No Pain, No Gain

The Catholic Liturgy for the 6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 17, 2019. Gospel – Luke 6:17-26. Topic: No Pain, No Gain.

Struggle, sacrifice, self-denial…. these are all a part of our lives and not just when things go wrong or only when we have to go through some trials or difficulties.  Often times, we intentionally embrace these things when we want to better our situation in life. For example: If we want to advance in our occupations, we put in extra effort and time to prove our dedication and competence.  If we want to work on our appearance and health, to lose weight, build muscle or whatever, we embrace a strict regimen of proper nutrition and commit ourselves to a routine of physical exercise.

We willingly chose sacrifice and self-denial in order to come out on the other side with the joy of accomplishment and a better form of living.  Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel that we should have the same level of commitment and determination for our spiritual growth and development as we do for our physical well-being. And in both cases, as the saying goes, “no pain, no gain.”

If we value and want to promote our spiritual health and well-being, we must willingly and intentionally embrace the struggle, sacrifice, and self-denial that come with choosing to live according to the way laid out for us by Jesus. Today’s Gospel presents us with His fundamental teachings that have come to be called the Beatitudes. These are attitudes and behaviors that are so characteristics of Jesus, and include such things as poverty, mercy, humility, kindness, justice, patience in suffering and fidelity to God even in persecution. They describe and define who we are as Christians.

And as we heard today, the Beatitudes have both negative and positive aspects. They are a blessing for those who embrace them, and a condemnation for those who refuse to do so. 

They teach us that those who make material possessions, self-fulfillment and the pursuit of pleasure at any cost their motivation in life will end up with those things, but nothing more. If their whole focus in life is what this world has to offer, then when their life on planet Earth comes its end so will they. God was not their focus. Heaven was not their goal. The needs of others were not considered or served. And so, such people will get what they lived for: an eternity in which there is no room for God and no experience of real love.

Conversely, Jesus teaches that those who do embrace the struggle, sacrifice and self-denial of the Gospel will also get what they seek and lived for: blessings from God in this life and happiness with Him forever in the next. Despite difficulties and even when being ridiculed or misunderstood by others, they chose a lifestyle inspired by Jesus that was poor and simple, sacrificial and giving; a life focused on loving God and neighbor instead of primarily oneself.

I find it very interesting and very revealing that the Beatitudes start off by naming poverty as the first Beatitude, that it receives pride of place.  I think it’s important for us to understand what the Gospel means by the term “poverty” because when many of us hear this we get confused and even turned-off. As 21^st century Americans, when we hear “poverty” we think it means “destitution”, you know, living in the poverty-level, with not enough to eat or wear or have to take care of oneself.  But this is not at all what Jesus means in this Beatitude.

Gospel poverty means simplicity of life, being content with what one needs and not being suffocated by an over-accumulation of things one wants and then so often wastes.  It is a Beatitude that is especially important and necessary in today’s culture that is so steeped in materialism and driven by the desire for more. As Christians, we embrace a simple lifestyle which, while allowing for our fair share of this world’s goods, keeps in mind the just needs of others and provides us with the means to help them, by not needlessly spending all our money on ourselves.

When I think of this Beatitude, I often recall some of the home renovation shows that I enjoy watching. They will typically highlight a newly enlarged walk-in closet and you see so many clothes, and a whole ocean of shoes, that you wonder how in the world they can even keep count of what they have, let alone ever even get around to wearing all that they have stored up.  Meanwhile, others in their town go around with barely enough food to survive, or without proper clothing to wear.  As Christians, we must admit that there is something so very wrong with that picture. It is such a glaring contradiction to the first Beatitude.

So, let’s take to heart the words that Jesus speaks to us in today’s Gospel: Blessed are you who struggle, and sacrifice and embrace self-denial for the sake of love, you shall be forever rewarded in the Kingdom of God. But woe to you who have served and pampered yourselves, for you have had your consolation in this world and will be denied it in the next.