Beātitūdō (Bishop Robert Barron)

    Theologian N.T. Wright has pointed out that the Old Testament is essentially an unfinished symphony. It is the articulation of a hope but without a realization of that hope. Thus, as the fulfillment of Israel’s entire story, Jesus begins his primary teaching with the Beatitudes, a title that stems from the Latin noun beātitūdō, meaning "happy" or "blessed." 

    Why is [the Sermon on the Mount] so important? Because it is the Son of God telling us how to be happy. It is the one who can’t be wrong telling us how to achieve that which each of us most basically wants. What could be more compelling? 

    At the heart of Jesus’ program are these Beatitudes: "Blessed are the merciful" and "Blessed are the peacemakers." These name the very heart of the spiritual program, for they name the ways that we participate most directly in the divine life. 

    Through this series of paradoxes, surprises, and reversals, Jesus begins setting a topsy-turvy universe aright. How should we understand them? A key is the Greek word makarios, rendered "blessed" or "happy" or perhaps even "lucky," which is used to start each of the Beatitudes. 

    [Moreover,] one of the most important words to describe God in the Old Testament is chesed (tender mercy). The New Testament version of this is found in the first letter of John: God is agape (love). Everything else we say about God should be seen as an aspect of this chesed and this agape. Chesed is compassion; agape is willing the good of the other. Therefore, if you want to be happy, desire to be like God. Do it and you’ll be happy. 

    Here Jesus is telling us how to realize our deepest desire, which is the desire for God. 

--Bishop Robert Barron, 

Gospel Reflections, 

June 8, 2020 & November 1, 2022 

Image source: Thomas Saunders Nash, The Sermon on the Mount, Manchester Art Gallery, https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-sermon-on-the-mount-205689