the things waiting for us in heaven. How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God and the values of his kingdom! God will satisfy them with spiritual wealth. 

But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.

Worldly things can only satisfy temporarily; being finite, they cannot fill the infinite longing we have. God alone can satisfy our longing. The Lord warns of woe to those who resist being fed with his Body and Blood along with his word.

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. 

Those who weep are not obsessed with emotional happiness and are those who accept sorrow as a part of life. They weep because they see that so many do not know God nor why they were created. Due to this, they pray and act for the conversion of souls.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.

Rejoicing with the world is like celebrating on the Titanic before it hits the iceberg. The ride is wonderful for a while, but then comes the cold and unforgiving depths. Too many today call “good” or “no big deal” what God calls sin; they even celebrate it and praise it. The Lord warns those who rejoice in darkness. 

Blessed are you when people hate, exclude and insult you … on account of the Son of Man. … Your reward will be great in heaven.

In life, we are going to suffer, so it might as well be for something decent and noble. There is a paradoxical serenity that comes from such persecution because it is a sign that the world has lost its hold on us and thus hates us. The kingdom of God is ours in abundance.

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

If the world is cheering for you, you’re playing on the wrong team, the losing team. “A friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Jesus warns of woe to those who pitch their tents in this world. 

 

Decisions have consequences. Depending on our choice to let God work in our life or not, there is either blessing or woe. Choose the blessings!