Surviving as blessed children of God

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on the Solemnity of All Saints describe a struggle that the children of God experience in responding to the Love of God by following the path of blessedness.

Blessed in the struggle against tyranny 

The Book of Revelation declares the triumph of Hebrew Israel and New Israel over the tyranny of the time through faith in Christ the Lamb.

* [7:1–17] An interlude of two visions precedes the breaking of the seventh seal, just as two more will separate the sixth and seventh trumpets (Rev 10). In the first vision (Rev 7:1–8), the elect receive the seal of the living God as protection against the coming cataclysm; cf. Rev 14:1; Ez 9:4–6; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30. The second vision (Rev 7:9–17) portrays the faithful Christians before God’s throne to encourage those on earth to persevere to the end, even to death.

In the First Letter of John, we praise the Father as we come to experience Love as children of God.

* [3:1–3] The greatest sign of God’s love is the gift of his Son (Jn 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son.

The Beatitudes, in the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew outline the attitude of followers of Jesus that makes His Presence visible in the world.

* [5:3–12] The form Blessed are (is) occurs frequently in the Old Testament in the Wisdom literature and in the psalms. Although modified by Matthew, the first, second, fourth, and ninth beatitudes have Lucan parallels (Mt 5:3 // Lk 6:20; Mt 5:4 // Lk 6:21b; Mt 5:6 // Lk 6:21a; Mt 5:11–12 // Lk 5:22–23). The others were added by the evangelist and are probably his own composition. A few manuscripts, Western and Alexandrian, and many versions and patristic quotations give the second and third beatitudes in inverted order.

Julie Kalkowski finds that today’s readings seem to be so opposite to what our culture values.

Following Jesus has never been described as a walk in the park, but we have gone through other periods of distress in our own lives and in our country’s history.  Now is not the time to shy away from the hard work of being a Christian. Our communities and our country need us to take steps towards healing and reconciliation.  
We can hold tight to these words from today’s second reading as we struggle to create communities where the Kingdom of God can flourish:
“The reason the world does not know usis that it did not know him.Beloved, we are God's children now;    what we shall be has not yet been revealed.”

Don Schwager shares that God gives us everything that leads to true happiness.

Jesus' beatitudes also confront us with decisive choices concerning the life we pursue here on earth and the use we make of the goods he puts at our disposal. Jesus' tells us that God alone can satisfy the deepest need and longing of our heart. Teresa of Avila's (1515-1582) prayer book contained a bookmark on which she wrote: Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things pass - God never changes. Patience achieves all it strives for. Whoever has God lacks nothing -God alone suffices.Is God enough for you? God offers us the greatest good possible - abundant life in Jesus Christ (John 10:10) and the promise of unending joy and happiness with God forever. Do you seek the highest good, the total good, which is above all else?

Kevin Halloran of the Orchard Evangelical Free Church shows the purpose for the Sermon on the Mount is to describe how Christians should live. It should be no surprise to see how Jesus ends the sermon in Matthew 7:15-27 describing three important truths about authentic Christianity.

A genuine believer is recognized by the fruit that he or she bears for God (Matthew 7:15-20)Doing “God’s work” does not get you into heaven; knowing Jesus Christ gets you into heaven (Matthew 7:21-23)Foolish men hear the word of God and do not apply it to their lives. Wise men hear God’s word and apply it to their lives (Matthew 7:24-27)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 comments that we may not consider ourselves a saint, but our witness can make a difference. Jesus said that anyone who is poor in spirit, merciful, pure of heart, or peaceable is blessed. And holiness always stands out.

So what does it take to become a small-S saint? Take a look around, and you’ll see. Think of the people whose love for Christ has inspired you. Think of the people whose dedication to service has touched your heart. Think of the people who seem always to have a peaceful disposition. Think of the people who have made you want to press on in faith. People like these are gifts from God. They encourage us and lift our eyes to heaven.

Friar Jude Winkler, OFM Conv, explores some of the Hebrew and Christian symbols in the passage from Revelation. The Spirit confirms our identity as children of God in our prayer “Abba”. Friar Jude notes that we make the Kingdom present in our flesh as we live as “Beatitude people”.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that It seems to him that Christianity has put major emphasis on us loving God. But in the mystics, he consistently finds an overwhelming experience of how God loves us!

This comes through most of their writings: God is the initiator, God is the doer, God is the one who seduces us. It’s all about God’s initiative. Then we certainly want to love back the way we have been loved. As my father St. Francis (1181-1226) would often say, “Love is not loved! Love is not loved!” I want to love back the way I have been loved. But it’s not like I’ve got to prove my love for God by doing things. My job is simply to complete the circuit!
The mystics experience this full body blow of the Divine loving and accepting them, and the rest of their life is about trying to verbalize and embody that. They invariably find ways to give that love back through forms of service and worship; but it’s never earning the love, it’s always returning the love. Can you feel the difference? God’s love is almost a different language. It’s not based in fear, but in ecstasy.

Our call to be Saints is a response to experience of the Love of God that we embody in service and worship as the Body of Christ.

References

(n.d.). Revelation chapter 7 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/7
(n.d.). 1 John chapter 3 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1john/3
(n.d.). Matthew chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(2012, October 2). What are the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount? | Unlocking the .... Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://unlockingthebible.org/2012/10/what-are-the-beatitudes-of-the-sermon-on-the-mount/
(2018, October 30). Daily Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/2018/11/1/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/