In the Sunday readings during Ordinary Time, we find that the first reading from the Old Testament and the Gospel are usually linked by a common theme. The Second Reading, however, is not necessarily so, but rather offers selections of continuous readings of other books of the New Testament, usually from the writings of St. Paul. As we are at the beginning of the Year A readings, we have been hearing from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. In today’s reading, St. Paul highlights the paradox of how God chooses the weak to shame the strong:
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world,
those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something,
so that no human being might boast before God. (1 Cor 1:27-29)
Such is the case with Jesus when He came into the world in the Incarnation. To those who were expecting a great and powerful leader who would defeat Israel’s enemies, they were disappointed as they encounter Jesus who is “meek and humble of heart.” (Mt 11:29) Jesus seems to be weak and lowly, but St. Paul writes in his letter just before our reading for today:
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor 1:22-24)
As mentioned above, the Gospel for today’s Mass is not intended to be explicitly connected to the Second Reading, but we can see how well-connected they are, for indeed all of Scripture is related, though not always explicitly. The Gospel for today, the Beatitudes, follows this theme treated by St. Paul. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Beatitude in this way:
they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples; (CCC 1717)
The Beatitudes, very much contrary to the wisdom of the world, are one of the most important and succinct expressions of wisdom that Jesus preaches in the Gospel. Both the paradoxical examples of His life and His teaching make the following invocation of the Litany of the Sacred Heart a fitting choice for this Sunday’s readings:
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
have mercy on us