Beatitudes Come with a Warning

Feb. 16, 2025

We are all familiar with the Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Much of the same material found in the Sermon on the Mount is also found in the Gospel of St. Luke, but instead of speaking on a mountain, we are told that Jesus and His disciples came down from a mountain, and He began to teach. This sermon has come to be known as the Sermon on the Plain (not the Sermon on the Plane).
   
In today’s Gospel reading from this great sermon, we hear the Beatitudes, but in a different form than what we are used to. Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.”

He then goes on to say, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets the same way.”
   
This is very similar, but also very different. In the Sermon on the Mount, we do not hear these “Woes.” Which of these is right? Well, they both are.
   
Jesus preached and taught in many places and many different times. Without a doubt, He taught many of the same themes and messages multiple times and expressed His teaching in various ways. He did not give the same talk over and over but adapted it to circumstances and time.
—Fr. Mike Comer