A Reflection on This Week’s Gospel
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)
The Beatitudes are not comfortable words. They never were. They flip our expectations upside down, shaking us out of the world’s logic and into God’s. Luke’s version is even more disruptive than Matthew’s, stripping away spiritualized interpretations and speaking bluntly: Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the hungry. Blessed are those who weep. Not “blessed will you be,” but blessed are you now.
These words are hard to hear because they challenge everything we’re told about success, happiness, and the good life. In a world that celebrates comfort, control, and achievement, Jesus calls us to look instead at those who have nothing—and to see them not as objects of pity but as bearers of divine blessing. The kingdom of God belongs to them.
And then come the woes. Woe to you who are rich, who are full, who are laughing now. It’s easy to gloss over this part, to soften it, to say, “Well, surely He doesn’t mean us.” But what if He does? What if Jesus is not condemning wealth or joy but warning us about where our hearts are attached? What if He’s inviting us to loosen our grip on security and privilege, to step closer to those who live without them—not out of charity, but out of solidarity?
Christians are called to live the Beatitudes, not just admire them. To cultivate a social environment where success is measured not by prestige, but by kindness, humility, and justice. To create spaces where human beings know they are valued not for what they achieve, but simply because they are beloved of God.
So, what does that look like this week? Maybe it’s choosing to sit with a friend or neighbour who feels isolated. Maybe it’s pausing in the rush of the day to truly see the colleague who is struggling. Maybe it’s noticing where our own comfort keeps us from stepping into another’s pain. The Beatitudes are not a checklist—they are a way of being in the world, a way of seeing, a way of loving.
Jesus calls the poor blessed. Do we?
Let’s be the kind of community that does.
The Female Theologian 