This weekend, since our calendar repeats a Gospel that we already heard, I’ve elected to proclaim Luke’s version of the Beatitudes of Jesus. It is called the Great Discourse. The Beatitudes only appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. I would encourage my readers to compare the two accounts (Matthew 5:1-7 and Luke 6:20-26).

While Matthew has nine beatitudes and no woes, Luke has four of each. Luke rearranges the sequence presented by Matthew from first, fourth, second and last. The woes follow the reverse pattern of those found in Matthew. Such patterns are typical of Luke’s style. For example, to the blessedness of the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted there corresponds the sadness of the popular, the happy, the full and the rich.

It seems obvious that Luke recasts the last of the Beatitudes to emphasize the fact that every follower of Jesus must share the Son of Man’s rejection. Luke highlights the requirement of suffering in the followers of Jesus.

The woes, found only in Luke, cast Jesus in a prophetic role. Luke states that woe will be upon each man who does not acknowledge that he owes every comfort to Jesus.

The Beatitudes, as so many have heard me say before, are truly the BE-ATTITUDES, that is the attitudes of mind that can truly make us other Christ’s or children of God. If we live in accord with these attitudes, we will, most assuredly, be more like Jesus. This, of course, is the purpose of life: to grow in our likeness of God as seen in the Person of Jesus, the Christ.

The Beatitudes fit so well with Paul’s Basic Teaching. He taught that a person is truly not justified before God just by keeping laws. So, a person can keep the commandments or laws of God and miss the meaning and purpose of life.

We have been given this earthly existence for one purpose: for personal transformation. When you think about it, the challenges of life have the power to change us if we respond to them in an appropriate manner. The appropriate manner is to look at life’s challenges as opportunities to become more open and loving people. We have to also admit that life’s challenges can, when not handled in the appropriate way, change us for the worse. Our attitudes truly make the difference. When we have the attitude that we need to change and that life’s challenges can help us change, life is much happier.