4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A
February 1, 2026 11:00am
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton
The Barista
On a weekday morning several weeks ago, I was standing in line at a coffee shop.
The barista looked exhausted—dark circles under her eyes, moving quickly but without much joy. The man in front of me told the barista that he was in a big hurry.
He was fidgety and tapping his foot. The barista brought his order, he sipped it and immediately snapped that she forgot to add the vanilla to the coffee.
She apologized, fixed it, and he walked off without a word – no thank you. As I stepped forward, she looked up and said, almost embarrassed, “Sorry about that.”
I said, “You’re doing fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Her shoulders relaxed. She smiled—just a little—and said, “That means more than you know.”
The Beatitudes
That was a small moment, a brief interaction, nothing heroic.
But it occurs to me that this is the world Jesus is speaking to in today’s Gospel. These sayings that we call the Beatitudes are often not the way the world works.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are the powerful, the admired, the successful.” He’s saying things that are quite different.
And he’s not giving us commands as God did when he gave the Ten Commandments. Instead, he’s giving us simple declarations.
He is declaring, “God is already near to you at these times.” These Beatitudes reveal how and when God is near.
The Eight Declarations
So, when we live with a sense of our need for God in a culture that tells us to be self-made and independent, when we admit our limits, when we stop pretending that we are fully in control and have it all together, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
When we suffer the loss of a job, when we grieve the death of a spouse or close friend, when we know how fragile life is, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn.”
When we choose not to dominate conversations, when we choose not to crush others to get ahead in an aggressive world, when we know that real strength is strength under control, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek” because meekness is not weakness.
When we feel angry at injustice, when we ache for truth and honesty, when we respect human life at all stages and in all people, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” because our hearts are then aligned with God.
When we are willing to let go of a hurt and move on, when we have the strength to refrain from a verbal put down to get back at someone, when we choose compassion over judgment, Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful.”
When we act with integrity with our actions matching our thoughts, when we try to discern what God wants us to do, when we value all of this more than what other people think about us, Jesus says, “Blessed are the clean of heart.”
When we take a step to heal a relationship, when we are even willing to talk with a counselor to work out a problem, when we advocate for ways of diplomacy and not warfare in our world, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
And finally, when others call us weak for trying to be merciful and peacemaking, when they can’t see what we know is real strength, when we are ignored or put down because we are different from the ways of the world, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”
Conclusion
So, these declarations of Jesus, these Beatitudes are not just a checklist.
Instead, first, they are a portrait of Jesus Himself. And then, they are a portrait of the kind of person we are to become.
Sometimes, it will be as small as a kind word in a coffee shop. Something small, probably not seen or noticed by many.
But real. And Jesus says: “Blessed are you."
