This weekend before the beginning of Lent the Scriptures lead us to consider where we ground our lives, where we find the source of our hope, and where we find the true source of blessedness. This is most appropriate for us to move from our childhood experience to Lent as “giving up something” for 40 days to a more faithful following of Christ in our daily lives, a re-grounding of our lives in Christ.
Christ’s words in the Gospel are shocking not merely because of the “woes”, but because He completely reverses what people had always thought to be true. Material wealth and prosperity had always been thought of as signs of God’s blessing and favor. To enjoy them was considered a reward for obeying God. Poverty was seen as a sign of being cursed by God.
A continuing theme in Luke’s Gospel, as exemplified in the Magnificat and some of the uniquely Lucan parables, is this reversal of human expectations. What we receive in this life is not a reward but a grace with a responsibility to use all for the service of the Kingdom of God, especially for the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable. In a society where so many ground themselves and their worth upon their material possessions and what they have “earned”, we are entering the season of Lent to re-ground ourselves upon Christ and His grace. There alone lies true blessedness and happiness.
Fr
