Lk 6,17.20-26 (6
Ord. C)
Lk and Mt compared. – Contrary to Matthew, Luke places this first great inaugural discourse of Jesus, not on a mountain but “on a level place.” Moreover, his version is much shorter than that of Matthew’s. All the specifically Jewish elements in Matthew (the antithesis of Mt 5,17-48; the teaching on prayer-alms-fasting of 6,1-6.16-18), which would not be well understood by his Greek readers, have been left out. Finally, Luke presents these verses as addresses primarily to the disciples, although the crowds are present and are indirectly aimed at: Jesus is describing the behavior of the perfect disciple.
The structure is simple:
- vv.20-26: blessings and woes
- vv.27-35: love of enemies
- vv.36-42: generosity towards the neighbor
- vv.43-49: active response
The Beatitudes or blessings are only 4 in number, and their equivalents are in Mt. They seem to refer to existing concrete situations, that is, they are not indirect moral exhortation as in Mt. The emphasis throughout is on the social condition of the listeners. Luke is particularly interested in the persecuted Christians who are poor and oppressed: they are to rejoice because their condition will be rewarded (see Magnificat, Lk 1,51-53, or the parable of the Rich and Lazarus Lk 16,19-26).
The woes were perhaps composed by Luke, as many commentators believe, including Catholic ones (P. Schanz, J. Schmid, R. Koch, J. Dupont, Les Beatitudes, 1958, pp. 299-342; etc.). However, as some have remarked, in the OT we often coupled together blessings and woes (Tb 13,14; Pr 28,14; Qo 10,16-17; Is 3,10-11; Jr 17,5-8) and, furthermore, the harshness of these threats does not fit well with the ordinary gentleness of Luke. These woes are not “curses” or irrevocable condemnations, for it is not likely that Jesus would already be cursing some groups of people, since his ministry has just begun; they are rather lamentations, warnings, threats, forceful appeals to conversion.
v.20: blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God: In the Lukan Gospel, the imminent expectation of the eschaton recedes as the evangelist shifts the emphasis in both the beatitudes and woes to the present condition: those who go hungry and weep “now” and those who are well-fed and laugh “now” (6,21.25).
v.25: Woe to you that laugh now: Laughter is to be understood here as the carefree expression of contentment with the success of the present. In OT wisdom literature, it is sometimes the mark of the fool (Si 21,20; 27,13; Qo 7,6), and the Lukan Jesus may be alluding to such an attitude. Those who “laugh” are the rich, just as those who “weep” are the poor. (For a more detailed exegesis of the pericope, cf. the earlier explanations given on the Sermon on the Mount in Mt.)
Happiness is a magic word, which makes the eyes sparkle and the heart beat faster. All seek happiness passionately. But does everybody find it? Besides, does everybody choose the road leading to it? The fact is that, in order to have the possibility of reaching happiness, one must stake on sure values. And these are not always the values that are the most glittering. True happiness is often found at the end of a long and laborious journey. Any hiker knows that he must not weigh himself down with unnecessary luggage if he wants to reach his goal. He will then discover more beautiful horizons than he had dreamed of.
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Here Jesus comforts the poor and addresses them a word of consolation. In the course of her history, Israel had experienced the fact that God takes care of the poor and the oppressed if they place their hope in him. During the period of slavery in Egypt and of captivity in Babylon, Israel had been poor and oppressed, and God had taken care of his people: “The Lord has comforted his people, and has had compassion of his afflicted” (Is 49,13). God turns towards those who are poor and unhappy. “Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy” (Ps 86,1). This behavior of God is maintained during the time of salvation announced by Jesus. The good news is announced to the poor (Lk 4,8). And so, the poor are “Blessed” because they are by right the first ones addressed by the Father’s Providence and by Christ’s Gospel.
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What is proclaimed by Jesus to be a blessed state is not destitution, under-nourishment, illiteracy, under-development, indigence. On the contrary, Jesus considers such states as degrading for man, something which must be eliminated at all cost: at the Last Judgment we will be judged precisely on the manner in which we will have worked to alleviate human misery (Mt 25), in accordance moreover with the exhortations and example of the church throughout the centuries. What is proclaimed blessed is the state of him who, having little, must usually trust in the Father’s providence (while of course doing his best to ensure by his work the minimum income for a decent living). It is the state of him who is not distracted from his situation of Son of God promised to eternal bliss by a life filled with luxuries and thrills. At bottom, what is conducive to availability for the kingdom is the freedom of the poor. Because he experiences the uncertainties of a laborious life and the ordinary hurts of life, the poor is aware that only another life in the hereafter can compensate the frustrations of this life and slake his thirst for happiness.
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Those who have suffered persecution for their faith (denunciations, imprisonment, deprivations of all sorts) and who, through a set of providential circumstances, have later on been released, have often testified that in all their life they have never experienced so much consolation, peace and joy as during the time of their greatest sufferings. How many martyrs have died with a song on their lips! The blessedness of the persecuted is not mere words. Already in this life God gives happiness to those who are ready to suffer everything for him.
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Those who are to be pitied are not those who enjoy a reputation of honesty, loyalty, kindness, etc. Those to whom Christ is referring in the woes, which follow the Beatitudes are the rich who are surrounded with flattery, praise, consideration only because they are rich, who wield influence, who can obtain favors for their friends, etc. They are like the prophets of lies who never encountered contradiction, who flattered the Israelites and let them in peace when they were adulterous (cf. Is 30,9-11; Jr 23,17).
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The disciples, the true believer who lives in the church, must listen to the beatitudes and the woes as applying to himself. He must ask himself if he fears these woes because he is rich, or on the contrary if he gladly welcomes the beatitudes because he is poor. He must constantly assess his life in terms of the true values contained in these short proclamations. They subvert all accepted norms and values. They pull down all the citadels built by man. They mark the twilight of all the idols in which we trust and on which we rely. The beatitudes and the woes open up the door of the kingdom, that kingdom in which we find all the good things that this world cannot give, all that God alone can give when he begins to reign.