Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26
Parenting is wild, isn’t it?
One minute I’m happily singing nursery rhymes, and the next I realise what messages I am imparting to this child! The first shock was 3 blind mice…they all run after the farmer’s wife who cuts off their tails with her carving knife… and the other day we were just going to take this little piggy off to market before we realised he wasn’t going shopping but was being sold for bacon. Entirely not vegan. I thought I knew these old classics, but sometimes we hear them as if for the first time. And what happened with the gospel reading this week.
We know the beatitudes, right? In our three-year cycle of gospel readings, it is one of the passages that crops up every year, so we hear it three times as often as other bits. Except this morning’s passage feels familiar, but different. There is no mountain – it is preached from the plain. There are only 4 ‘blessed are you…’ statements, instead of the 8 we find in Matthew, and Luke’s account involves woes. Four of them.
Matthew’s account is more future-oriented, with a heavenly theme (so Jesus speaks of those who are poor in spirit, or hunger and thirst for righteousness), whereas Luke’s Jesus considers the upside Kingdom of God as a reality on earth, here and now; blessed are you who are poor, blessed are you who are hungry now, blessed are you who weep now, blessed are you who are hated, excluded, reviled.
And the woes align; blessed are the poor; woe to you who are rich,
Blessed are the hungry; woe to you who are full,
Blessed are those who mourn; woe to you who are laughing,
Blessed are the hated; woe to you when all speak well of you.
This juxtaposition underlines the total reversal of the kingdom of God; that the things the world holds dear don’t carry the same weight; that worldly powers will be rendered powerless and social justice will be the foundations on which all else is built.
For Luke, the blessings are for those who suffer in their everyday lives, and the Kingdom of God brings justice by lifting them up. It’s the Magnificat again, with a slightly different face. Or like he’s saying there’s enough and some to share; blessed are you when you receive enough of the world’s resources, and woe to you if you keep them to yourself at the expense of others.
Luke’s passage is so different from Matthew’s account it is likely it was preached on a different occasion. I guess it shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus would preach these fundamental truths more than once, so foundational are they to the world he came to create and co-build.
But the creeping truth is; Matthew’s sermon on the mount is more palatable. Everyone is promised blessings and there are no woes. Luke’s account is much harder to hear, unless you are counted among the marginalised. It is good news for the poor, food for the hungry, comfort for the sad, kindness towards the hated. Luke’s Jesus is very much like that; uncomfortable, challenging, direct, erring on the side of those on the outside.
And who is Luke’s gospel addressed to?
At the start of chapter 1, the writer explains that lots of people have recorded what Jesus did so they could pass it on to others. He says, ‘I too decided to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilius (so you have a firm grasp on what you have been instructed)’.
Most excellent Theophilus – by its placing in the canon of scripture, it is intended for a much broader audience, of course, but – most excellent Theophilus must have been someone of good social standing. He is thought to be a Gentile, maybe a Roman soldier. The name itself means Theo – God, philo – lover; one who loves God, so perhaps this represents all who believe or commit to following the divine. And that includes us.
Luke writes to the one who is of good standing in society to make clear this counts for nothing in the kingdom of God, except that they, and we, have more to give, more to share, more to die to, that others might live. And blessed are you if you take your privilege, wealth and power and use it to care for those in need.
Reading these words could have been difficult for Theophilus, they certainly should be difficult for us, right? These beatitudes demonstrate a total reversal of fortunes – the poor, hungry and suffering are first and blessed. And the warnings, the woes, come for the rich and powerful; for us.
I remember when I first arrived, I told you every preacher only has one sermon. I remember several of you remarking on that, not sure, or not having thought of it before. I still think it is true and it is certainly true for Luke.
Throughout his writings he challenges Theophilus and all the Theo-philes that come after him – to receive the radical teaching of Jesus, to rethink their/our understanding of the world and to show favour for those on the edges. His message is not only to elevate those who are oppressed but is an invitation to those higher in society to consider changing, so they can align themselves with the values of God’s Kingdom; values of humility, compassion and justice, where hunger and poverty has no place, where nobody suffers alone, and the currency is kindness.
When we hear the Beatitudes, we should shuffle in our seats because we are more likely to find ourselves in the woes than the blessed. And, as we shuffle uncomfortably, we, once again, have a choice to make. We can understand that God’s Kingdom operates differently. We can accept that we are trying to align ourselves with this Kingdom. And we can act accordingly.
It is uncomfortable. It is challenging. It is hard to hear. But it is actually really simple; be the blessing. Feed the hungry, share your wealth, sit with the grieving, don’t join in with the negativity and slandering but speak kindness and hope.
Sometimes we need to hear things as if for the first time.
Sometimes it is easier to think of ourselves as blessed and ignore the woes.
We are blessed. We really are. And we are blessed to be a blessing to those doing it the toughest.
Jesus is clear; woe to us if we don’t. Amen.
Holy Adventures 