Our Venerable Father and Confessor Chariton (350). Holy Viacheslav, Czech Prince. Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev Who Repose in the Nearer Caves of the Venerable Anthony. Passing into eternal life of Blessed Nykyta Budka (1949), First Bishop of Canada and Confessor of Karaganda.
Polyeleos Feast.
2 Corinthians 4:6-15; Luke 6:17-23.
Read Luke 6:17-23
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today’s Gospel reading is St. Luke’s account of the beatitudes. Interestingly, rather than placing the beatitudes in the context of Christ’s fulfilling the Mosaic law, In St. Luke’s account, after healing those brought to Him, Jesus simply states: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh…”
St. Luke’s account reveals to us that the beatitudes are best understood as ontological statements, rather than as practical commands. This is to say, Jesus is not necessarily asking us to give away all our belongings and to become poor; neither is He necessarily asking us to undertake difficult fasting regimens or to shed tears. He is saying, rather, that these things will happen if we simply live as Christians, striving to follow His commandments, in the circumstances that we are given. Jesus is asking us to be, rather than to do.
We are all poor to some extent, perhaps not monetarily – but maybe we lack patience or humility. We can suffer our lack of virtue patiently, whilst praying for the grace and striving to do better the next time. We all hunger, perhaps not for food – but maybe we are tempted to be dissatisfied with our current lot in life. We can accept that our circumstances are allowed by God as a means for our salvation. We all weep – maybe we have children or relatives who are far from God. These things are part and parcel of living the Christian life in a fallen world, and we are called to bear all of these trials of daily life, serenely if we can, if we wish to be healed.
Certainly there have been Saints who have practiced poverty and voluntarily suffered hunger quite literally, but these are the exceptions rather than the rule, and assume the bearing of all the circumstances of life as well. We do not need to do anything extraordinary, it is sufficient to simply practice mercy, kindness and generosity where we are, and to bear everything, including our own failings and incompetence, with patience. This sounds easy, but it is more than most are willing to do.
God, in His providence, allows us all that is necessary for our salvation. Salvation, in this case meaning, as it usually does in our Eastern Christian tradition, becoming increasingly conformed to the image of Christ. Beatitude is not just something that we will experience in heaven, but it can be experienced in the faithfulness to every circumstance we are given in this life. Then we can truly say with St. John Chrysostom, “Glory to God for all things.”
Bible references