[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, February 1, 2026, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
This week's episode is entitled: Blessed Are They, and in these readings, we are reminded that - as Christians - we must live our lives differently. Society tells us that accumulating money, influence and wisdom are how we measure success. Scripture says otherwise. Jesus tells us that we should be meek and humble, foolish in the eyes of the world, even persecuted for our faith in him.
As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
We are relentlessly assailed from every side by advertisers, the news media, politicians, and social media influencers telling us what to think, how to act, and where to spend our money. But their words won't prepare us for eternal life. So, how do we turn down the volume of the world and listen instead to the quiet voice of Jesus?
[00:01:28] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:34] Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the words you speak to us through the Scriptures. Teach us to be meek and humble of heart, to rely on you alone so that we can be blessed in this world and the next. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:56] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:02:02] Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 5: 1-12a.
[00:02:09] “Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’”
[00:03:17] Those, of course, are the Beatitudes, and they mark the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount… which encompasses a full three chapters! With this greatest and most recognizable Sermon ever preached, Jesus begins his substantive teaching by offering a radically new way of looking at life and what it means to be his disciple. He says it's not about power or money, honor or influence… it's not about anything that was traditionally considered to be a blessing from God. And these foundational statements only begin to explain the kingdom of heaven and what it means to live under God's reign rather than the tyranny of mankind.
[00:04:10] Jesus will be with his disciples for three years and will teach them many things. The Beatitudes that begin this sermon are ways of thinking, ways of acting, ways of living that should govern the relationship every disciple has with God, with each other, and even with our enemies. So, let's listen to Jesus words for us this week through Matthew's Gospel…
[00:04:43] “Seeing the crowds,”
At the end of the previous chapter, Matthew tells us that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching, preaching, and healing, and that - as a result - great crowds were following him. So…
“[Jesus] went up on the mountain,”
[00:05:02] In the Bible, remember, mountains are places of encounter and revelation. Moses went up Mount Sinai to encounter God and bring God's law to the people; Jesus, as the new Moses, goes up the Mount of the Beatitudes to establish a new law.
[00:05:25] “and when he sat down his disciples came to him.”
[00:05:29] When Jesus sits down, he assumes a position of teaching authority and his followers would have understood that. And notice who his audience is - he directs his words to his disciples. The things Jesus will teach are directed toward those already committed to being his followers.
[00:05:55] “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
[00:06:07] Every Beatitude begins with the word blessed - which means fortunate, happy, or favored by God - but none of the groups that Jesus describes are people we would normally consider to be happy or fortunate, yet each group receives a unique gift… a special blessing simply for being who they are. And we also have to be aware that every single Beatitude presents some aspect of what it means to be part of the kingdom of heaven.
[00:06:46] And in this first Beatitude, the poor in spirit are those who are detached from this world, those who rely on God rather than on material wealth. And while the spiritually poor may also be economically poor, that is not a requirement - in Matthew's Gospel. What is required is being rich in faith.
[00:07:15] The reward, the gift for pursuing detachment from material things is the kingdom of heaven. Now, that is not something that we can ever fully experience in this life, only in the next. And because we don't ever fully experience the reward, we tend to give ourselves a pass for this one and assume that we do rely on God, we are poor in spirit… just as long as we don't have to be economically poor - then it's okay, right? We can do the other kind of poor… we can do the poor in spirit thing.
[00:08:00] And yet - when we think like that, we are, in a very substantial way, relying on ourselves and our material goods rather than on God… at least to some extent. This Beatitude is a perfect starting point because it challenges us to honestly examine ourselves and how we relate to God and to the world.
[00:08:33] And it points out to us where - and how easily - we can fail in our own attitudes; how easy it is for us to listen to ourselves rather than God. Jesus teaches these Beatitudes, this new law, but we have to adopt them, and we have to cooperate with this new law.
[00:08:58] And notice that Jesus does say the reward IS the kingdom of heaven… present tense - meaning that the poor in spirit are already sharing in the kingdom, in some form or fashion, even if the fullness of that gift hasn't yet been attained.
[00:09:19] The fullness of most of the gifts - most of the rewards - promised in the Beatitudes won't be experienced until the Second Coming or the end of our individual lives, whichever comes first. We will experience some form of reward, but it will be imperfect… the perfection will only come in heaven.
[00:09:47] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
[00:09:52] This Beatitude always confounds people. How can Jesus suggest that people who mourn are happy or fortunate? Aren't death and loss bad things?
[00:10:09] Well, yes, but… this type of mourning is not solely grief at the loss of a loved one. It can mean that - it often does mean that, but there are many different types of grief… grief from sin, from personal suffering, grief at the state of the world, grief from the demise of a friendship or a marriage.
[00:10:40] The pain we feel when we lose someone, or something, is a measure of the importance of what was lost; if we didn't care, it wouldn't hurt.
[00:10:52] And of all the Beatitudes, this is the one that I have witnessed in action over and over again. This comfort, this healing, begins in the midst of mourning. Because when we express our grief, it leaves behind a space that can then be filled with compassion, concern, friendship, and comfort.
[00:11:26] And notice this reward is in future terms… they SHALL be comforted. Comfort isn't magic, it doesn't happen immediately… like any type of healing, it takes time, patience, and an awareness that the wounds of loss never disappear, but we do learn how to live with them.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
[00:11:58] Jesus says meek, not weak! The meek may seem powerless or insignificant in the eyes of the world, but they possess a core of inner strength that enables them to restrain anger, resist despair, to be courageous, and to encourage others.
[00:12:25] Moses’ life was an example of meekness… but no one would ever call Moses weak or insignificant. Jesus’ life was an example of meekness… but no one would ever say Jesus was weak or insignificant!
[00:12:51] Rather, those types of meekness give us examples that we can embrace and strive to emulate. And the reward, the gift, is to inherit the earth… not this earth mind you! My guess is that the meek wouldn't really want this fallen earth!
[00:13:12] Jesus is talking about the new earth, the new creation, the new and eternal Jerusalem because the reward is not a current one, but a future one… they shall inherit the earth.
[00:13:31] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
[00:13:37] To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to yearn to live rightly, to be generous, equitable, and just, to live according to God's law, and to do God's will. And again, the reward is in future terms, they shall be satisfied… perhaps those who seek righteousness will experience some level of satisfaction here in this life, but ultimately their hunger will only be satisfied in heaven.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
The merciful are those who show mercy to others… who share God's mercy with others… the mercy they themselves have already received and continue to receive.
[00:14:41] That becomes easier to imagine if we picture God's mercy as an unending waterfall, constantly being bestowed upon us, so that we in turn have an endless supply to share with others. And the reward, again is in terms of the future - they shall only obtain mercy in all its fullness in the kingdom.
[00:15:14] Certainly we are receiving God's mercy here in this life, but we will receive that gift in all of its richness, in all of its depth, in all of its fullness in the kingdom.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
[00:15:33] The pure in heart are those who are undefiled by the vagaries and wickedness of the world, those who are ethical, those who have integrity, and who serve God unselfishly. And remember in biblical times, the heart was the seat of wisdom - not the mind.
[00:15:57] One who has a pure heart is one whose thoughts, words, actions, and emotions are pure and wholesome. And just like the first Beatitude, it's way too easy to decide on our own that we're doing okay with this Beatitude as well. But what does it really mean to be pure of heart and to serve God unselfishly?
[00:16:27] Well, there's the rub… we can only serve God unselfishly when we serve OTHERS wholeheartedly AND without judgment.
[00:16:42] Jesus will say in John 15 - there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend… and Scott Hahn wrote: the distance between ourselves and God in the next life may well be measured by the distance we put between ourselves and the poor in this life.
[00:17:07] If we use those statements to gauge our progress with this Beatitude, however, we'd be knocked down a few pegs… and rightly so. Looked at from that perspective, we all have to make a lot more progress before we can even begin to be pure in heart!
[00:17:30] And the reward is again in the future - they shall see God, which is the ultimate reward… what we call the Beatific Vision - seeing God in heaven just as the angels and saints see him now.
[00:17:51] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
[00:17:57] Peacemakers are those who seek to promote peace in the world rather than conflict, separation, prejudice, hatred, or violence. That type of peace has to begin within each of us.
[00:18:21] It starts as internal peace - peace in our own hearts and minds - that can then become peace in our families, peace among friends, peace within our communities, peace with our enemies.
[00:18:45] The NAB translation says “children of God” - they shall be called children of God, but that's not a label that many people in this world actively seek out.
[00:18:59] To be called a child of God carries with it certain expectations… kindness, tolerance, compassion, generosity, forgiveness. Which also makes this Beatitude both
self-fulfilling and self-sustaining, doesn't it? What I mean by that is… if we are peacemakers, we will be seen as children of God; and if we are children of God, then we have to be peacemakers.
[00:19:36] That's difficult… very difficult, but not impossible!
[00:19:43] “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
[00:19:53] What exactly does it mean to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Does it mean we have to be martyred? Not necessarily.
[00:20:05] More often than not, it means that we're being slandered, attacked, abused, or oppressed for giving public witness to authentic Christianity… to what Jesus actually preached, rather than what way too many false teachers claim that Jesus preached.
[00:20:35] If any message is presented that begins with the words “God hates” and those two words aren't followed by “sin” or “death” - then that message is wrong and it's NOT authentic Christianity.
[00:20:54] God does hate death and sin, but God doesn't hate anything else.
[00:21:03] Meaning that those who ARE righteous are often magnets for the world's hatred and they will be persecuted… but notice Jesus says theirs IS the kingdom of heaven – that present tense again. Meaning that they are already sharing in the rewards of the kingdom in this life, although its fullness will only be experienced in the next.
[00:21:38] “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
Jesus is doubling down here. He's saying that a blessing will be the reward for those who are persecuted… not just for the sake of righteousness, but specifically for his sake! For the sake of authentic Christianity, for the authentic message that Jesus actually preached in the Gospels! Not for a message that is perverted to advance a particular cause, and never for a message that advocates or advances hatred, violence, racial prejudice, anti-Semitism or anti-immigrant attitudes.
[00:22:46] If we do adhere to authentic Christianity, if we hold fast to Jesus authentic teaching, then Jesus says…
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
[00:23:07] That points to that already/not yet tension of this age… the concept that the kingdom is already here, but is not yet fully realized.
[00:23:23] Jesus’ message in the Beatitudes is two-fold… he assures his listeners that those who follow the authentic path of discipleship will be genuinely happy or fortunate, if not entirely in this life, then most certainly in the next; and, at the same time, he encourages the disciples who suffer as they traverse that path by offering them hope, assurance, and encouragement along the way.
[00:24:04] The first three Beatitudes seem to focus more on our earthly life and our attitude toward others… whereas the remainder of the Beatitudes seem to be more God focused. Bishop Robert Barron compares the qualities found in those last five Beatitudes to the love of God. He says that righteousness, mercy, purity, peace, and righteousness (again) are all qualities present in the love God showers upon us, which therefore makes the focus of those Beatitudes a more heavenly one.
The Beatitudes are the first teaching of Jesus that Matthew recounts in his Gospel. That alone should say something to us about their importance… because in them, Jesus teaches us that we must live differently. That our lives shouldn't be about money, influence, power, and worldly wisdom. So, we need to listen less to the voices of this world… advertisers, politicians, social media influencers, entertainers, and the news media… because the relentless bombardment of this world's voices will not prepare us for eternal life.
[00:25:49] Instead, we need to turn down the volume of the world to better hear the authentic voice of Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus' words, his message, will prepare us for eternal life in the kingdom, where we will be blessed, happy, fortunate, and favored by God.
[00:26:17] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Zephaniah 2:3a; 3:12-13.
[00:26:28] “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility.
I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”
[00:27:09] Zephaniah is one of the twelve Minor Prophets - not minor as in unimportant, but minor as in shorter than the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Zephaniah identifies himself as a descendant of Hezekiah, meaning that he is of the house and the line of King David.
[00:27:34] While history does record that Hezekiah was a good king, he was unfortunately followed by two very bad kings… Manasseh and Amon, both of whom allowed the worship of pagan gods (lowercase “g” gods) to reach alarming proportions.
[00:27:59] Zephaniah lived during the reign of King Josiah, which was 640 - 609 BC. History records that Josiah was a good king because he did institute a number of religious reforms to address that idolatry that was rampant in the Southern Kingdom, but those reforms weren't actually undertaken until around 621 BC.
[00:28:29] So, Zephaniah's message, preached before those reforms were put in place, focused on the judgment of God - what Zephaniah called the Day of the Lord… a term that was also used by Joel, Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. The book of the prophet Zephaniah can be divided into two sections: the Oracles of Judgment and the Oracles of Restoration.
[00:29:01] The passage we hear this week contains elements of both types of oracles. So, let's hear what Zephaniah has to say…
[00:29:12] “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility.”
[00:29:22] It should be obvious from the outset why this passage was paired with our Gospel. Zephaniah is telling the people of Judah to seek the Lord - the one true God - rather than the false gods that some have been pursuing for decades. And notice who Zephaniah is addressing directly… the humble of the land (the devout poor) who do as God commands… meaning that they have remained faithful to the Covenant in the midst of widespread religious corruption.
[00:30:01] Zephaniah says to seek righteousness by remaining faithful to the Covenant and to seek humility by relying on the one true God and being faithful to him alone, because such behavior may just be enough to save them from God's righteous anger.
Then the focus of the passage shifts… we jump from the beginning of chapter 2, which we just heard, which is still part of the Oracles of Judgment… to the middle of chapter 3, which is then part of the Oracles of Restoration. It is there that we hear the words…
“I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly.”
[00:30:52] Notice that Zephaniah is now speaking in the first person… he is speaking for God. And if we look at the previous verse, verse 11, God says through Zephaniah that he will remove from the midst of the people of Judah those who rebelled against the Covenant, but then adds - in this sentence - that he will leave the humble and lowly… those who recognize the their need for God and who rely on God regardless of their economic status… that should remind us of the poor in spirit from the Beatitudes.
[00:31:39] “They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, those who are left in Israel;”
[00:31:46] The beginning of chapter 2 predicts that those who are unfaithful will experience God's judgment and be driven away like the drifting chaff while those who are left… those who have survived the Day of Judgment (the day of God's great wrath), those who were always faithful, will seek refuge in the name of God.
[00:32:14] “they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue.”
[00:32:25] That faithful remnant of Judah will speak truly and act justly, they will possess integrity and righteousness because they remain faithful to the Covenant.
[00:32:43] “For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”
[00:32:51] That sentence employs an image of God's people as a well-attended flock of sheep. And, because they have put their faith and trust in God, they will enjoy abiding peace as a result. And when the passage ends with the words “none shall make them afraid” that is a reference to Psalm 27 which says: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
We could all use more assurances like that in our world today… because we are constantly bombarded by all sorts of negative messages… stories that promote fear and hatred, reports that try to convince us that our neighbors are dangerous, articles that say we shouldn't trust the other side - whichever side it is… right or left, it doesn't matter - if it's the other side, it can't be trusted.
[00:34:04] That is no way to live… it is certainly not the Christian way to live!
[00:34:12] And those messages of hatred and division and mistrust won't prepare us for eternal life… they won't help us be part of the kingdom of heaven.
[00:34:31] If we continue to indulge in the same divisive rhetoric, if we keep listening to the same politicians and influencers that promote hate and prejudice, then we are going to keep acting in the same hate-filled, divided, conflicted manner.
[00:34:55] So, instead of listening to - and defending - the voices in this world that promote division and hatred, we need to tune out that message and make the conscious, intentional, and deliberate choice to listen to the voice of Jesus… the only voice that WILL prepare us for eternal life.
[00:35:31] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 146, and the refrain is:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
And here are the verses:
“The LORD keeps faith for ever; executes justice for the oppressed; gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free.”
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners.”
“The LORD upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.”
[00:36:31] This Psalm is one of the Hallelujah Psalms (146 – 150), so called because they all begin in and end with the Hebrew words: hal·lū-Yah.
[00:36:46] Now, Yah is a shortened form for the Divine name, so those Hebrew words in English mean: “Praise the Lord.”
[00:36:58] This is a Hymn of Praise to God, reminding the people that trust in God is both a firm basis for hope and a promise of good things to come.
[00:37:13] All three stanzas recount the job description of the Messiah - God's Chosen One, his Anointed One - whom Christians believe is Jesus… the same job description of the Messiah that Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll when he taught in the synagogue in Nazareth. And you may have recognized that the refrain is actually from the Sermon on the Mount and that was quite intentional.
[00:37:45] By using the words from Matthew as the refrain and pairing them with these verses, the Church highlights for Catholic Christians Jesus' identity as the Messiah.
[00:38:00] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is again from 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31.
[00:38:10] “[C]onsider your call, [brothers and sisters], for not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
[Rather] God chose what is foolish and in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.’”
[00:39:13] This is the third passage we will hear from 1 Corinthians in this section of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent. This passage comes just a few verses after the conclusion of last week's passage, and Paul is still focusing his message on the importance of unity in the Christian community… but he does so in this section by comparing foolishness with wisdom.
[00:39:43] And Paul isn't talking about worldly wisdom, about what we can all attain by the simple accumulation of knowledge - he's talking about something much greater than that. The verse that immediately precedes this passage says: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Paul uses those words as the starting point for his comparison.
[00:40:16] And the wisdom Paul is talking about here is, of course, divine wisdom… the wisdom that was present with God at the moment of creation, the wisdom given by the Holy Spirit, the wisdom spoken by Jesus, the wisdom that is Jesus.
[00:40:37] So, let's listen to what Paul has to say to the Corinthians this week…
[00:40:43] “[C]onsider your call, [brothers and sisters],”
[00:40:46] Paul is asking his audience to think back to the moment they first accepted the gift of faith, the moment they first began to believe in Christ, the moment that changed their lives.
[00:41:08] “for not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many of you were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”
[00:41:19] In other words, Paul is reminding his listeners that they were - most likely - all nobodies in the eyes of society… insignificant, unimportant, irrelevant.
[00:41:32] “[Rather] God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world,”
[00:41:52] God rarely chooses the wealthy and the powerful to accomplish his work. God does frequently choose the most unlikely candidates to do great things… a lowly nomad became the father of all the faithful, an insignificant shepherd became the greatest of kings, a simple maiden became the mother of God… God even used a donkey to stop a wicked man from cursing the Israelites in the Book of Numbers.
[00:42:37] Perhaps that should be a particularly valuable reminder to us that we may very well be listening to the wrong authorities in the world today…
if people are making millions of dollars on social media by influencing how we spend our money, we probably shouldn't be listening to them…
if politicians are getting rich while the middle class is shrinking, groceries and housing are becoming more expensive, and the cost of health care is skyrocketing, we probably shouldn't be following their lead…
if news media and advertising moguls devote all their time and effort telling us what to think, how to act, and what to buy, we need to tune them out…
Because that's NOT how God communicates with us!
[00:43:47] Then Paul makes a very strange statement. He says that God chose…
“even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,”
[00:44:02] Now, the NAB translates that phrase in a way that makes a lot more sense.
[00:44:09] The NAB translation says that God chose “those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing, those who are something.”
[00:44:21] And that is the gist of Paul's comparison… Paul is saying that God will use those who are so insignificant, so unimportant, so weak as to be completely below the notice of those who possess power and wealth and influence precisely to make those very “others” aware of THEIR OWN insignificance before God.
[00:45:00] They may be rich and powerful and important and influential in the world, but that doesn't mean God sees them that way.
[00:45:13] So why does God choose to do such a thing? Paul tells us…
“so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God.”
[00:45:23] That message reminds us that everything we have is a gift from God - be it our talents and abilities, the wealth we accumulate, the homes we live in, the cars we drive, the clothing we wear, even our very existence… everything we have, in one way or another, comes about because God enabled us to acquire it.
[00:45:58] So, nothing we have gives us the right to boast before God… and let's face it, when we die - all of our possessions, everything we have accumulated - will all be gone.
[00:46:15] All we'll be left with is the good or the evil we did in this life.
[00:46:23] “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,”
[00:46:28] God the Father gives us the gift of faith, and that faith is the source of our life in Christ. The same Christ…
“whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption;”
[00:46:47] Jesus became Incarnate for us… so that he could teach us the right way to think, the moral and ethical way to act, and how to be generous with our time, our abilities, and our worldly goods - precisely so that we can be wise, just, holy, and redeemed.
[00:47:20] “therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.’”
[00:47:28] Paul bases that quote on Jeremiah 9, which says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches; but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD.”
[00:48:05] Paul obviously shortened that, but that's where that quote originated.
[00:48:13] And the point Paul is making is that Jesus is the only true, authentic source of power, strength, and wisdom… and that is what Paul means when he says we can only boast of the Lord.
[00:48:36] This entire passage reminds us that God does not choose people according to the standards of the world.
[00:48:45] If he did, he most certainly would not have chosen Paul to become a disciple of Jesus. Paul, who was a devout Jew, a Pharisee, a firebrand determined to persecute and eventually obliterate any followers of Jesus… but God did choose Paul and look at what Paul accomplished… for God.
[00:49:16] If God chose people according to the standards of this world, he would never have chosen Moses or Aaron… he would never have chosen Abraham, Ezekiel, Esther, or Ruth… he wouldn't have chosen Maximilian Kolbe, Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, or Dorothy Day.
[00:49:45] But God did make those choices, and countless others, because God doesn't judge by appearances - as the world does.
[00:49:58] God looks into the heart to see who we really are, to see our truest selves.
[00:50:09] We may be able to hide that from the world, but we can't hide that from the one who created us, loves us, and wants us to be with him for all eternity.
[00:50:26] G.K. Chesterton wrote that the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. He also wrote that just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.
[00:50:51] Christianity isn't about money, power, and worldly wisdom - those things won't buy or bully our way into the kingdom of heaven…
[00:51:06] Christianity isn't about following the latest trends on social media, such trivialities certainly won't impress God, and they won't win admission into the kingdom…
[00:51:22] Christianity doesn't mean being part of one particular political party or another, and membership in either party won't merit automatic entry into the kingdom…
[00:51:39] Jesus' act of self-sacrifice on the Cross opened the gates of heaven for us and nothing we do will earn for us entry into the kingdom.
[00:51:55] We can, however, turn our backs on the kingdom… we can turn our backs on God. We can tune out his message and listen instead to the selfish, hate-filled messages of this world because they are all around us.
[00:52:16] But if our goal is to be authentic Christians and faithfully follow the Christian ideal, despite its difficulty, then Jesus’ words teach us how we are to behave… with meekness and humility, justice and righteousness, tolerance and acceptance, compassion and kindness, mercy and reliance on God.
[00:52:57] Which means we have to make a conscious and deliberate choice - every single day - to tune out the world and listen to the calm, gentle voice of Jesus so that, when God is ready to call us to himself, we will be prepared to be with him in HIS kingdom!
[00:53:33] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God bless.
