My Dear People, 

Today we have the famous speech of the “Sermon on the Plain.” This is a little different from Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount.” Matthew was writing for Jewish Christians, who understood the mountain to be a special place where God reveals to us. Whereas, Luke’s “sermon on the plain” does not take this into account because he was writing to Gentile Christians.

There are differences between Luke and Matthew, probably because Jesus preached this “sermon” several times, to different audiences, in different localities, and at different times. Of course there was a difference in the way they were recorded by different people.

Luke places this sermon on the plain shortly after choosing the Twelve. 

On this occasion, Jesus teaches that those who experience poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution in this life for the sake of the “Son of Man”—who is Jesus himself—should rejoice greatly because these afflictions are sign that they are headed in the right direction and will receive their just reward “in heaven.” But on the contrary, those who live lives of wealth, indulgence, and popularity ought to be very concerned about their eternal salvation because these signs of external happiness often accompanied the false prophets and other “fakers” in salvation history. 

Jesus’s words are indeed very sobering for those of us, at least, who have enjoyed a measure of external “success” in the world. Jesus is saying that externals are often deceptive, that the truly blessed are those who appear cursed, and those who appear blessed are in danger of being cursed. So, we need to redefine “success” and re-evaluate what we celebrate and what we bemoan. Typically, we just fall into the common pattern of the world, bemoaning any hardships we face and envying those we perceive as externally prosperous. The readings of this Mass are calling us to do an examination of conscience: 

Could the measure of success or prosperity I enjoy actually be due to the fact that I do not publicly identify with Jesus but simply act and speak like the rest of the world?

On the other hand, could the sorrow and afflictions I endure actually be signs of God’s love and the reward he has in store for me in the life to come?

Do I fall into the trap of evaluating my life and the lives of others based on material goods and other physical signs of health and prosperity?

Finally, am I a man or woman who trusts in the Lord, who delights in his law, and who meditates on his Word day and night? If not, what am I trusting in? 

Today we have reached wealth and live in a lifestyle that years ago only kings enjoyed. It is easy to take for granted that what we have is common; we may think that this Scripture passage of woes on the rich may not apply to us. For that reason, we need to reflect on these questions often, and check our attitude, so that we can benefit from the purpose of this teaching of Luke. 

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente