God is radically unselfish as a giver – Matt 5:1-12

Beginning a series on the Sermon on the Mount for Old College.

Seeing the crowd, [Jesus] went up the mountain.  When he had sat down, his disciples came to him and he began to teach them:

“Happy the poor of spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is made up of them.

“Happy those who grieve, for they will be comforted.

“Happy the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Happy those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

“Happy those who practice mercy, for they will receive mercy.

“Happy the pure of heart, for they will see God.

“Happy the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Happy those who are persecuted for their righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is made up of them.

“Happy are you if they revile you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you falsely because of me.  Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for thus they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”

God gives.  If I was to sum up the beatitudes we’ve just heard in one short sentence, it would have to be that: God gives.  Comfort, inheritance, justice, mercy, vision, adoption, entry into the kingdom: God gives.  It’s a factual statement, but on a deeper level it’s an exclamation, an exercise of wonder and awe.  It’s a happy statement.  God gives and we are most fully happy, most genuinely ourselves, when we receive. 

God shows us our future in His saints – Rom 8:26-30

Moreau Lucenarium; Feast of St. Antony, Rom 8:26-30.

Sometimes you meet someone and you come away absolutely convinced of the existence of holiness in the world.  Sometimes you meet someone and you come away absolutely sure that they’re either a saint, or incredibly weird.  “Maybe,” you conclude, “they’re both.”  I think meeting St. Antony, whose feast day we celebrate today, was probably that kind of experience.  I mean, the guy did live in a tomb for starters.  People also flocked to him, and St. Athanasius wrote a biography of him, because he was someone whose presence convinced you of the fundamental goodness in humanity, the fundamental goodness that God can draw to the surface.