Liturgical readings
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Luke 6:17, 20-26
"Rejoice and exult, for your reward shall be great in heaven."
The gospel passage for this Sunday can greatly help in one's spiritual preparation for the coming Lenten Season. For the Lenten Season is a stark reminder of the realities of life today - how it is full of contrasts, both lack and fullness, in every part of the world. Jesus was sent into our human condition to show us the wisdom of living a life according to His Father's will, whether it be in lack or fullness. Thus, the gospel passage presents Him preaching a set of blessings and woes: blessings for the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the ostracized; and woes for the rich, the well-fed, those who are in celebration, and the honored. In contrast to Matthew's set of Beatitudes, Luke gives a strong contrast between those who will be blessed and on those who will experience a reversal of fortune (from good to bad).
If one reads the beginning of chapter 6 of Luke (Lk 1:1-5), you will find the Pharisees questioning Jesus about why His disciples are doing what is unlawful during the Sabbath (They were picking up ears of corn and eating them, Lk 1:1). And in Lk 6: 6-11, when Jesus heals a man with a paralyzed hand on a Sabbath (which is also unlawful), the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were enraged. It is within this context that Jesus preaches the four "blessings" and the four "woes". After this "blessings and woes", Jesus continues to preach about loving our enemies (Lk 6:27-35) and not to be hasty in judging others (Lk 6:36-38). This sixth chapter of Luke then ends with Jesus teaching about a good tree bearing good fruit and the wisdom of building a house solidly on His Word (Lk 6:46-49).
Many are aware that in their state of life at present and looking at the situation of others that there is pressure for social comparison: one may think oneself and members of his family either among those who are blessed, or among those whom Jesus pronounces His woes (which also applies with others). But experiences in life teaches that nobody really knows what will happen next. Everything is all in the hands of God. That is why God calls all to have faith in Him and to firmly decide everyday to respond in faith. A verse in one of the Bible's wisdom books counsels to "remember prosperity in the time of adversity" and to "remember adversity in the time of prosperity". As the Lord calls all to greater faith in Him, one realizes that the wisdom of His "blessings and woes" is a wisdom to hold onto. It is a valuable system of ethics in life that leads to what is more important: never to lose one's trust in God - whether in lack or fullness, in "blessing" or "woe". For faith, confidence and trust in God is an attitude that will help any believer continue to bear good fruit whether one is in "blessing" or "woe". And this degree of faith will make one "Rejoice and exult, for [your] reward shall be great in heaven."