February 13, 2022
Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time C
Superbowl Sunday is a national stage for sports competition and for commercials spotlighting famous people to sell products. At the coin toss, among other honorary co-captains, 4 high school football players – Trevin, Christian, Jory and Enos – will be present. They attend California School for the Deaf in Riverside. The Riverside Cubs Football Team had an undefeated regular season, winning the division title and then losing the Championship game. They practiced and played in silence communicating through signs. They prove a person is not defined by a disability. They know it’s hard to understand inclusion until you have been excluded.
Today we hear the beginning of Jesus’ sermon on Beatitudes and Woes in the Gospel according to St. Luke. In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Jesus addresses his disciples on a mountain like Moses on Mt. Sinai. Not Luke. Jesus is on the mountain with the Twelve, but he comes down to be with a great crowd of disciples and a large number of people “on a stretch of level ground.†Jesus is standing with them – with us. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of “blessed are they†giving one the impression Jesus is speaking of someone else. But in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is addressing his listeners personally, “blessed are you†who are poor, hungry, weeping and excluded. The blessing is not delayed to an indefinite end time but is bestowed now.
We must not understand poverty or hunger or great sorrow or rejection as a blessing by itself but only “on account of the Son of Man.†In Christ, we will cry out in our poverty, hunger and suffering for God’s help. Help for God’s sake. It is a grace to those honest and humble to receive it. But woe to you who are rich or full or boisterous with laughter or when people speak well of you now! It is not a blessing when our energy is spent on recognition, pleasure, wealth, control, and power with no concern for the future or for the wellbeing of others. Jesus teaches that wealth and power are not the stuff of the reign of God, but humility, selflessness and compassion are the treasures of God’s kingdom.
I am not sure folks at the Sunday 5 PM Mass will make it home for the coin toss, but I suggest when we watch Superbowl action and ads that entice us to buy something or be mesmerized by someone famous, we weigh these commercials with respect for the honorary deaf co-captains. Without being able to hear the roar of the crowd, these student athletes will say something powerful to us about what is truly valuable – without uttering a word.
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Fifth Sunday Ordinary C
