Pope Leo the Great taught: “God made us without us, but will not save us without us.” What does he mean? Simply that God does not ‘force’ salvation on us – we have to play our part, to respond to his love, just as in any human relationship we need to show that we care for each other. So we need to desire God & his goodness, as well as the good of others, rather than chasing in a self-centred way after the so-called “good things” of this world, and purely for our own personal benefit.

Jesus explores all of this in today’s Gospel which is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. You may notice something different from Matthew’s version where Jesus goes up the mountain, while in Luke we read how Jesus “came down with the disciples and stopped at a piece of level ground.” Why the difference? Matthew, writing for a Jewish audience, presents Jesus as “the new Moses” and so in his version Jesus goes up the mountain to bring down the new commandments just like Moses with the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai. Luke is writing for a mixed audience of Gentiles and Jews and his main concern is to show the mercy and compassion of Jesus for all people. The sick and the elderly would not be able to follow him up the mountain but here, lower down and on a piece of level ground, the sick can be brought to him.

Jesus’ Beatitude vision for how we are to live our lives is rooted in generous self-giving, in truly caring for others. It should sound as radical today as it did 2000 year ago! Jesus is not saying there is something virtuous in poverty, hunger and suffering, but when injustice reigns, the values of the world need to be turned upside down, which will always provoke opposition from those who like things the way they are. The Beatitudes are a call to create a culture of care and solidarity, in which we instinctively show love for God/concern for others in our daily lives, in imitation of Christ himself. Am I someone who truly cares? What needs to be turned upside down in our world/my life this Jubilee Year?

With prayers & blessings - Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & all the parish team
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