My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. We are in the 4^th Sunday in ordinary time. Today we hear one of the most familiar passages in the Gospel: The Beatitudes. Many people call them the heart of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. But that is not how the world usually defines “blessed”, the world tells us: blessed are the powerful, blessed are the successful, blessed are the ones who win, who dominate, who are admired. Jesus stands on the mountain and offers a very different vision of happiness, not based on what we possess, but on who we are and who we trust.  

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” when Jesus says, this does not mean blessed are the lazy or those without ambition. It means blessed are those who know, they need God. People who don’t pretend to be self-sufficient. People who pray not as a last resort, but as a way of life. Poverty of spirit is humility, knowing that everything we have is a gift. “Blessed are the meek”, meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is choosing gentleness in a world that rewards aggression. It is the courage to forgive when revenge would be easier. Jesus himself is meek, and he changes the world not by force, but by love. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” this is a hunger for Justice, for goodness, for holiness. It’s the refusal to accept a world where people are ignored, excluded, or treated as disposable. To hunger for righteousness is to want God’s will more than comfort, more than convenience. Every beatitude describes Christ himself. And that’s the key: the beatitudes are not simply rules to follow, they are invitations to follow Jesus. Jesus doesn’t say blessed are you if life is easy, he says blessed are you when you choose love even when it costs you.

The beatitudes are challenging, but they also give us hope. They remind us that God’s kingdom belongs not to the perfect, but to the open hearted. Not to the strongest, but to those who trust. Each time we choose humility over pride, mercy over judgment, peace over conflict, the kingdom of God breaks into the world. May we have the courage to believe Jesus when he tells us what it truly means to be blessed.