The beatitudes, the first words of the Sermon on the Mount, reveal Our Lord Jesus Christ to us and so teach us how to become like him. They are a beautiful summons to take our life in hand, to seek God’s help so as to be builders of bridges, able to live at peace with all.
In our first reading the Prophet Zephaniah teaches us about humility and how it is the foundation of a life of peace and spiritual growth. If we are to learn from Jesus we have to understand that humility is the indispensable beginning, one which becomes ever more important as we draw closer to God. This is because we are always going to be poor in Spirit, always in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. We know that every good action requires God’s grace. St Benedict is quite clear that the worst form of pride is to attribute spiritual progress and spiritual achievements to ourselves.
Meekness is an important element in humility: the word occurs only four times in the New Testament, two of which refer to Our Lord. He is meek and humble of heart. He enters Jerusalem meek and riding on a donkey. These expressions remind us of Isaiah’s description of the Messiah, whose voice is not heard in the streets. He is not a rabble rouser who gathers his following from the hot heads to be found in any city in any age. He is gentle, respectful of others. One thinks of St Peter’s description of the perfect wife, showing the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit. Nothing weak in that, but the tenderness of emotional maturity, the strength of a spirit submissive to God.
Let us not forget the setting Our Lord chose for his teaching: it is away from the city, on a hillside above the Sea of Galilee. We heard last Sunday how he taught in the the synagogues of Galilee and healed every disease and every infirmity. He attended to the physical needs of the people, but always to free their minds from undue preoccupation with worldly matters so as to help them focus their thoughts on the kingdom of God. Away from the hurlyburly of daily concerns they could understand better the need for a passionate desire for justice, and perceive the tyranny that covetousness establishes over people.
Let us take time to be with Jesus, to sit at his feet like Mary of Bethany. He will teach us all we need so that we may attain to the purity of heart he wishes for us. He shows us how to mourn our sins, as St Benedict would have us weep, not bitterly but with that peaceful weeping of the redeemed, preparing us for the joy of the Holy Spirit. Thus may we be fashioned in the likeness of Christ, to the glory of our Heavenly Father.