Beliefs Blessings and Woes

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to prepare for the “cognitive dissonance” between our beliefs of good life and the woes of the anawim.

Answers for the Anawim

In the Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul offers Advice to Virgins and Widows.

* [7:1–7] References to Paul’s own behavior (1 Cor 7:7–8) suggest that his celibate way of life and his preaching to the unmarried (cf. 1 Cor 7:25–35) have given some the impression that asceticism within marriage, i.e., suspension of normal sexual relations, would be a laudable ideal. Paul points to their experience of widespread immorality to caution them against overestimating their own strength (1 Cor 7:2); as individuals they may not have the particular gift that makes such asceticism feasible (1 Cor 7:7) and hence are to abide by the principle to be explained in 1 Cor 7:17–24.

* [7:17–24] On the ground that distinct human conditions are less significant than the whole new existence opened up by God’s call, Paul urges them to be less concerned with changing their states of life than with answering God’s call where it finds them. The principle applies both to the married state (1 Cor 7:1–16) and to the unmarried (1 Cor 7:25–38).

* [7:25–28] Paul is careful to explain that the principle of 1 Cor 7:17 does not bind under sin but that present earthly conditions make it advantageous for the unmarried to remain as they are (1 Cor 7:28). These remarks must be complemented by the statement about “particular gifts” from 1 Cor 7:7.

* [7:29–31] The world…is passing away: Paul advises Christians to go about the ordinary activities of life in a manner different from those who are totally immersed in them and unaware of their transitoriness. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 45 proclaims majestic beauty is a sign of the future prosperity of the royal house.

* [Psalm 45] A song for the Davidic king’s marriage to a foreign princess from Tyre in Phoenicia. The court poet sings (Ps 45:2, 18) of God’s choice of the king (Ps 45:3, 8), of his role in establishing divine rule (Ps 45:4–8), and of his splendor as he waits for his bride (Ps 45:9–10). The woman is to forget her own house when she becomes wife to the king (Ps 45:11–13). Her majestic beauty today is a sign of the future prosperity of the royal house (Ps 45:14–17). The Psalm was retained in the collection when there was no reigning king, and came to be applied to the king who was to come, the messiah. (Psalms, PSALM 45 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents the Sermon on the Plain.

* [6:20–26] The introductory portion of the sermon consists of blessings and woes that address the real economic and social conditions of humanity (the poor—the rich; the hungry—the satisfied; those grieving—those laughing; the outcast—the socially acceptable). By contrast, Matthew emphasizes the religious and spiritual values of disciples in the kingdom inaugurated by Jesus (“poor in spirit,” Mt 5:3; “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Mt 5:6). In the sermon, blessed extols the fortunate condition of persons who are favored with the blessings of God; the woes, addressed as they are to the disciples of Jesus, threaten God’s profound displeasure on those so blinded by their present fortunate situation that they do not recognize and appreciate the real values of God’s kingdom. In all the blessings and woes, the present condition of the persons addressed will be reversed in the future. (Luke, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

David Crawford has read the Sermon on the Plain in several translations in the hope to gain a new, Spirit-led perspective. The Message translation opens with:

You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding.

But it was the last part that really spoke to him:

But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.

And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.

And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games. There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

I am embarrassed to think how often I let anxieties take control of me, and in the process take my focus away from the One who faithfully provides all I need. I am embarrassed to think how many times I’ve viewed my successes as the result of my own creativity, intelligence, or effort, and then fail to be appropriately grateful. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Loving God, you love me and provide all I need. Forgive me the many times that I forget to thank you, that I fail to trust in you. I surrender my anxieties and fears to you. Let me find your joy as I serve you by serving others, as I love you by loving others. Thank you for everything. Amen. (Crawford, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus, though rich, became poor for us,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"'Blessed,' it says, 'are the poor.' Not all the poor are blessed, for poverty is neutral. The poor can be either good or evil, unless, perhaps, the blessed pauper is to be understood as he whom the prophet described, saying, 'A righteous poor man is better than a rich liar' (Proverbs 19:22). Blessed is the poor man who cried and whom the Lord heard (Psalm 34:6). Blessed is the man poor in offense. Blessed is the man poor in vices. Blessed is the poor man in whom the prince of this world (John 14:30) finds nothing. Blessed is the poor man who is like that poor Man who, although he was rich, became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9). Matthew fully revealed this when he said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3). One poor in spirit is not puffed up, is not exalted in the mind of his own flesh. This beatitude is first, when I have laid aside every sin, and I have taken off all malice, and I am content with simplicity, destitute of evils. All that remains is that I regulate my conduct. For what good does it do me to lack worldly goods, unless I am meek and gentle?" (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.53-54) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today. In Paul’s time the world was believed to end marked by resurrection of the dead.  There may be little time before Jesus returns and people should remain in the state you are in. There is not time to change status. Then time went by and Jesus would return like a thief in the night so always be ready. The Beatitudes in Luke are set on the plain. In Matthew, they are part of the Sermon on the Mount. The format in Luke of four blessings and four curses is the more traditional pattern of most formulas in the bible. Matthew offers very spiritual blessings and Luke presents the poor in reality. In Luke, Jesus reaches out to the “anawim”, the financially and spiritually poor who have no security of their own. They were ready to embrace Jesus but the rich, already fully content, rejected Him. Friar Jude urges us to recognize our brokenness and to hold on to God for dear life.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 6:20-26 comments that Jesus wants all his children to be filled with his blessings. He wants the hungry to be filled, both spiritually and materially. And he wants the well-fed to continue to prosper but also to have his heart of compassion and provide for those who are poor.

As we make Jesus our primary focus, as we seek to be filled with his love above all else, we’ll find our priorities changing. We’ll no longer be content only with meeting our own needs. Our eyes will be more opened to those living in want, and we’ll want to help them. We’ll see how empty a life centered only on ourselves truly is. We’ll see how it is a life of “woe” even here and now.

So fill yourself with Jesus. And let him help you fill the needs of those around you.

“Lord, teach me to be generous to others as you have been generous to me!” (Meditation on Luke 6:20-26, n.d.)

Brian McLaren normalizes painful experiences of doubt. For many of us, faith is our map of reality, our map of the universe. It tells us where we are, where we’ve been, where we’re going, where to turn. But as soon as our trusted map stops matching reality, we feel disoriented. We have no idea where to turn, what to do, how to survive.

This terror is especially real for people … who were taught that God is an almighty supreme being who demands absolute perfection and submission, a strict and demanding father, and a tough and exacting judge. Yes, we were also taught God is loving, gracious, and forgiving, but the one requirement God demands above all others is precisely the thing that doubters struggle with most: God demands firm, unwavering faith, which we understood to mean correct beliefs. To question those beliefs throws open the terrifying possibility that God might at any moment turn against us, punish us, reject us, maybe even send us to hell if we don’t get our beliefs straight and hold them tight, without doubt…. 

Doubt can breach the psychological fortress in which we’ve felt safe, tear up the internal map by which we’ve navigated the world, and threaten to separate us from God’s favor and love. (McLaren, n.d.)

We are grateful to the Spirit for awakening our understanding of the real economic and social conditions of humanity and guiding our response as people anointed in Baptism as priest, prophet, and leader in our environment. 

References

Crawford, D. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton On Line Ministries. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-september-9-2026 

Luke, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/6?20 

McLaren, B. (n.d.). The Cost of Doubt. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-cost-of-doubt/ 

Meditation on Luke 6:20-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/09/09/1665864/ 

1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/7?25 

Psalms, PSALM 45 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/45?11 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Blessed Are You Poor - Yours Is the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 9, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Patience and Prosperity

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to hear the ancient call of the Father to love God and neighbour and to activate our faith in the action of God to bring about the best outcome for our troubles.

Patience and Healing

The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy declares The Great Commandment and proclaims Fidelity in Prosperity.

* [6:4–5] This passage, an expansion of the first commandment (5:6–10), contains the basic principle of the whole Mosaic law, the keynote of the Book of Deuteronomy: since the Lord alone is God, Israel must love him with an undivided heart. Jesus cited these words as “the greatest and the first commandment,” embracing in itself the whole law of God (Mt 22:37–38; Mk 12:29–30; Lk 10:27).

* [6:4] Hear, O Israel!: in Hebrew, shema yisra’el; hence this passage (vv. 4–9), containing the Great Commandment, is called the Shema. In later Jewish tradition, 11:13–21 and Nm 15:37–41 were added to form a prayer recited every evening and morning. The LORD is our God, the LORD alone: other possible translations are “the Lord our God is one Lord”; “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”; “the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”

* [6:8] Bind them…as a sign: these injunctions were probably meant merely in a figurative sense; cf. Ex 13:9, 16. In the late postexilic period, they were taken quite literally, and devout Jews tied on their arms and foreheads “phylacteries,” boxes containing strips of parchment on which these words were inscribed; cf. Mt 23:5.

* [6:13] Him shall you serve: the verb could be translated as either “serve” or “worship” (cf. 5:9). (Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 18 has two parallel reports of rescue.

* [Psalm 18] A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22. Thanksgiving Psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The Psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Ps 18:5–20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Ps 18:36–46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Ps 18:2–4, 32–36) and conclusion (Ps 18:21–31, 47–50). (Psalms, PSALM 18 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew describes the Healing of a Boy with a Demon.

* [17:14–20] Matthew has greatly shortened the Marcan story (Mk 9:14–29). Leaving aside several details of the boy’s illness, he concentrates on the need for faith, not so much on the part of the boy’s father (as does Mark, for Matthew omits Mk 9:22b–24) but on that of his own disciples whose inability to drive out the demon is ascribed to their little faith (Mt 17:20).

* [17:15] A lunatic: this description of the boy is peculiar to Matthew. The word occurs in the New Testament only here and in Mt 4:24 and means one affected or struck by the moon. The symptoms of the boy’s illness point to epilepsy, and attacks of this were thought to be caused by phases of the moon.

* [17:17] Faithless and perverse: so Matthew and Luke (Lk 9:41) against Mark’s faithless (Mk 9:19). The Greek word here translated perverse is the same as that in Dt 32:5 LXX, where Moses speaks to his people. There is a problem in knowing to whom the reproach is addressed. Since the Matthean Jesus normally chides his disciples for their little faith (as in Mt 17:20), it would appear that the charge of lack of faith could not be made against them and that the reproach is addressed to unbelievers among the Jews. However in Mt 17:20b (if you have faith the size of a mustard seed), which is certainly addressed to the disciples, they appear to have not even the smallest faith; if they had, they would have been able to cure the boy. In the light of Mt 17:20b the reproach of Mt 17:17 could have applied to the disciples. There seems to be an inconsistency between the charge of little faith in Mt 17:20a and that of not even a little in Mt 17:20b.

* [17:18] The demon came out of him: not until this verse does Matthew indicate that the boy’s illness is a case of demoniacal possession.

* [17:20] The entire verse is an addition of Matthew who (according to the better attested text) omits the reason given for the disciples’ inability in Mk 9:29. Little faith: see note on Mt 6:30. Faith the size of a mustard seed…and it will move: a combination of a Q saying (cf. Lk 17:6) with a Marcan saying (cf. Mk 11:23). (Matthew, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

A Member of Creighton University Community is reminded of many parent-child interactions. In fact, for those of us who are parents, it may remind us of interactions with our children where, with the benefit of hindsight, we wish we’d shown a little more patience, let the child work through the problem himself and then tried to teach the lesson a little more gently.

But, of course, Jesus was human as well as divine. When I was a child, I used to think of Jesus as being “perfect” in a human way. He must’ve been the smartest in his class, the best at sports and so on. But that childish view of him misses the most important aspect of him to us, which is that he really was human and had to suffer with many of the things that we do. He got hungry and thirsty, caught colds and even lost his patience occasionally. (Daily Reflection, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Faith as a grain of mustard seed,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"The mountains here spoken of, in my opinion, are the hostile powers that have their being in a flood of great wickedness, such as are settled down, so to speak, in some souls of various people. But when someone has total faith, such that he no longer disbelieves in anything found in holy Scripture and has faith like that of Abraham, who so believed in God to such a degree that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), then he has all faith like a grain of mustard seed. Then such a man will say to this mountain - I mean in this case the deaf and dumb spirit in him who is said to be epileptic - 'Move from here to another place.' It will move. This means it will move from the suffering person to the abyss. The apostle, taking this as his starting point, said with apostolic authority, 'If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains' (1 Corinthians 13:2). For he who has all faith - which is like a grain of mustard seed - moves not just one mountain but also more just like it. And nothing will be impossible for the person who has so much faith. Let us examine also this statement: 'This kind is not cast out except through prayer and fasting' (Mark 9:29). If at any time it is necessary that we should be engaged in the healing of one suffering from such a disorder, we are not to adjure nor put questions nor speak to the impure spirit as if it heard. But [by] devoting ourselves to prayer and fasting, we may be successful as we pray for the sufferer, and by our own fasting we may thrust out the unclean spirit from him." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.7.19) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. The Deuteronomy reading contains the Shema Israel, proclamation to love God with our heart, (thinking), soul, (in times of persecution), and strength, (physical possessions). People will inherit a land they did not prepare or civilize. In Matthew, the description of the illness seems to point to epilepsy, and the disciples cannot heal with little fath relying on their own authority. Healing requests may be presuming what God wants. Maybe God has a greater purpose for not honouring our request. Friar Jude reminds us that God gives the most loving answer even promising to meet us on the cross.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore who explains that through the Gospels, Jesus models a path for a transformative way of life.

How, then, do you live the Gospel spirit today? You do exactly what the Gospel says: Firstly, you cultivate a deep respect for people who are not of your circle and whom society rejects…. Secondly, you do everything possible to deal effectively with demonic urges in yourself and in society. You do something about aggression, paranoia, narcissism, greed, jealousy, and violence. You live with a mind-set that doesn’t justify such things but seeks alternatives. Thirdly, you play the role of healer in every situation. The word therapy [healing] appears 47 times in the New Testament—you adopt a therapeutic posture in the style of Jesus the healer. In all your work and interactions, you take the role of healer. Finally, you stay awake and don’t fall into the unconsciousness of the age. You also help others wake up to a thoughtful life imagined in fresh, original, and convivial ways…. (Rohr, n.d.)

 

We seek the gift of prudence from the Spirit to move gently and compassionately in our support of people who are suffering in body, mind and soul.

References

Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-11-2007 

Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/6?4 

Matthew, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/17?14 

Psalms, PSALM 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/18?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Jesus: A Wisdom Teacher: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/jesus-a-wisdom-teacher-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Nothing Will Be Impossible to You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug9