The Kingdom of Heaven is Yours

Last week we heard Jesus call His disciples – this week He begins to teach them – and us – the realities of this world and what it means to be His disciple – and next week, we will hear how we are called – as His disciples – to be the very salt of the earth – to be lights shining in the darkness of this world.

And why is all of this? Why did Jesus have to come? Why did He have to die on the cross? Why today, 2000 years later, are we called to be His disciples? The simple answer is that this is God’s plan for our salvation – God’s plan to free us from the realities of this world. And what are those realities?

You see, my brothers and sisters: We know this to be true – that God created everything, the heavens and the earth – all that seen and unseen – and we know that what He created was good … and that the world He created has more than enough resources to meet the needs of everyone … yet people are starving to death as I speak … and children here in the USA will go to bed tonight hungry …

We know this to be true – that before the earth was formed – before each of us were formed in our mothers’ wombs – we know that God knew us – that He loved us – and that He called each of us by name – to spend eternity with Him … and that in our Father’s house there are many rooms … yet people here are homeless … sleeping in shelters and on the street …

We know that God so loved us that He created us in His divine image, giving us the freedom to choose between Him and the world, between good and bad, between light and darkness, between right and wrong … and that God gave each of us gifts to share, gifts that allow us to be productive and creative to meet not only our needs but the needs of others, the needs of the world … but we don’t share our gifts as we should … instead we store up earthy treasures …






We know that God did not create sin – that sin entered the world through us, as a result of that freedom to choose which God gave to each of us – and we know that sin continues to exist in the world today because many of us are weak, because we choose darkness over light, because we choose to be of this world – to do our will and not God’s will … and because of this, the world will never be what God created it to be … His kingdom here on earth …

We know that the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction and those who enter through it are many …

We know that in the fullness of time, God so loved the world that He sent His only Son – to free us from the captivity of sin and death that had entered the world … and to show us the way to the Father, to happiness and to eternal life … and what did we do, we crucified Him.

And we know this to be true – that unless a man be born again, he can not enter the kingdom of heaven.

These are the realities of our world. And in our Gospel today, we hear the Beatitudes – the first four Beatitudes call our attention to the realities of this world – they speak of those who are poor, those who are exploited, those who have no voice, no hope and who despair; those who have no power, who aren’t treated with dignity; those who cry out for justice – who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

The reality of this world is such that these lest brothers of ours won’t ever find satisfaction – but Jesus tells us that they will be comforted, that they will inherit the land, and that they will be satisfied – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The next four beatitudes speak to each of us – God’s children – and how today each of us must confront these harsh realities of this world – we are to be merciful, we are to be clean of heart, and we are to be peacemakers.

And the reality of this world we are told, for people who do this, who are righteous – is that they will be persecuted – but Jesus tells us that theirs too is the kingdom of heaven.

The last beatitude is addressed to each of us individually – to give us courage to live as we were created to live – holy and righteous – to be the salt of the earth, to be lights shining in this world of darkness.

You see my brothers and sisters, the reality is that its not easy in our society today and it is getting harder each and every day to proclaim the truth – the truth that abortion and euthanasia are murder, that capital punishment is wrong, that evil exists in all the ugly forms of pornography, that evil exists in prostitution, homosexuality, same-sex marriages and cohabitation – but you know what – the world doesn’t have to be this way – the world wasn’t supposed to be this way.

It is this way because good people remain silent – perhaps because we are afraid – you see the last beatitude tells us that if we choose to proclaim the truth – if we stand up to the evils in this world then we will be persecuted, insulted and falsely accused – but that not all – Jesus tells us that we should rejoice – because if we do stand up against evil – if we find the courage to confront evil – our reward will be great in heaven.

The reality is this – we know, we know in our hearts that no one – no one should be hungry or homeless, no one should be poor or exploited or rejected … but we remain silent – evil it appears has silenced us – we have no voice – we have been marginalized in our society, silenced in the media – and it appears as if evil has won.

But all is not lost. We know that God can make straight all the crooked lines not only in our lives and but also in this world. We know that you and I have been called and that God will give us the words and the strength and the courage and the resources to do that what He has called us to – holiness.

And we know that by living holy and righteous lives – by sharing our gifts and not counting the cost we can make this world a better place.





God never intended the world to be as it is today – the world is as it is because of we have all sinned, we have all exploited the freedom that God gave us – but He knew this would happen and He has a plan for our salvation – no one who turns to Him – who does His will, will be lost.

What we heard today in Mathew’s Gospel is what Jesus taught His disciples – we heard the message He wanted them then and us today to take to heart, the message He wanted them and us to take into the world, the message He wanted them and us to live …

Do not despair – rejoice for the kingdom of heaven is ours.