Last week, our gospel focused on call. It specifically focused on Jesus’ call to Peter and the disciples. Today, Jesus addresses the disciples, those who have chosen to follow him, those who have made a real commitment to follow him. Today, as Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to those who follow him. As Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him, he sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the promise of a new society. This Great Sermon on the Plain is a call to a radical way of discipleship, a way of living in the world that turns the way of the world upside down, because what he is essentially saying is, “Blessed are all of you who are disregarded by the powerful, for you are God’s beloved community.” In this sermon, as Jesus lays out his vision of a new community, he blesses history’s losers! The blessings he proclaims were truly a protest against injustice! No wonder it was radical. And, no wonder it is still radical today!
Before we begin to look at what Jesus is saying, it is important that we understand what the word “blessing” means as used here in scripture. The Greek word for “blessing” ascribed to Jesus in these Beatitudes is makarios. This word means both “happy” and “favor.” In the Christian scriptures, the word specifically means God’s favor, often called “grace” or “abundance.” So, what Jesus is saying is “Favored are the poor.” He is not saying “Be happy for poverty.” Essentially, he is saying to the people, “God privileges the poor. If you are poor, you are favored by God. God’s gifts are with you.” In the culture of that time, this was shocking, and I must say it is still shocking in our time because our social structure is not all that different from quid pro quo Roman culture and society. In this Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns things upside down and drives home the topsy-turvy news regarding the order of things in God’s kingdom.
Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples and each one of us as he invites us into his holy venture to live out our faith. Jesus is not describing an ideological agenda or a political platform. He does not provide us with an abstract or empty definition of discipleship or sainthood. He is not listing for us qualifications describing some “how to” method to get into heaven. Jesus is describing a vision of God’s reign which he totally and completely embodies. What he is doing is calling all of us to become faithful and effective agents of God’s reign right here and right now. And, quite frankly, for those of us who live in middle class to upper class America, his words to us are so very, very challenging. The “rules of engagement” of Jesus’ reign stand in sharp contrast to the presumed rights of the prosperous as he talks about wealth, abundant food, the good stuff of life and all that we consider blessings. Jesus’ words and vision are simply at odds with the way things are in our lives and in the world. Jesus knows that we are possessed by our possessions and the so called “blessings” we feel we have and enjoy. Quite frankly, most contemporary people have a very different idea of what makes a blessed life. Theologian, Diana Butler Bass, when talking about this passage, says that most people think of blessings in this way:
Blessed are the rich, for they own the best stuff. Blessed are the sexy and glamorous, for everyone desires them. Blessed are the powerful, for they control the kingdoms of the earth. Blessed are those who get everything they ever wanted; they alone will be satisfied. Blessed are the famous, for their reward is eternal life. Money, beauty, power, achievement, and fame – we hold these things in esteem. If only we had them, or just one of them, we would be blessed. (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 140.)
Yes, these aspects of life are what we tend to name as “blessings.” But, Jesus sees these as characteristics of the lost and proclaims woe to any of us who find ourselves looking at life in this way. By proclaiming woe to this way of life, Jesus announces the evil and injustice in our way of living and thinking. Jesus says the poor and the hungry are the ones who are blessed, for their fortunes are going to be reversed. He says, “Are you weeping? You are blessed because you will laugh. Do people hate, exclude, and revile you on account of the Son of Man? Jump for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; their grandparents hated and excluded the prophets too.” Jesus is saying God is not impressed with what we consider blessings. In fact, all that we consider “blessings” misrepresents his message. Oh, yes, Jesus is again turning this world, our thinking and even our conventional assumptions about religion upside down. Jesus blesses those who suffer, and he curses those whose wealth, comfort, and prestige are built upon this same suffering.
Now, quite honestly, as we live in the cushioned environment of our so called “blessings,” many of us would probably say, “I am not poor, but I identify with the poor,” or “I work with the poor,” or maybe even “I send money to the poor, I care about the poor.” We might even want to quibble about the definition of “poor,” or “hungry” or “weeping.” Surely, we the faithful, are among the blessed. So, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to ask, “If we are not the poor, the hungry, the weeping, or the excluded, what are we to hear from this so-called “good news?” Pastor Laura Sugg, when asking this question, suggests:
Luke’s Jesus is fulfilling God’s compassion for the oppressed. Jesus’ first words to people in Luke’s Gospel repeat the words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (4:18a) Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus lives this out by talking with those on the margins, challenging the status quo, and convicting those who feel certain they are righteous. (Feasting on the Word, p. 240.)
The kingdom of God that Jesus embodies is not some abstract theological term about a time and place the world has never known. Jesus is calling us to be faithful agents of God’s reign right here and right now. God’s kingdom, God’s reign, breaks through when we love our enemies. It takes hold when we do good to those who hate us. It comes alive when we bless those who curse us. It shines brightly when we pray for those who abuse or mistreat us. It shows up when we honor the request of the beggars. When we live our lives by the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and when we love all others as God calls us to love, we truly live out our citizenship in God’s kingdom and bear witness to God’s reign.
I must say, living this kind of life is not easy. In fact, it is very difficult. It means we must become vulnerable and that is a condition most of us would rather avoid. But, Jesus is always unsettling us and, as he tells us that the order of things in God’s rule is reversed, we discover that life with God means knowing what poverty and hunger and sorrow and being cursed look like. It means knowing how it feels to be overlooked and discounted. It means knowing what it is like to be hated. And, it means allowing ourselves to become vulnerable, living in solidarity all others, and admitting our total dependence upon God.
Listen again to Diana Butler Bass’ words about this passage. She writes:
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” he overturned the politics of blessing. He preached that blessings were more than happiness. They were a social vision. God gives gifts to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and those at the bottom of society. Gifts are not only for the few, but wildly distributed for all. And the people at the bottom? The losers? God’s favor resides with them. God has uniquely blessed them.
What is the proper response to gifts? Blessing is an invitation to give thanks…..a blessed community is a grateful community. [When Jesus spoke to the people on that day, that gathering] started as a crowd, and the way opened for them to become a society formed by gratitude. (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 142.)
Jesus calls us to live into this social vision of a blessed community as he speaks to us today. The world desperately needs such grateful, inclusive, open, blessed communities. I pray God continually forms us and shapes us into this kind of community of grace and gratitude.