“Blessed Are the Poor”
Luke 6:20-31
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor, Grace UMC, Soddy Daisy, TN
www.gbgm-umc.org/grace-sdtn
Right before our Gospel Lesson for this morning we are told beginning in verse 17 that, “[Jesus] went with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples were there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases…”
And then a verse or two later Jesus addresses them beginning with, “Blessed are you who are poor…”
Looking out at the poor and diseased masses Jesus said to them… “Blessed are you…”
What are we, who live in 21st Century affluent America to make of this?
What are we, who live in a culture which is constantly telling us, in effect, “Blessed are you who are rich, you can afford to eat out in restaurants several days a week.
Blessed are you who are rich, you can afford a couple of cars and the price at the pump for your great big SUV!
Blessed are you who are rich you can buy a new plasma t-v…you can build McMansions for yourselves…
Blessed are you who are rich, you can go on lavish vacations and waste tons of dough on things you don’t need.
Blessed are you who are rich, you don’t have to live in the slums.
Blessed are you who are rich, you can pay for your own health care.
You don’t have to worry so much about gangs.
You can walk through your neighborhoods at night without the fear of being killed.
Your children can attend the best schools…blessed are you!
You will be served, rather than having to serve…blessed are you!”
What are we to make of what Jesus has to say to us this morning?
Blessed are the poor?
Blessed are the hungry?
To be envied are those who weep?
This makes little sense to us, does it not?
Happy are you when you are hated?
Excluded?
Reviled?
These kinds of blessings I think I can do without!
We Christians say that we love the teachings of Jesus.
But what about these teachings?
After all, do we strive to be poor or hated?
Of course not!
Do we actually rejoice when we are excluded or insulted?
No.
On the contrary, we fuss about it and feel sorry for ourselves.
Perhaps we complain to God about it—or even blame God for it.
And when Jesus goes on to say “woe” to those who are rich, those who are full, those who laugh, and those who are spoken well of, do we hear Him speaking to us?
Here I suspect we are not so eager for a contemporary application of the Scriptures.
Here, perhaps, we are content to leave the teaching in its historical context, pointing at the Pharisees and other first-century hypocrites.
But the truth for most of us is that we are rich and we are full.
We probably don’t think of ourselves as rich, ‘cause we see the incomes and lifestyles of other people in our culture—professional athletes, entertainers, corporate CEO’s, among others—who have so very much more than any of us have.
When we compare ourselves to the income and lifestyles of most of the world’s population, however, then we are forced to confess that we are, in fact, rich!
A Costa Rican United Methodist Pastor came and spoke to some of us over at Hixson United Methodist Church a few weeks ago.
He lives in the very poorest of areas, and he said that he needs only 25 American dollars to feed a hundred children who come to his church for a month.
Consider the desperation of people in the most poverty-stricken countries, where children are more apt to be malnourished than to go to school, more apt to die in childhood than to learn to read and write.
Two children from a West African Village ages 14 and 15 froze to death on an airplane.
They were so desperate to flee their impoverished homeland and get an education that they stowed away in the landing gear bay.
They left behind a letter “to the excellencies and officials of Europe” that they hoped would be read in case they died.
The letter, full of spelling errors, said:
“We suffer enormously in Africa. Help us. We have problems in Africa. We lack rights as children. We have war and illness, we lack food…We have schools, but we lack education…We want to study, and we ask you to help us to study so we can be like you, in Africa.”
(this story comes from How Much Is Enough? by Arthur Simon)
What will we do to help, we who are so prosperous and who belong to the One Who said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”?
Our Lord says “woe to you who are rich,” “woe to you who are well fed,”….
And we are certainly well-fed!
Our tummies are full.
In fact, our tummies are so full that I recently read a report that stated: “4 out of every 5 men in the United States are either overweight or obese.”
Last week I was watching “Jesus Christ Superstar” which was filmed in 1973.
One thing that caught my attention was that all the actors were so skinny—just skin and bones.
Even the guy who played Herod—the guy who used to look fat—looked normal by today’s standards!
The amount of money that we Americans spend on overeating and then dieting to deal with the consequences of overeating would be more than enough to wipe out world hunger!!!
The cost of a pack of gum can feed a refugee child for a day.
The cost of a $25.00 shirt would buy fifty pounds of seed corn in Honduras, a month’s care for an orphaned child, or school supply kits for two children in Africa.
For the price of a modest t-v set, farmers in Peru can purchase several llamas, or a woman in India can buy an income-producing sewing machine.
The cost of a $500.00 appliance would give some family a heifer that would provide milk and income, or two water buffalo for plowing fields.
A $2,500.00 family vacation could build three homes for hurricane victims in Central America.
These are some of the kinds of things that the money we put in our United Methodist Offering Plates go for.
We reach over 167 countries around the world through our connectional giving.
The United Methodist Church is the largest Mission Organization in the world…
…and of that Mr. Wesley would be proud!
That’s one of many reasons it is so important that we make our budget so that we can continue to pay all of our district and conference connectional askings…
…district askings go to missions right here at home…
…conference askings help those in our country as well as those living across oceans!
We are full!
Our closets are full.
Our drawers are full.
Our basements and attics and garages are full.
Is Jesus saying “woe” to me?
Is that possible?
After all, I’m just an average, middle class guy.
I haven’t stolen from anyone.
I don’t cheat anyone.
I don’t oppress the widows and orphans.
I’m just an ordinary person who is trying to make a living and provide for my family, just like the next person.
The Greek word that we translate as “woe” can also be translated as “alas.”
And “alas” is kind of like a sigh; it’s an expression of grief.
When Jesus says, “woe” to those “who are rich,” “those who are full,” “who laugh,” and so forth, Jesus isn’t shouting out condemnations.
Rather, I would say that Jesus is crying out His sorrow.
“How sad for you,” Jesus says.
“How terribly sad.”
Jesus is sad when He sees us eating, drinking and making merry with little or no regard for those who have nothing!
Jesus is sad when He sees us make decisions that keep us from doing what is best.
In verse 24 Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.”
The word Jesus uses for “have” is the word used for receiving payment in full of an account.
So what Jesus is saying is this, “If you set your heart and bend your whole energies to obtain the things which the world values, you will get them—but that is all you will ever get.”
In other words, “You have had it!”
Will we concentrate on the world’s rewards?
Or, will we concentrate on Christ?
If we decide to follow the world, we must abandon the values of Christ.
If we decide to follow Christ, we must abandon the values of the world!
Jesus makes no bones about which way brings happiness.
It has been said that Jesus promised His disciples 3 things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble.
The challenge of our Gospel Lesson for this morning is “Will we be happy in the world’s way, or in Christ’s way?”
Why is it that in the face of so much unprecedented prosperity, so many of us feel so discontented?
Everywhere it is clear that material advantages can capture the heart.
What they cannot do is nourish the soul!
Once the Methodist movement really got rolling, folks who used to be poor—materially…were, due to their impeccable new moral standards and new work ethics becoming wealthy.
This troubled John Wesley greatly.
At this time Wesley wrote: “I am not worried that the people called Methodists will cease to exist. What I am worried about is that we will become, yet, another dead sect!”
Wesley knew well that material wealth undermines our relationship with God.
So Wesley came up with these instructions: “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”
We would do well, as the spiritual ancestors of John Wesley and the early Methodists to heed Wesley’s advice.
Wesley lived what he believed.
He published tons of books and all kinds of materials, and he was paid well for his hard work…
…yet John Wesley, the founder of Methodism died a pauper.
What a witness!
What a heritage we have!
“Looking at his disciples, [Jesus] said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor…”
… “Looking at his disciples,” Jesus said this.
Are we not Jesus’ disciples as well?
Are we not called to rain down blessings upon those who are poor?
Are we not called to share the good news of the kingdom of God, not only through our words, but also with our pocketbooks?
In The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that when Christ calls us, He calls us to come and die.
So He does.
But the greater truth is that in doing so, Jesus bids us to come and live!
“Follow me,” Jesus said.
The disciples followed, because it was an invitation to live!
They learned along the way that taking up the Cross was part of the package, that receiving life also included the relinquishing of life.
Yet we have no record of the disciples complaining about what they had left behind to follow Jesus, because the gift of the Kingdom is so stunningly good that what they gave up pales by comparison!
Are we saying “yes” to life?...
…yes to the Lord of life?...
…to the world that God created and sent His Son to save?
Are we saying “yes” to our gifts?...
…to the needs and opportunities that surround us?...
…to the cries of the poor?
They are blessed!
Are we?
Amen.
