Epiphany 6 – 16 Feb 25
Readings: Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26
The late Duke of Edinburgh apparently once said that people talk about high church and low church, but he liked short church. It seems to me that after the massive effort of the Garage Sale, you might appreciate short church today, so just a few reflections on the Gospel for today – Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. We’re told that Jesus meets the crowd on a level place. On the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee there is a lovely, simply decorated and furnished Benedictine church on a small hill overlooking the water. It’s reputedly the place of the Sermon on the Mount – St. Matthew’s version. Between the hill and the lake is a large flat area – so you might be able to imagine how Luke’s version came about. But we’re not here to think about geography – we’re here to think about scripture and theology and how we live our lives.
In contrast to Matthew’s nine beatitudes, Luke has four, followed by four corresponding “woes”. Luke’s beatitudes are blunt and unqualified – “blessed are you who are poor” in contrast with Matthew’s “blessed are the poor in spirit”. The beatitudes are provocative – and intentionally so. They are well known, but it can be easy to allow familiarity to blind us to the hard edge. There’s a tendency as well to spiritualise Luke’s version by kind of importing Matthew’s version – Luke writes “Blessed are the poor” but some might want to say (and I’ve heard it said) that what he really meant to say is “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. We need to sit with what Luke writes. Brendan Byrne comments that it’s outrageous in any age to bless (he uses the word congratulate) the poor on being poor, the hungry on being hungry, the weeping and the reviled on their present condition. Correspondingly, he says, it appears foolish to declare unfortunate the wealthy, the well-fed, the laughing, and those who enjoy good reputations. In one sense they are perfectly desirable states of being.[1]
But Jesus has a completely different way of looking at it - the beatitudes and woes make sense in the light of the coming reversal of fortunes in God’s kingdom. This is a prominent theme in Luke’s Gospel. Mary in a sense sets the scene as she proclaims the same reversal in her song – the Magnificat
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.[2]
Jesus does not endorse poverty or hunger – he’s insisting that what most people reckon to be advantages and disadvantages are reversed in the way God works in the world – God’s kingdom.
Irrespective of geography or location, Luke, like Matthew, continues the vision of a countercultural or upside-down way of living by pronouncing blessing and well-being on those who, at first glance, appear to be at the margins of society and religious life. Being vulnerable provides scope for God’s power, for God’s way of working. By contrast, you might recall that two weeks ago we read St. Luke’s version of Jesus rejection by his own people – the self-satisfied congregation in the synagogue after he speaks of a similar reversal – how God had acted through Gentiles.[3] St. Matthew’s version of the same event adds the words “And he did not do many deeds of power there because of their unbelief.”[4] Wealth, pleasure, possession, power, and ease do not ensure blessedness. I found a paraphrase of the Beatitudes which summarizes this well:
In today’s world…
It’s good for the rich,
they can buy whatever they want.
It’s good for the strong,
they can take whatever they want. They will also make the team.
It’s good for the winners,
they get all the prizes.
It’s good for the smart,
they get the good results, get to go to university, and get good jobs.
It’s good for the beautiful,
they will get their pictures in magazines and get to be in movies.
It’s good for the grownups,
they get to make all the plans.
Jesus says that in his kingdom…
It’s good for those who know they do not know everything.
They belong in God’s world.
It’s good for those who are terribly sad.
They will be comforted.
It’s good for those who don’t get justice now.
They will get it.
It’s good for those who forgive and care about others.
God forgives and cares about them.
It’s good for those who are pure in heart. They will see God.
It’s good for the peacemakers.
They will be praised as God’s own children.
It’s good for those who are hurt because they stand up for God’s ways.
They will be God's heroes and heroines.
It’s even good for you when people come after you because you follow me.
You will be rewarded.
Where’s the reward. There’s a great temptation to answer, “in heaven”, but it’s not what Jesus has in mind. The point is, I think, that we are called in the present to live in a way that demonstrates what God’s future can be like. We have a glimpse of this in today’s Gospel - we’ve seen what that future can be like because it’s already arrived in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. It might seem completely at odds with the way things happen in the world, but we’re called to believe this and live it. In the words of the prophet Micah, we’re called to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.[5] And when we do this, we find that the kingdom way of living is its own reward.
[1] Brendan Byrne The Hospitality of God – A Reading of Luke’s Gospel Collegeville Press Minnesota 2015 p76
[2] Luke 1:51-53
[3] Luke 4: 21-30
[4] Matthew 13:54-58
[5] Micah 6:8
© The Rev’d WD Crossman