Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A): Matthew 5:3-12
Do I have a price? Or, can I (or you) be bought?
What I mean is this: is there any thing I want so much that I would betray some fundamental value in order to get it? We are all faced with this dilemma. We all feel the pressure to do this. It might have happened when we were children, when we had the chance to join one of the “right” groups in school – if we were willing to betray or ignore someone who had been a true friend to us. It might be the pressure we feel (at any age) with a group of people who begin to share malicious gossip about someone else. It may be a situation where we could advance at work by cheating or stabbing someone else in the back. Or, it might be the desire to blend in and not stand out from the crowd that keeps us from saying something that we know should be said.
These are only some examples of the kinds of pressures that can motivate us to sell ourselves (or others) out. And why? I have listed some ways that we can feel external pressure to sell out. But how does this external pressure translate into internal pressure? Why do these things feel so tempting to us?
There are many things in our lives that strike us as good or desirable in some way. Among these things are: wealth, popularity, status, influence, pleasure, relationships and external peace. None of these things are bad in themselves. Each one has a role, a place, in our lives. Here’s where the problem comes in. Each one of these things is meant to be secondary – to serve something greater than itself. None of these is ‘the one necessary thing’. When we start believing that we simply have to have one of these things – that we couldn’t survive without it – then it becomes an addiction for us. In more traditional language, it is an occasion of sin. Just as someone addicted to alcohol or some other drug is willing to do almost anything to get that “fix”, so, too, we become willing to do things we aren’t proud of to get the thing we’re addicted to. When others confront us with temptations to sell ourselves out, what they are doing – unwittingly – is challenging our priorities. They are offering us occasions to recognize our addictions. We can choose to sell out to them. Or, we can choose to reaffirm what is of utmost importance.
Here is where the Beatitudes (our Gospel for this Sunday) come in. Read from this perspective, they identify our addictions and affirm that the truly blessed, truly happy, person is the one who has been freed from them. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” – or, “Happy the one who isn’t addicted to wealth”. “Blessed are they who mourn” – or, “Happy the one who isn’t addicted to pleasure”. “Blessed are the merciful” – or, “Happy the one who isn’t addicted to anger or revenge”. The Beatitudes identify many of our deepest addictions and challenge us to die to them and, thus freed, to live truly blessed and happy lives in Christ.
But how? How can we find the strength, the grace, to resist the compelling power of our addictions? They are always calling to us, always whispering in our ear, “You can’t live without us.”
I began by asking “Do I have a price?” Now, I offer a second question for our consideration. What would I die for? To put it differently, what is the most important thing in my life? What am I living for?
It’s a question that might elicit some of the same responses as my first one. Some people live for wealth, or pleasure, or relationships, or simply to promote themselves. But others would say that they would be willing to die for someone or something – a child, a spouse, or their country. We see such sacrifices as good and noble, and honor those who act in such a way. But even this isn’t quite enough. Relatives and friends come and go. Countries have their positive points and areas that need improvement. We need to go further. What motivates us, in the end, to give our lives for these things? Ultimately, it must be our faith in God. We live for God, and die for God. We offer our lives for others if God leads us to such a place. God is the center of our lives. The Holy Spirit is our ultimate moral compass. It is only when we remind ourselves of this that we arrive at a ground firm enough to withstand the storms of addiction(or any other temptation) and remain faithful to God and, being so, also faithful to the deepest part of ourselves – where God is present.
The very structure of the Beatitudes, “Blessed are…”, is a way of affirming that this blessing, this happiness, this freedom from addiction and sin that we seek does not come primarily from our own efforts. It is a gift of God, one that becomes ours when we place our faith solely in God and trust that God will lead us and heal us. Our role is to hold firmly to this faith in God, no matter what, and to live in harmony with that faith as the Holy Spirit leads us, no matter what. Taking this seriously is no easy task. But it is truly the one necessary thing. Get this right, and everything else falls into place. Get this wrong, and nothing else will satisfy.
We are living in an age that offers us many addictions. We often found ourselves tempted to “sell out” in order to have or keep these addictions in our lives. This doesn’t happen only to us as individuals. As families, as friends, as businesses (or any organization), or even as Church, we can feel the temptation to sell out much of what we believe in so that we can have something we feel is very important. Addictions happen to groups as well as individuals.
In such cases, let the Beatitudes be our examination of conscience. Let these words measure our priorities and expose our lingering addictions. Then, let us, in all humility and trust, seek the healing and change of heart that is a gift of God. This is where true blessedness, true happiness, is found.