Commentary of the Gospell

The Blesseds of God

This text explains the blessed paths to holiness. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God,” thus begins the sermon on the mount.

This morning, I am reminded of two heroes of our world who were inspired by the verses of the Sermon on the Mount. Mohandas Gandhi, a man who discovered his path to nonviolent resistance against unjust political structures, and Martin Luther King Jr., who found his power in these very verses to begin the political and social reform that he led.

What is so transformative about these verses? The depth of these verses will only be understood by those who are poor or those who are willing to become poor to serve others. There are people who become anxious about finding shelter in the next rain or winter. They will understand what it means to be promised of a shelter in the kingdom of heaven.

Some are anxious about where the next meal for their children will come from. They will understand what it means to be promised of a time when they will not cry anymore. There are people who live under the scare of bombs and gunshots on a daily basis, where going to the shabby supermarket across the street is a walk between life and death. They understand what it means to have peace.

When we are spared from the miseries of poverty, war, and violence, we are indeed blessed on earth. However, the Sermon on the Mount calls us to action, not to ignore but to reach out to those who go through these miseries. It is through our empathy and action that we can become peace-makers and the Blesseds of God.

The paths of the blessedness are less traveled. But “walk the blessed path, for its stones lead to the stars.”