There are many comparisons to be made. Luke’s version doesn’t have the ‘poor in spirit’ – simply ‘the poor’ – and omits the Beatitude about the meet inheriting the earth. His version also has a set of ‘woes’, which highlight the downside of being rich, well fed, socially affirmed, etc.
Mining the Scriptures for hidden depths yields fruit and many blessings. The Beatitudes, be they Matthean or Lucan, do a variety of things. They shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life. They’re the paradoxical promises that sustain hope amid tribulations. They’re also the very heart and essence of Jesus’s teachings and reveal his face, character and personality.
Jesus lived the Beatitudes; he incarnated them, if you like. Perhaps he is the only one whoever has, for to live them is to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. Mind you, given that in his lifetime St Francis was called the ‘Second Christ’, it’s likely that he came close, alongside other great saints, especially Mary, the Mother of God.
However, the Beatitudes aren’t just for the saints, but for all of us. They contain both promises of what we shall become, and the revelation of what we have begun to be, albeit in perhaps a somewhat hidden way.
One way of living the Beatitudes and putting them into practice is to memorise them, to become familiar with them as with the Our Father or the Hail Mary. This straightforward step will help us to take them to heart and cherish them during our daily lives. St Augustine said, ‘We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.
