Ethos of the Kingdom!

Monday, June 10, 2024

1 Kgs 17:1-6; Mt 5:1-12

The Beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel are renowned for their universal appeal. 

For instance, the Sermon on the Mount which opens with the Beatitudes, had a big influence on Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of India. 

Journalist and author, Vincent Sheean wrote the following description of Gandhi, saying that Gandhiji ‘was so penetrated with the truth and beauty he felt in the verses of the Sermon that through years of effort he actually became something like a summation of the Beatitudes, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemaker. His reverence for Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount illumined his long struggle and gave him strength for it.’

The eight blessings are a description of the people of God’s Kingdom. They describe the characteristic traits of those who are part of the Kingdom of God. These distinctive qualities are to mark the followers of Christ. 

Secondly, the Beatitudes are originally about the blessedness of the people of God’s Kingdom. The blessedness is highlighted in the second half of each of the Beatitudes. 

Thirdly, the Beatitudes summarize the teachings of Jesus in what is known as ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’ Jesus puts forward these blessings as the ethos of the Kingdom. 

Finally, we are invited to see that these are not eschatological blessings that will only be realized at the end of the age. Rather, the Kingdom blessings are found both in the present tense (3,10) and the future tense (4-9). They are meant for the here and the now. 

As we seek to belong to the Kingdom, we pray that we may become practitioners of its ethos.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar