Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love: 6th Sunday of the Year (C)

Liturgical readings

Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Luke 6:17, 20-26

"Rejoice and exult, for your reward shall be great in heaven."

After the 6th Sunday of the Year (C) this February 14, Ash Wednesday (February 17) will be commemorated. The gospel passage for February 14 can greatly help in our spiritual preparation for the Lenten Season. The passage presents Jesus preaching a set of blessings and woes: blessings for the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the ostracized; and woes for the rich, the well-fed, those who are in celebration, and the honored. In contrast to Matthew's set of Beatitudes, Luke gives a strong contrast between those who will be blessed and on those who will experience a reversal of fortune (from good to bad).

If we read the beginning of chapter 6 of Luke, we will find the Pharisees questioning Jesus about why His disciples are doing what is unlawful during the Sabbath. And when Jesus heals a man with a paralyzed hand on a Sabbath (which is also unlawful), the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were enraged. It is within this context that Jesus preaches the four "blessings" and the four "woes". After this "blessings and woes", Jesus continues to preach about loving our enemies and not to be hasty in judging others. This sixth chapter of Luke then ends with Jesus teaching about a good tree bearing good fruit and the wisdom of building a house solidly on His Word.

Depending on our state of life at the moment, we may think ourselves and the members of our family either among those who are blessed, or among those whom Jesus pronounces His woes. Our experience of life teaches us that we do not know what will happen next. Everything is all in the hands of God. We are called to trust in Him fully for our life and the life of our family. A verse in one of the Bible's wisdom books counsels us to "remember prosperity in the time of adversity" and to "remember adversity in the time of prosperity". Before Ash Wednesday is commemorated, maybe we can gently examine our consciences: do I feel part of those who belong to Jesus pronouncement of blessings? or do I feel part of those who are pronounced a set of woes? As we reflect on these "blessings and woes", let us not forget the goodness and mercy of Jesus, and that every suffering we experience out of our commitment to God, will eventually harvest for us a great reward in heaven."