Epiphany 6
February 13, 2022
William G. Carter
Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
Whenever I read the beatitudes of Jesus, somebody usually stops me at the door and says, “I don’t understand these.” A beatitude is a blessing, a verbal affirmation of divine favor, as in, “Blessed are you for showing up today in church.” At least one Bible scholar calls them “a heavenly congratulations.” Most of us can understand that.
The problem comes when we hear whom Jesus congratulates: the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and despised because of Jesus. He may value them, but the world does not.
The world does have some people who lift up the poor, feed the hungry, lift the spirits of the sorrowful, and welcome those who the world rejects. But Jesus is not blessing the caregivers. He is congratulating those in need. That’s strange.
To make the waters muddier, he pronounces doom on those who have no pressing needs. Shame on you rich, you have what you need. Beware if your belly is full, you will starve. Watch out when you laugh, for you will cry. And woe to you if people admire you.
Does anybody understand all of this? Neither do I.
Maybe it will help if we switch to a happier text. Like the enhanced list of blessings in the Gospel of Matthew. They sound like these, kind of. Instead of “the poor,” Jesus blesses the poor in spirit. If anybody is feeling humble, they are blessed; I can almost understand it. And for those who grieve a great loss, there is the promise they will one day feel better, either here or on that final day when God makes everything right.
Of course, Matthew’s list is longer than Luke’s list. He blessed the meek, the pure in heart, the peacemakers – all worthy of some affirmation. And he doesn’t tack on that troublesome list of woes, at least not until 18 chapters later.
So does it help to hear there are other lists of blessings and woes? No, I didn’t think so.
Maybe it would help to lean back and take a broader perspective on the Gospel of Luke. Luke loves to upset the apple cart, turn it back up, and refill it with a different kind of fruit. He often reports Jesus as saying, “The first shall be last and … the last shall be first.” Long-established positions are reversed. Situations are flipped. This is how Luke and his church understand the coming of Jesus into the world. He will turn everything upside-down.
Remember what he will teach: the sinner is forgiven, the self-righteous religious man is condemned.[1] The wasteful son is welcomed home, the goody-two-shoes son is left standing out in the field.[2] Maybe Jesus picked this up from his mother, who sings before he is even born, “God has knocked the high and mighty off their thrones and lifted those who had somebody’s foot upon their heads. He has given a banquet to the hungry and sent the fat cats away with empty plates.”[3]
Does that sound revolutionary? You bet it does – because it’s in the Bible. We sang a portion of Mary’s song just two weeks ago, in a hymn written by a nun from New Jersey who traveled the world caring for the needy:
The poor are rich, the weak are strong, the foolish ones are wise.
Tell all who mourn, outcasts belong, who perishes will rise.[4]
Luke would have us know that God will not let injustice continue. He will not allow human pain to be unaddressed. Those who have climbed to riches on the backs of the underpaid are in for a big surprise. And those who have suffered will be relieved and released. That’s how the Bible talks. That’s what Jesus teaches. That’s what the people around Jesus are called to embody. We relieve suffering. We
Have you seen that CBS reboot of the old show, “The Equalizer”? If not, you can hear the plot in the name of the series. The church of the living Christ is called to be The Equalizer. Here is the community of faith where everybody is treated fairly. And if you don’t want that, woe to you.
Does that help to open up the text? Maybe, maybe not.
Where I call your attention is to the place where Jesus teaches these things. He doesn’t teach these beatitudes from a mountain. No, that list is different and came on a different day. Rather, he is speaking from “a level place.” A level place – I don’t know if Luke wants us to take that literally or not.
Right before this, Jesus went up to pray on a mountain. Now, it says he came down stood in a “level place.” There are plenty of flat places in Palestine, but it’s important for us to hear he stood with everybody. Not above them, but with them. The poor and the rich, the hungry and the full, those weeping and those laughing, those rejected and those affirmed. Both his feet were flat on the ground. That’s the word Luke uses.
It reminds me of what my friend Charles learned about himself. As a fresh new Baptist preacher, he came home exhausted and slept all Sunday afternoon. One day, he realized he preached on the balls of his feet and pointed down at the people. It was easier to wag his finger from up there. But when he stood flat-footed, as one human among others, he was refreshed and didn’t need a nap. He wasn’t lecturing. He was sharing, and it made all the difference.
So here is Jesus, the Equalizer, flat on his feet, fresh from a full day of preaching and healing. And what is he doing? He is sharing what he sees. He sees that everybody becomes hungry, both those who have no food and those who do. He perceives human feelings are taken seriously, but they are not permanent. Those weeping are capable of telling jokes (I’d heard some corkers at the funeral home). Those laughing now will cry tomorrow. That’s the see-saw of human emotion. Experience tends to level out.
And what does he see of the rich and the poor? Well, a lot of things. In this Gospel, Luke’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of wealth and possessions more than he speaks of the kingdom of God. In fact, he tells about someone who misses the kingdom because he owns too much stuff. That’s what he means when he says, “Woe to you rich!” You have everything you need – except for the one thing you need most. And he doesn’t tell us what that one thing is.
That’s the point of contact for me today. Two weeks ago, my mobile phone slipped out of my pocket. The screen had a little tiny chip. Because of that, the phone didn’t work. I could make calls from inside the car, but not whenever I wanted.
I took it to the store. Did I have insurance? No, it was a four-year-old phone. Well, you need a new phone; here’s a new flip phone for a thousand dollars. No, I don’t want a new phone. I want one that works.
A lot of you have been down this road. It’s a complete hassle for something that, not so long ago, you didn’t even possess. I mean, I’m old enough to remember when phones only made phone calls. Now your whole life is on that little device, that little device with the chipped screen that you can’t unlock any more. So I got a new phone. Not the fanciest, not the newest, but more than I actually need.
This is what wealth – as expressed in possessions – can do to us. We are reduced to consumers. Our conversations are aborted at restaurants. We can always “be found.” Some folks were worried about covid vaccines putting chips in our shoulders? Come on, already have a chip in my pocket. It tells me the next three books I need to buy from Amazon. In the words of Jesus, “Woe to me, because I have so much.”
And when I hear Jesus speak from a level place, when I hear him teach the beatitudes and the woes, I’m brought into the realm of what’s truly valuable and what’s not. Here’s a hint: the phone is on the “not” list, the “woe” list.
If the phone episode was not enough, I subscribe to an e-mail newsletter that offers tips to simplify my life. That’s one of the keys – if I don’t “need” it, I won’t get it. Less to carry around or throw into a landfill, which is what the rich folks like us do, and the poor wish they could do. This week’s newsletter scored a bullseye. The topic was, “100 Things I’d Say to My 18-Year-Old Self.” Here are a few things on that list:
You can’t keep up with the Joneses. There are no Joneses.
Start saving when you’re young.
Don’t buy the crystal. You’ll never use it.
Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you need it.
Don’t be embarrassed by the hand-me-down 1977 Oldsmobile Omega. It’s a gift.
Retail therapy doesn’t work.
Don’t start collecting Precious Moments figurines.
Sell your used college textbooks because you’ll never look at the again.
You can enjoy a book without buying it. (Ouch! That one hurt.)
Life is less complicated with less stuff.
You get the point. I certainly do. The person with the most toys loses, and when he’s gone, his kids will fight over his stuff. Or in the words of Jesus, “Woe to you if you are rich.” And if that saying still bothers you, there is one proven way to become less rich; but I’m not going to tell you what it is.
Blessed are you. Woe to you. Congratulations to you. Shame on you. These are the words of a Man on level ground.
He puts his words into the air and watches to see what they do. Some of us might change our lives because of what we hear. Others might hear something and ponder what might be required of us. Still others find ourselves settled in our ways and look for happier Bible texts.
But I leave you with a scene that I’ve never been able to shake out of my soul. Back in the late ‘90’s, a small team from our church traveled to Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. We went to church with folks who sang their hearts out for three hours on a Sunday. Women and men ironed their clothes before undertaking everyday work. They held their heads high at work or play, and they asked about our families. And the joy, and the laughter, and the dancing, and the joking - when they have so little.
Here is what I have always wondered: why were so many so happy when so much was pressing against them? What has gotten into them? Or perhaps the better question: Who has gotten into them?
Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
Whenever I read the beatitudes of Jesus, somebody usually stops me at the door and says, “I don’t understand these.” A beatitude is a blessing, a verbal affirmation of divine favor, as in, “Blessed are you for showing up today in church.” At least one Bible scholar calls them “a heavenly congratulations.” Most of us can understand that.
The problem comes when we hear whom Jesus congratulates: the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and despised because of Jesus. He may value them, but the world does not.
The world does have some people who lift up the poor, feed the hungry, lift the spirits of the sorrowful, and welcome those who the world rejects. But Jesus is not blessing the caregivers. He is congratulating those in need. That’s strange.
To make the waters muddier, he pronounces doom on those who have no pressing needs. Shame on you rich, you have what you need. Beware if your belly is full, you will starve. Watch out when you laugh, for you will cry. And woe to you if people admire you.
Does anybody understand all of this? Neither do I.
Maybe it will help if we switch to a happier text. Like the enhanced list of blessings in the Gospel of Matthew. They sound like these, kind of. Instead of “the poor,” Jesus blesses the poor in spirit. If anybody is feeling humble, they are blessed; I can almost understand it. And for those who grieve a great loss, there is the promise they will one day feel better, either here or on that final day when God makes everything right.
Of course, Matthew’s list is longer than Luke’s list. He blessed the meek, the pure in heart, the peacemakers – all worthy of some affirmation. And he doesn’t tack on that troublesome list of woes, at least not until 18 chapters later.
So does it help to hear there are other lists of blessings and woes? No, I didn’t think so.
Maybe it would help to lean back and take a broader perspective on the Gospel of Luke. Luke loves to upset the apple cart, turn it back up, and refill it with a different kind of fruit. He often reports Jesus as saying, “The first shall be last and … the last shall be first.” Long-established positions are reversed. Situations are flipped. This is how Luke and his church understand the coming of Jesus into the world. He will turn everything upside-down.
Remember what he will teach: the sinner is forgiven, the self-righteous religious man is condemned.[1] The wasteful son is welcomed home, the goody-two-shoes son is left standing out in the field.[2] Maybe Jesus picked this up from his mother, who sings before he is even born, “God has knocked the high and mighty off their thrones and lifted those who had somebody’s foot upon their heads. He has given a banquet to the hungry and sent the fat cats away with empty plates.”[3]
Does that sound revolutionary? You bet it does – because it’s in the Bible. We sang a portion of Mary’s song just two weeks ago, in a hymn written by a nun from New Jersey who traveled the world caring for the needy:
The poor are rich, the weak are strong, the foolish ones are wise.
Tell all who mourn, outcasts belong, who perishes will rise.[4]
Luke would have us know that God will not let injustice continue. He will not allow human pain to be unaddressed. Those who have climbed to riches on the backs of the underpaid are in for a big surprise. And those who have suffered will be relieved and released. That’s how the Bible talks. That’s what Jesus teaches. That’s what the people around Jesus are called to embody. We relieve suffering. We
Have you seen that CBS reboot of the old show, “The Equalizer”? If not, you can hear the plot in the name of the series. The church of the living Christ is called to be The Equalizer. Here is the community of faith where everybody is treated fairly. And if you don’t want that, woe to you.
Does that help to open up the text? Maybe, maybe not.
Where I call your attention is to the place where Jesus teaches these things. He doesn’t teach these beatitudes from a mountain. No, that list is different and came on a different day. Rather, he is speaking from “a level place.” A level place – I don’t know if Luke wants us to take that literally or not.
Right before this, Jesus went up to pray on a mountain. Now, it says he came down stood in a “level place.” There are plenty of flat places in Palestine, but it’s important for us to hear he stood with everybody. Not above them, but with them. The poor and the rich, the hungry and the full, those weeping and those laughing, those rejected and those affirmed. Both his feet were flat on the ground. That’s the word Luke uses.
It reminds me of what my friend Charles learned about himself. As a fresh new Baptist preacher, he came home exhausted and slept all Sunday afternoon. One day, he realized he preached on the balls of his feet and pointed down at the people. It was easier to wag his finger from up there. But when he stood flat-footed, as one human among others, he was refreshed and didn’t need a nap. He wasn’t lecturing. He was sharing, and it made all the difference.
So here is Jesus, the Equalizer, flat on his feet, fresh from a full day of preaching and healing. And what is he doing? He is sharing what he sees. He sees that everybody becomes hungry, both those who have no food and those who do. He perceives human feelings are taken seriously, but they are not permanent. Those weeping are capable of telling jokes (I’d heard some corkers at the funeral home). Those laughing now will cry tomorrow. That’s the see-saw of human emotion. Experience tends to level out.
And what does he see of the rich and the poor? Well, a lot of things. In this Gospel, Luke’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of wealth and possessions more than he speaks of the kingdom of God. In fact, he tells about someone who misses the kingdom because he owns too much stuff. That’s what he means when he says, “Woe to you rich!” You have everything you need – except for the one thing you need most. And he doesn’t tell us what that one thing is.
That’s the point of contact for me today. Two weeks ago, my mobile phone slipped out of my pocket. The screen had a little tiny chip. Because of that, the phone didn’t work. I could make calls from inside the car, but not whenever I wanted.
I took it to the store. Did I have insurance? No, it was a four-year-old phone. Well, you need a new phone; here’s a new flip phone for a thousand dollars. No, I don’t want a new phone. I want one that works.
A lot of you have been down this road. It’s a complete hassle for something that, not so long ago, you didn’t even possess. I mean, I’m old enough to remember when phones only made phone calls. Now your whole life is on that little device, that little device with the chipped screen that you can’t unlock any more. So I got a new phone. Not the fanciest, not the newest, but more than I actually need.
This is what wealth – as expressed in possessions – can do to us. We are reduced to consumers. Our conversations are aborted at restaurants. We can always “be found.” Some folks were worried about covid vaccines putting chips in our shoulders? Come on, already have a chip in my pocket. It tells me the next three books I need to buy from Amazon. In the words of Jesus, “Woe to me, because I have so much.”
And when I hear Jesus speak from a level place, when I hear him teach the beatitudes and the woes, I’m brought into the realm of what’s truly valuable and what’s not. Here’s a hint: the phone is on the “not” list, the “woe” list.
If the phone episode was not enough, I subscribe to an e-mail newsletter that offers tips to simplify my life. That’s one of the keys – if I don’t “need” it, I won’t get it. Less to carry around or throw into a landfill, which is what the rich folks like us do, and the poor wish they could do. This week’s newsletter scored a bullseye. The topic was, “100 Things I’d Say to My 18-Year-Old Self.” Here are a few things on that list:
You can’t keep up with the Joneses. There are no Joneses.
Start saving when you’re young.
Don’t buy the crystal. You’ll never use it.
Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you need it.
Don’t be embarrassed by the hand-me-down 1977 Oldsmobile Omega. It’s a gift.
Retail therapy doesn’t work.
Don’t start collecting Precious Moments figurines.
Sell your used college textbooks because you’ll never look at the again.
You can enjoy a book without buying it. (Ouch! That one hurt.)
Life is less complicated with less stuff.
You get the point. I certainly do. The person with the most toys loses, and when he’s gone, his kids will fight over his stuff. Or in the words of Jesus, “Woe to you if you are rich.” And if that saying still bothers you, there is one proven way to become less rich; but I’m not going to tell you what it is.
Blessed are you. Woe to you. Congratulations to you. Shame on you. These are the words of a Man on level ground.
He puts his words into the air and watches to see what they do. Some of us might change our lives because of what we hear. Others might hear something and ponder what might be required of us. Still others find ourselves settled in our ways and look for happier Bible texts.
But I leave you with a scene that I’ve never been able to shake out of my soul. Back in the late ‘90’s, a small team from our church traveled to Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. We went to church with folks who sang their hearts out for three hours on a Sunday. Women and men ironed their clothes before undertaking everyday work. They held their heads high at work or play, and they asked about our families. And the joy, and the laughter, and the dancing, and the joking - when they have so little.
Here is what I have always wondered: why were so many so happy when so much was pressing against them? What has gotten into them? Or perhaps the better question: Who has gotten into them?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment