Luke 6:17, 20 – 26
Blessed
are you who are poor, hungry, sad, and expendable. Woe to you
who are rich, full, happy, and popular. That seems to be what Jesus
is saying. Notice that when Matthew gives his list of beatitudes he
leaves wiggle room. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” Well, I
may have a lot of stuff, but I'm poor in spirit. Or “Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” Well, I know I need
to do something about my weight because I clearly eat too much, but I
really would like there to be more righteousness, so I'm OK. Hey,
Matthew's beatitudes? Easy-peasy.
The
other thing about Matthew is that Jesus is talking from a mountain;
he's like Moses, laying out the rules, but instead of “thou shalt
not” Jesus is telling us who are poor in spirit and hunger and
thirst for righteousness and are meek – we don't rock the boat, we
don't speak up – we are blessed?
But
Luke has Jesus standing on level ground – apparently surrounded by
a large crowd of disciples and others, presumably many who had been
cured or witnessed Jesus miracles. And as he teaches his disciples,
the statements are stark; you can't spiritualize what he says.
Blessed are you who are poor; woe to you who are rich. Blessed are
you who are hungry; woe to you who are full now. Which side are you
on? I am feeling uncomfortable because if I'm honest, I'm on the woe
side. So what does Jesus expect of me? Shall I sell everything I
have and give it to the poor and become a homeless person? Shall I
eat just enough to stay alive and in reasonable health? And I'm
happy now, I do a lot of laughing, especially at cat videos on the
internet. Should I go around with a sad expression on my face and
avoid anything that might amuse me? And can I help it if people
speak well of me? I guess I could, because if I go around in rags
pushing a shopping cart full of soda cans I intend to recycle while
weeping and wailing, people would probably think less well of me.
I
don't think Jesus is giving us a prescription as to how we are to
live. That's what Matthew did. I don't think Jesus wants people to
be poor and hungry and sad all the time; He doesn't want people to
hate each other. After all if you remember the last few gospels he
has been working miracle after miracle, and you can bet a lot of
people who were poor, hungry, sad or lonely are a lot happier now.
And he did tell his disciples: “These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be made full.”
And I think Jesus is saying that those who are rich, filled up, happy
and popular are missing out on what he is offering.
And
Jesus always has a point. I know in my case I can go a long time
without thinking about God. It's a good thing I have regular times
of prayer in my day; but even then, after prayer I say, “done with
that, now what was I doing before?” If God wants to fill me up
with himself, if God wants to bring me the kind of joy that only he
can give, well, I suspect that given that I am rich, well fed, have a
lot to amuse myself with, and most people I know have positive
feelings toward me, there isn't much room for God to work. As Jesus
said in another place, to a certain rich man, “You have already
received your consolation”. Frederick Buechner, a writer and
theologian, said this: “The world says, ‘Mind your own business,’
and Jesus says, ‘There is no such thing as your own business.’
The world says, ‘Follow the wisest course and be a success,’ and
Jesus says, ‘Follow me and be crucified.’ The world says, ‘Drive
carefully — the life you save may be your own’ — and Jesus
says, ‘Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.’ The world says, ‘Law and
order,’ and Jesus says, ‘Love.’ The world says, ‘Get’ and
Jesus says, ‘Give.’ In terms of the world's sanity, Jesus is
crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow him without
being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a
delusion."
Picture
the scene once again. In Matthew, Jesus takes his disciples up a
mountain, away from the crowd, to teach them, to give them the
beatitudes with which we are familiar, the ones which are
comfortable. In Luke, however, Jesus is surrounded by people who for
the most part are poor, have been hungry, people who haven't go much
to laugh at, people who have been at the bottom of toe food chain for
most of their lives – and as he addresses his disciples, he says
these are the blessed ones. And maybe eventually the disciples come
to realized that the reason they are blessed is not because they are
poor or hungry or sad or expendable, but because they had nothing to
get in the way of the coming of the Lord into their lives. And that
is the hard lesson. What is it about being poor, money poor, living
from paycheck to paycheck, trying to get by on food stamps that draws
Jesus to you? What is it about being so hungry you can't think of
much besides food that draws Jesus? What is it that not being able
to fill up you attention span with television and sports and video
games and music and parties – just living one day after another in
a bed in a nursing home – why are you blessed? And what is it
about being someone who nobody needs, someone who is a burden on
society, someone who is grudgingly and roughly cared for by a minimum
wage employee, that wakes the compassion of Our Lord?
That's
what you and I have to figure out. That's what is so urgent. That
is why Jesus can look at me and say, “Woe to you, because you don't
seem to be hearing what I'm trying to tell you.” And I don't know
the answer. All I can do is pray, “Lord, these are hard sayings.
Help me understand, but more importantly help me see what you want me
to see and live the way you want me to live.”
