{"id":872,"date":"2019-08-29T09:19:02","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T09:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=872"},"modified":"2019-08-29T09:19:02","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T09:19:02","slug":"reflection-1-september-2019-c-twenty-second-sunday-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=872","title":{"rendered":"Reflection 1 september 2019 (C) Twenty-second sunday of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

 Reflection\n& Dialogue<\/strong>: The Values of the Kingdom<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck\n(19th<\/sup> century) is often accredited with the saying that no nation\ncould run its foreign policy in accord with the Sermon Mount. On the other hand\nWinston Churchill is reported to have said on one occasion: “What a happy\nworld this would be if we all lived according to the Sermon on the Mount!”\nReports also have it that in reply to a question, after the sad state of the\nworld after World War II, as to where to begin reconstruction, a noted\nstatesman said: \u201cWe begin with the Sermon on the Mount\u201d. Echoes from this\nSermon, and from Gospel values, have been felt down through two thousand years\nof history. Today\u2019s Gospel reading presents us with an opportunity and\nincentive to reflect on all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It\nis clear, I believe, that neither a nation state or religious order could\nimplement what Jesus has said in today\u2019s Gospel reading on whom should be\ninvited to lunch or dinner. But the lesson to be drawn from Jesus\u2019 words will\nalways remain. Blessed are the poor, the poor and marginalized in so many ways,\nfor the kingdom of heaven is theirs. They are God\u2019s friends, and if God\u2019s\nfriends a central message of the Gospel is that their needs and persons should\nbe attended to. Throughout history the Holy Spirit has inspired certain persons\nto give new life to what Jesus has said on poverty and care for the poor, such\nas St Francis of Assisi\nand Popes of our own day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            And\nwith regard to humility and Gospel simplicity — the values of the kingdom have\ngreatly influenced New Testament teaching (Gospels and Epistles) and Church\nteaching as well. Gospel values inspire social equality. As Paul reminds the\nChristians of the early Church in Rome\n(Romans 12:16) \u201cDo not be haughty (or: high-minded), but associate with the\nlowly\u201d. Paul\u2019s letters, and other New Testament writings, are full of such\nteaching, which has behind it the person of Jesus as an example and a teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            These\nGospel values have had a great influence on western thought, and in part practice.\nThey have become part of Christian doctrine. \nAnd in our own day, when many want no mention of a Christian\ninheritance, they remain as values, described as ethics rather than Christian\nvalues, even by humanists, unbelievers and atheists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 Reflection & Dialogue: The Values of the Kingdom The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (19th century) is often accredited with the saying that no nation could run its foreign policy … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions\/873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}