Jesus’ “Woe to you…” statements come right after the beatitudes in the Gospel of Luke. Fr. Danny Gustafson, SJ, helps us to better understand these statements in this week’s One-Minute Homily. Based on the readings for Sunday, February 13, 2022.
Woe to you who laugh now! Woe to you when all speak well of you! Whoa. What is Jesus saying here?
Hi, I’m Fr. Danny Gustafson, and this is my One-Minute homily.
In the Gospel of Luke, we don’t just get the Beatitudes, this series of “blessed are you” statements. We also get these woe statements. And they certainly make me pause. I like laughing, I like it when people speak well of me. I bet that’s true for many of us. Is that bad?
Maybe. It depends on what we really, truly value, on a deeper level. If we make laughing or being well-liked our top priority, we’re focusing primarily on ourselves. The good news for us is that Jesus shows us where our focus should be. In the Beatitudes, he lifts up those who do not enjoy the same good fortune at this point in time. Laughing and being well-liked are fine things, but let’s follow Jesus’ lead by prioritizing the poor and marginalized.
