Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.

In todays reading we get Luke’s version of the beatitudes. This version is different from the version that we all are more familiar with that comes from Matthew. Scholars debate as to whether these are two different tellings of the same event, or if they were two different events. In Matthews telling, Jesus is in and around Galilee, and thus He is mostly preaching predominantly to the jewish people of that region. in Today’s account the scripture says that Jesus in and around the region of Tyre and Sidon, which is a predominantly gentile territory, and so His message today is to the Gentiles.

For this reason I lean toward the conclusion that this is a separate sermon, given at a separate time from the sermon on the mount, and told in a way that would be best understood by this crowd. Matthew’s version was much more theologically rich, and full of meaning that the jews, because of their long tradition of knowledge of the scripture, would be better able to understand. This reading today contains a lot of that same theology, but is simplified down and clearly teaches to the gentiles specifically what they must do to find eternal life with the Lord God in heaven.

As you can see Luke’s version has four blessed’s, and four corresponding woe’s. The nine beatitudes from Matthew’s account dont have the associated woe’s. So in many ways the woes are very interesting here and give us great insight into the mind of God. The blessings are facinating, and I encourage you to review my reflection on Matthew’s beatitudes for insight into what each of those means, but for today I want to focus on the woes and what God is trying to tell us through them. He declares 4 warnings (respectively), to the rich, the filled (aka not hungry), those that laugh, and those that are well liked. What can we learn from each of these woes?

The Rich: Wealth gives you the ability to separate yourself from the poor, giving you distance from their needs. It allows you to not have to face those who are suffering in the world and instead seclude yourself away from the pain and misery of the world, and to happily exist in your own little protective bubble. Jesus wants us to break out of that bubble, confront the poverty of the world, and share our riches with those that have less.

The Filled: If you are so filled that you cannot eat anymore, that means that you ate too much. And if you ate too much that means that you are being gluttonous and wasteful. There are so many hungry people in the world that need our help, and they would gladly eat the scraps of food that we are throwing away or over eating. This woe is meant to get you to be more mindfull of your excesses, and to think of those that have nothing and are going hungry today.

The Laughing: God is not against laughter, He wants you to laugh, God is joy and the author of happiness. But if you laugh in the sight of great suffering then you are just being cruel. We must first take care of the suffering, and tend to their needs, and help them find relief. And then we can all rejoice together. When we rejoice together, then we are all lifted up, and no one is left in dark wallowing in their pain and suffering.

The well liked: Fame is a trap, it fools you into thinking that it is actually love. But in reality fame is a lie and it is ultimately just hollow adulation. But what is worse is that it taints all of your other relationships in that you think that everyone should be the same and adore you like all your fans. It causes suspicion and doubt and it makes you hard and callous and cruel, in the face of real love and affection.

So in the end the blessings are there to encourage us when we feel like the whole world is against us, and the woes are there to bring us down to earth when it feels like nothing can go wrong in our life. King Solomon had a ring that reminded him of this reality it said: “this too shall pass” and that is a good motto to remember, because we will not always be low forever, and we will not always be high forever. But for the purposes of todays reading, I love how Dr. John Bergsma summarizes the point that Jesus was trying to make in His sermon today:

“…those who experience poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution in this life for the sake of “the Son of Man…” should rejoice greatly because these afflictions are signs that they are headed in the right direction and will receive their just reward ‘n heaven.’”

…those who live lives of wealth, indulgence, and popularity ought to be very concerned about their eternal salvation because these signs of external happiness often accompanied the false prophets…”

God wants so much more for us. He wants us to have everyhthing we could ever need, but we dont need more than that. If we find that we have more, He wants us to share it with others. If we have recieved grace and good gifts from God, we are called to share freely and selflessly with everyone that we come into contact with. This is God’s economy, the first will be last, and the last will be first. The greatest of all are called to be servants of all. This economy may not make sense in this cold and selfish world, but it will make sense in God’s Kingdom. This is how heaven will be, and we are called to build His kingdom here and now, regardless of how hard or unthinkable it may seem. When we accomplish this end, then we can all rejoice together, because nobody is left behind… That is the beatitude, and that is what God wants for every soul in this world.

Oh lord, help me today to be kind and giving, and loving, in the degree and to the extent that you want from me. Help me to be your hands and feet in this world today.