Who’s the man?
Rev. Jim Ryan, PhD — jimryan6885@gmail.com
Community blog: https://maryofmagdala-mke.org/blog
Homily thoughts – 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 1, 2026
To me, there exists no clearer teaching of Jesus on how to put into practice his command of Love than the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). The centerpiece of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, his reflection on action and resistance,is Chapter 2 – The Sermon on the Mount. It covers chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s gospel. Bonhoeffer leads his treatment of Chapter 5 with the line, “Of the ‘Extraordinariness’ of the Christian Life.” The memorable lines of the Teacher live in our spiritual veins. So familiar are these lines, I think, that it helps to consider the Beatitudes in context and in comparison.
Context first. The Beatitudes are spoken to a multitude that follows Jesus in the first blush of his ministry. How popular he was in the beginning– teaching like no scribe or scholar of his time, healing all who were brought to him. This provided proof for those who spread the word of this roaming Rabbi. Crowds flocked to him with his proclamation of the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior. This most positive feature of his early ministry illustrates the blessedness that awaits those who would put into practice what they hear.
Alongside this aspect of historical context in which the Beatitudes was shaped, a reality exists that stands against this teaching. The gospel writer in the Matthean tradition, prior to the Sermon on the Mount, tells of the arrest of John the Baptist. Jesus acknowledges this governmental resistance to his message of repentance and transformation. If the government arrested his cousin then Jesus could be next. With this in mind Jesus moves to Galilee – far enough away from Jerusalem and Judea, the center of political and religious resistance to him and his teaching. One could say that this choice made clear that following Jesus’ way could be dangerous. Powers that be could just as easily come after him and any of his followers. It seems the Beatitudes capture the mix of blessed promise with courage against rejection. How else is one to understand, “Blessed are those persecuted because of their struggle for justice: the reign of God is theirs.”
This context of the mix of the promise of blessedness with the expectation of rejection is the tell of how a follower of Jesus must believe, love, and act. In the case of Renee Good and Alex Pretti rejection led to the loss of their lives. These Martyrs of Minneapolis chose to assist their neighbors. Among the last words of Alex Pretti, when he reached out to help a woman who had been thrown to the ground by ICE agents, were, “Are you OK?” Renee Good, in an attempt to defuse a tense situation, said to the agent who killed her, “I don’t hate you, dude.” Their direct efforts at offering peace cost them their lives. Now, our context calls us to live the way of blessedness in a social setting that is becoming increasingly chaotic and death-dealing.
The second aspect of the Beatitudes that I offer here is that of contrast. Let’s say for the sake of contrast that the Beatitudes train us on how to be a faithful follower of Jesus. It is, in effect, our training document by which we discover who we are as a Christian. The focus of my contrast is what is being called these days the “manosphere” with its training of a segment of the male population on how to regard what it means to be a man. Just as the Beatitudes provide the “how-to” function of what it means to be a Christian, the manosphere purports to train on what it takes to be a man. And, let me say, the manosphere is a scary, dark place that must have Beatitude light shine upon it.
Over the past several weeks I took a dive into the manosphere. I was led on this search after watching the British TV series, “Adolescence.” It is the fictionalized story of a 14 yr old male – no longer a boy yet still not a man – Jamie Miller. He murders a female classmate following his exposure to the “incel” agenda (the term is short for involuntary celibate) which resides in the manosphere. So, I went looking. Here’s some of the terminology that operates as training principles for males who are susceptible to this morass of aggrievement.
In no particular order of importance, first consider that men experience a loss of status (misandry). In that diminishment men are told that women only want to marry up (hypergamous). In this training men are to claim their right to have sex with women, but to avoid marriage. Also, it is normal to restrict gender roles and fit all persons into strictly defined roles of male and female.
This terminology develops a consciousness of power, violence, and arrogance that results in anti-social and narcissistic actions. When I got to the 80/20 rule the training mission of this terminology really got disturbing. In this corner of the male population that incorporates this training into daily life, the 80/20 rule says that 80% of women are attracted to 20% of men. And since men are entitled to sex, you can expect a level of assault and violence done to women from that 80% group of men who are left out of the targeted pool by women.
At this point I told myself that I was reading fiction, but a load of podcasts are out there that spew this training program with its terminology of male repression and what men must do to overcome it.
By the way, as I said earlier, the term “incel” stands for involuntary celibate, that is, those men who are forced by society, and by implication, women, to not engage in sexual relations – again, because of the 80/20 rule. And in case you are wondering there also exists the term “volcel” which stands for voluntary celibate. This may give pause to Catholics whose clergy share the category of volcel. But what if this volcel comes to his lifestyle by way of the manosphere? Now there’s something to think about.
I want to present a contrast by offering this question, “Who’s the man?” in order to clarify a response. It could be that this brief dive into the manosphere is disheartening with its type of man who is trained to feel repressed, aggrieved, and controlled; a man who is fed with terminology that justifies a certain social status and self-aggrandizement.
What I hope is the contrast that the Beatitudes offer is grace for men, for all persons, particularly as the vision that recognizes blessedness in the darkness. I hope we see that the Beatitudes are more than familiar words spoken by Jesus up on a mountain one fine day. Indeed, more than that, they are the training document for Bonhoeffer’s cost of discipleship.
A Prayer (JR)
How Blessed are the ones who lose their lives to violent and murderous governments whose agents kill with the promise of impunity. Blessed, too, are the neighbors who deliver food to other neighbors, drive people to work and school, and blow whistles of warning when invaders terrorize neighborhoods. Blessed are the lawyers and the judges who reunite children with their families.
Blessed are we, who say “No” to the cruelty that is no part of us. Amen!
