Liturgical Table Talk: All Saints

Weekly Reflections

The Hors d'oeuvre

If you were to become a Saint, what do you hope you'd be the patron of?

Dig in!

For this week, we are interrupting the sequence of readings from Matthew as we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. The Church still has the gospel for this Sunday come from Matthew’s gospel. However, we are going to an earlier section, the Beatitudes, taken from the Sermon on the Mount.

Setting the context for this reading and repeating what has been said before about this gospel, St. Matthew was writing to a Christian community that primarily consisted of Jewish people who came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Among the many ways that this fact influenced the way Matthew wrote, two are demonstrated in today’s reading. Jesus said that he did not come to destroy the Jewish faith that came before him. Instead, he came to fulfill the Jewish law and its promise. Part of this fulfillment is seen here in the Beatitudes and also in Matthew 25. The fulfillment of the law is seen in righteousness and righteousness is seen in concrete action, particularly by the lowly and for the lowly.

Regarding setting, Matthew speaks to the crowds and he speaks to the crowds on the top of a mountain. The significance is seen in the history of God’s encounters with humanity, especially when he gave the Ten Commandments. Moses, an individual chosen by God, goes to a mountain top where he receives the commandments from the Lord. Here, Jesus goes up, but the crowds come with him. They all experience God on the mountain top, and it is at the top of the mountain that God delivers new commandments: the beatitudes.

Jesus says that the “poor in spirit” will be blessed by God. The word for poor, “ptōchos” (puh-toh-HOHS), is best translated as “beggar”. There is no one more dependent on kindness than a beggar. This is the attitude we are to have. We may not be beggars, but we are to take on the spirit of a beggar. We are to be completely reliant on God and his generosity. This is the poverty of spirit that Jesus asks.

Taking the Beatitudes as a whole, Jesus says that the fulfillment of the law of righteous is something that originates from the person's interior and leads to concrete action. The interior disposition is that of being single-hearted for God. Those who do not rely on their status, on their knowledge, or on their wealth for their relationship with God are those who will blessed. Instead, they are single-hearted and seek to be a person of healing among the wounded of the world. These are the people who experience the fulfillment of the Jewish law and promise. In other words, these are the Saints of God.

Please read Matthew 5:1-12 together.

 

Table Talk

  • We live in the country that has the largest economy in the world. How do think we can live with greater reliance on God when we live in a prosperous place?
  • If we are supposed to live single-hearted lives for God, what are some things that can distract us or divide our hearts and minds from God?
  • When the Scripture says that we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness, what do you hunger and thirst for God to do?
  • On All Saints Day, is there a Saint that inspires you? Who is it, and what do you like about them?
  • Can you think of ways that today’s gospel is challenging you live differently in a specific way?

And for Dessert

Lord Jesus, we stand in a long line of those who have been your disciples and been counted as Saints. Inspired by those who have come before us and the words of the Gospel, we pray that we too would be Saints. May we hunger and thirst for righteousness and seek your Kingdom first in our lives. Let your will be done on earth and in our lives as we pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven …

We ask this through Jesus who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Song Suggestions to prepare your heart for Sunday's Liturgy

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus by Shane & Shane

Teresa by Audrey Assad

Less Like Me by Zach Williams