by Mr. Francis D'Souza
Our earliest Catechism lessons can be summed up in the following questions:
Who made you? God made me.
Why did God make you? God made me to love Him, serve Him and to be HAPPY with Him. In order to lead a happy life, in the Old Testament God gave us the secrets of happiness by giving us the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). These commandments were not to restrict our freedom but to ensure and enhance our happiness. In the New Testament Jesus too gives us His set of instructions to lead a happy life. We find these instructions in His first formal teaching given in Matthew 5:3-10. A look at the word "Blessed" is necessary. The word "Blessed" appears in the Bible 302 times (source: Dake's Annotated Reference Bible). The word "Blessed" literally means "to be happy".
According to an article, citizens of various countries hold different ideas of happiness;
* For the Austrians - it is health
* For the Finns - it is kindness
* For the Greeks - it is honesty
* For the Dutch - it is beauty in women and handsomeness in men
* For the British - it is humour
* For the Italians, Japanese and Americans money is no guarantee of happiness, but it sure helps.
In conclusion we can say happiness depends not on what we have but on who we are - we are the children of God. With this background in mind we go into a brief study of the Beatitudes.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
This category covers not only the economically deprived but more importantly includes those who realise their spiritual poverty without God and their spiritual wealth with God. We come to God as we are, as illustrated in the following story: A man came upon a beggar who was ideally suited for a portrait of the "prodigal son" and so he invited him over to his place. The beggar thought that since he was being painted he better shave and bathe himself and put on a fresh set of clean clothes. When he arrived the painter failed to recognise him and the beggar reminded him who he was to which the painter replied "I have no need of you in this condition". In like manner we must come to God as we are, without masks or guards or makeups. We ought to come in our broken condition as did David, Saul turned Paul, the prodigal son, the publican and the thief on the right hand side of the Jesus' cross.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted".
To mourn is to be aware of the awfulness of sin and its implications and consequences. Just as we mourn over the physical death of a loved one so also we are called to mourn over our sin and the sin of the world as sin leads to "spiritual death" (Romans 6:23). One of the best examples of mourning over sin is the priest Ezra. Read Ezra Chapters 9 & 10. Mourning over sin and its consequences also leads us to intercede for the sinners as did Moses in Exodus Chapter 32. The example of Robert Murray of the last century has a lot to teach us about mourning for sin. Robert Murray died at a very early age of 30. A tourist who visited his parish long after he died was shown the books and the other articles that he used for his ministry. The attendant next made him sit on the chair asking him to place his elbows on the edge of the table. He then asked him to place his chin in his hands and cry - this is what Robert Murray used to do. Again taking him to the pulpit which Robert Murray used the attendant made the tourist repeat the same procedure.
Do we mourn over sin like Ezra did and like Robert Murray did, or are we hardened, justifying sin or insensitive to sin?
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth".
What a contradiction! Normally it is the strong, the powerful, the influential and aggressive who would inherit the earth. No chance for a meek person to inherit the earth - Human Wisdom. Psalm 37:11 affirms that it is the meek who shall inherit the earth. To be meek means to demonstrate self-control when we are mistreated and even inspite of having the ability to get even. Meekness is not weakness, but it is strength under control. Jesus was the best exponent of meekness because when mistreated by the authorities, inspite of having the ability to hit back chose to bear what He was called to. Meekness, therefore, also entails "submission to authority" - Romans 13. Ours is not to judge the authority but to obey it because all authority that exists has been instituted by God and therefore not submitting to the authority implies that we are not in submission to God. Some of the authorities are - leaders, parents, bosses, etc. etc. The horse is the best example of meekness. The horse is eight to ten times stronger than man and by itself it is able to jump, gallop, prance, etc. at its will. Yet, it is in total submission to its rider. There is a lesson for us in meekness from the animal world, can we perceive it?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied".
Righteousness is a longing to be holy and pure. It is also a longing to do what God requires of us. Righteousness therefore moves us to seek God, His face and His word. We become righteous only when we behold His holiness. It is only God who is infinitely Holy who can make us holy. Exodus 31:13, Leviticus 11:44, Matthew 5:48. Also refer Isaiah 66:2 and Psalm 27:4. If we make holiness our aim, we will attain happiness. If we make happiness our aim, we will be searching all our life. Holiness is essential to true happiness.