4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 5: 1-12A

Change That Attitude, Young Man!

Church (Mount) of the Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee

There was a young man taking his last class to earn his MBA.  He was a very conscientious student and pretty much breezed through all his assignments and tests, at least until his final exam.  He easily got through all the questions until he got to the last page, the last question.  What’s the first name of the woman who cleans the school?  What??  Is this some sort of joke?  He knew he saw her pretty much every day.  He knew she was probably in her 50’s, dark-haired and tall.  But her name?  Not a clue!  So he turned in the final leaving that last question blank!  And before he left the classroom, he asked the professor if that last question really counted!

Absolutely, said the professor, and here’s why!  In your career, throughout your life, you will meet many people.  Every single one of them is important, significant, worth knowing!  They deserve your attention and your care, even if all you do is smile and say hi!

When you think about it, this is not just a story about changing our actions; it’s about changing our attitude!  We already know the 10 Commandments, rules for our actions.  But we also know that there have been plenty of times when we DID the right thing but not always for the right reasons.  We clean our room, do our homework, go to work, rake the leaves, and speak the truth but too often it’s because we have to, because we were told to.  We were afraid of what would happen if we didn’t!  We did the right thing but only grudgingly! 

Jesus is making the same point in today’s Gospel!  He speaks from a mountain top, a clear sign that the crowd is experiencing the presence of the Divine.  And He speaks to those who most need to hear His words – the meek, the humble, the forgotten and ignored, the lost and the sick! 

Do we need to do the right thing?  Yes, absolutely!  But we need to do it for the right reasons; we do it out of LOVE. We need to adopt a Christian attitude, an attitude that’s the complete opposite of today’s society!   We are called to be merciful, meek, poor in spirit, recognizing that we are dependent on God.  We are called to be peacemakers, clean of heart, comforters, peacemakers, hungry for justice and righteousness.

What we are given in today’s Gospel are our marching orders – to go forth with the right attitude, those qualities expressed in the Beatitudes.  Will it be difficult?  Sometimes seemingly impossible?  Absolutely!   

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