Jesus tells the disciples to “rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” He tells them this right after He has finished preaching the Beatitudes, the famous sermon where Jesus gives hope to those who mourn or are meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness or are merciful … to name just a few of the actions that Jesus is elevating.
Jesus, as He often does in his teaching, takes a situation that the world sees as hopeless and without merit and offers encouragement and gives it meaning.
The Greek word for happy is connected to blessedness, not in an emotional sense, but in the sense of being fortunate to be in a privileged position. In the Jewish tradition, beatitudes are meant to encourage taking the good paths in life or to console those going through challenging times and remind them that they will be rewarded in the future. Both elements are present in Jesus’ sermon on the Mount.
Jesus tells us how to find happiness and consolation in our daily lives by hungering for righteousness, being merciful and clean of heart, seeking to be peacemakers, and being meek or obedient before God. In these instructions, Jesus describes what it means to be Christ-like.
In the last two verses, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the Beatitudes are not just words of wisdom, but specific directions for Christians to live, providing a clear path for our daily lives.
The reference to “the persecuted” is not “they” but the use of the personal “you.” For example, “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you.” This means that as we hear the Word of God proclaimed or as we read it in private, we hear Jesus speaking to each of us personally. (The Gospel of Matthew; Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri, pg. 91)
In these last two verses, there is also a direct connection to Jesus. Earlier in this gospel passage, Jesus spoke of people being persecuted for righteousness's sake, but in the final verses, He speaks of we, his disciples, being persecuted because of Him. (The Gospel of Matthew; Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri, pgs. 91-92)
At first glance, or maybe even in hearing them today, you or I might feel challenged to live each of these Beatitudes. This is where Jesus is challenging us to grow: what do you find hard to understand or to live in these Beatitudes? If you can, ask your family members to also consider this question. Then let’s bring these challenges to prayer, asking God to help us to better understand and to seek to live in a way that is truly Christ-like; for if we do, Jesus has told us to “rejoice and be glad, for our reward will be great in heaven.” That is a great encouragement that can lead us toward virtue and holiness in our families and beyond … a reason to rejoice and be glad!
Father David S. Marcham is a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and serves as Vice Postulator and Guild Director of the Cause for Canonization of Venerable Patrick Peyton. Before entering St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, he worked for eleven years as a physical therapist in Boston-area hospitals. Ordained in 2005, Father David was assigned to St. Mary Parish in Franklin, Massachusetts. His involvement in Father Peyton’s Cause began in 2007, when he assisted Father George Lucas, C.S.C., in advancing the Cause for Canonization. Appointed Vice Postulator in 2009, Father David oversees the progress of the Cause, directs the Guild, and promotes devotion to Father Peyton’s legacy of family prayer.
