Today's Gospel presents what can be considered a kind of compendium of the Gospel, or what Pope Francis called the “identity card” of the Christian. We find in the Beatitudes the first great discourse that the Lord addresses to the people.
The opening sentence of the Gospel is striking: “When Jesus saw the multitude, he went up on the mountain and sat down, and his disciples came to him.”. Jesus sees the people-probably very many of them-and goes up the mountain, both to see them better and to take a deliberate and authoritative stance. As Pope Benedict XVI writes, He “sits in the ‘chair’ of the mount”. The people gather around him, he opens his mouth and begins to teach. These gestures are deeply reminiscent of Moses. Jesus Christ is the new Moses who gives the law; but, unlike Moses, he does not receive the law: he speaks from his own divine authority. From that place, Christ gives the new Law: the law of happiness.
Today, the Church invites us to focus particularly on the theme of humility. The readings all converge on this virtue. The brief title in red at the head of today's readings reflects the disposition with which the Church proposes them to us. The first reading, from the prophet Zephaniah, speaks of how God is going to leave, “a humble and poor people”. St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, reminds us that God has chosen to “the weakness of the world”. And in the Gospel, the first Beatitude is the key that opens up the whole sermon: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. Even the responsorial psalm echoes the first Beatitude. On the Solemnity of All Saints this same Gospel is proclaimed, but the title given to it is different from today. It is the final phrase: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in Heaven.”.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit”is not simply the first Beatitude. It is the essential condition for true happiness. Only when we recognize our total dependence on God can we be truly happy. The humble live in confident expectation of God's gifts; the proud, filled with self and worldly concerns, close themselves off from grace. Pride ultimately leads to unhappiness, because it isolates and deceives. Humility - poverty of spirit - means recognizing that we are not self-sufficient, that our security rests solely on God.
The full meaning of the Beatitudes is only discovered when we consider both parts: the statement and the reason/promise. If we listen only to the first part - “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, “Blessed are those who mourn”- "Blessed are the poor in spirit", "Blessed are those who mourn"- "Blessed are those who mourn". the words may seem incomplete or even absurd. Jesus adds the reason for the beatitude: “....for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”. We must never forget the reason/promise. The kingdom belongs to the humble. God is inclined towards the simple. He acts through them, sustains them and grants them an enduring legacy on earth and eternal joy in heaven. Today's readings reveal the beauty and strength of humility. It attracts God's gaze.
As St. Paul says: “God has chosen the foolish of the world [...], and God has chosen the weak of the world [...]. Moreover, he has chosen the lowly people of the world, the contemptible, the unworthy, the unimportant [...].".
St. Josemaría writes: “How great is the value of humility! -Quia respexit humilitatem...‘. Above faith, above charity, above immaculate purity, prays the joyful hymn of our Mother in the house of Zacharias: ’Because she saw my humility, behold, because of this, all generations will call me blessed...‘.‘”.
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