Blessings and Woes - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Frederick Nietzsche argued that there were only two ethical systems: hero ethics and slave ethics. Hero ethics was the ethics of ancient Greece and Rome where the strong man was the ideal: courageous, strong, and powerful. By definition only a very few could be virtuous in such a system. The other system of ethics according to Nietzsche is slave ethics, the ethics of Judaism and Christianity where service and love for others is the ideal, a system where anyone could become a saint. Nietzsche unfortunately rejected slave ethics, exalted hero ethics and his notion of the superman that brought us the horrors of Naziism. Our readings today present us with a similar contrast.

The first reading from the prophet Jeremiah is a traditional Jewish lament prayer where woes and curses begin the prayer, followed by resolution and blessings. In this case, the curse is upon the one who chooses to follow other human beings, and their woe is misery and lack all their days. By contrast, the prayer exalts those who follow the Lord, for their blessing will be prosperity all their days. The prophet uses this contrast in an attempt to get Israel to repent of following human beings and to follow God. Perhaps if the people do so the the coming destruction will not befall them. However, they failed to listen and punishment came.

In today's Gospel Jesus reverses the order of the traditional lament prayer, and in so doing changes the understanding of who is blessed and who is cursed. Jesus' prayer begins with the blessing and ends with a curse, thus overturning the traditional theology of his day. That theology saw God's favor bestowed on those who were rich, satisfied, and merry, not unlike the prosperity Gospel of our own day. However, Jesus calls the poor, hungry, and sad the blessed of God. Why? The prophetic tradition of Israel provides the answer: fidelity to God results in persecution, poverty, and hunger, while the false prophets of every age are rich, satisfied, and mirthful.

The passage from Paul' first letter to the Corinthians shows us that following Christ does indeed lead to persecution and death, but ultimately those faithful to Christ will rise with Christ. The ultimate victory and vindication from God lies not in wealth but in rising with Christ. Our hope and joy are both here in following Christ and in the promised fulfillment of future glory. As Saint Augustine prayed many centuries ago, "Now, as long as I am in the body, I am far from you, Lord, since I go forward through faith and not through sight. The time will come when I shall see what I believe without seeing, and when I see what I now believe, I shall be happy...Then the reality of what I now hope for will come...Now I lament, as I go about searching for a secure refuge where I can be safe; now, seeing myself sick, I have recourse to the doctor...Now in the time of hope, of tears, in the time of humility, sorrow, and sickness...I have become an object of wonder for many...because I believe what I do not see. In fact, those who are happy in what they see take their delight in drink and in pleasure...in greed and wealth and rapine and worldly honors...they delight in these things. But I walk by a different path, paying no heed to present reality and fearing success in this life, I find security in nothing except in your promises, O my God. I live happily in my hope, because you, O Lord, are true to your promises; yet since I do not yet possess you, I groan under the sting of desire. Make me persevere in this desire until what you have promised comes: then will my lamentation cease and only praise will ring out" (Commentary on the Psalms, 70, 8-9; 148: 1).

The prosperity Gospel - the gospel of Nietzsche - ultimately leads to ruin and desolation. The true Gospel of prosperity is to follow Christ wherever he leads on this earth, for we know that His way will lead us to heaven. Let us then serve the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted in our world so that we may journey to the reign of God with Jesus, who served unto death that leads to a blessed resurrection.