Your reward will be great in heaven

1 NOVEMBER (Mt 5,1-12a)

There is a substantial change between the first and the second Law, the one given on Mount Sinai and that given by Jesus to his disciples. The former was aimed at the possession of the Promised Land. The liberating God is the Lord God, the God Custodian, the God Protector, the Defender God, the God Victorious and the Invincible God.

Then God delivered all these commandments: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honour your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you. “You shall not kill. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him” (Ex 20,1-17).

In the New Law, in that given by Jesus Christ to the disciples on the mountain, it is as if the earth and the Lord disappeared. God and not even the law are outside of man anymore. There is a new creature called upon to always remain a new creature. There is no longer a doing and an observing. There is not even a precept to be transformed into history anymore. Instead there is a new life, called to its perfect realization through eight new, allbasic, no secondary or ancillary modes. If then we wonder what this new life consists in, the answer is one: God handed his life over to the Lord Jesusso that he makes it shine in all its divine beauty. Christ the Lord has delivered the life received from the Father and taken to the summit of beauty to all his disciples so that they also lead it to the summit of beauty. A Christian is the life of Christ, the life of God, in the midst of his brothers. In the New Law God is no longer a command to be observed and be put into practice. God is himself the life that the disciple of Jesus must always live in his body, in his spirit and in his soul,  everyday.

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

When and where must the disciple of Jesus live the life of God in his body, in his soul and in his mind? In every condition of life. In tears, in pain, inpoverty, in wealth, in destitution, in joy, in happiness, in persecution, in slander, in councils, in courts, before old and young. Even on the cross hemust be the life of God for all humanity. Given the new law, Jesus will come down from the mountain and immediately manifest and personally teachhow this life must be lived. He will offer us the supreme teaching as a Crucified. Hanging on the Cross he will tell us how to love, how to remain intears, how to live as poor in spirit, as meek, merciful and pure in heart people. The Cross is the culmination, the utmost of the school of Jesus.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints take us to the school of Jesus.