Blessed? or surprised... (3 before Lent)

 Luke 6: 17-26  & Psalm 1

When did a sermon last take you by surprise?

For most of us – when we’re sitting in the pews, anyway – it’s time to settle down, pop in a mint imperial, and wait to hear some interesting things about God, or the Bible, or the life of Jesus.

I wonder whether the crowd who first heard what we heard Jesus say today had similar expectations to us?

Perhaps they expected something like Psalm 1: happy are those who have kept away from the wicked, from sinners, or the scornful. There is a translation of this called “the Message” which re-imagines the Psalm like this:

 

How well God must like you—
    you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats,
    you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings,
    you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls.

Instead you thrill to God’s Word,
    you chew on Scripture day and night.
You’re a tree replanted in Eden,
    bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
    always in blossom.

You’re not at all like the wicked,
    who are mere windblown dust—
Without defence in court,
    unfit company for innocent people.

God charts the road you take.
The road they take leads to nowhere.

 

Perhaps the crowd listening to Jesus expected something like this – if you live an upright life, God will like you, bless you, you will be happy.

Perhaps that’s the message we expect, too – you’ve made it to chapel, well done – here’s your delivery of good news from God.

Or had the crowd around Jesus already seen enough of Jesus in action to feel that they might hear something amazingly radical?

Because actually that’s what they got.

“Blessed are you who are poor…

 “Blessed are you who are hungry now …

 “Blessed are you who weep now …

 “Blessed are you when people hate you…"

 

 

All this preached to people who were expecting to be told that those who are blessed by God will be rich, and fed, and will laugh and be respected.

 

It is very easy to think that surely God blesses and rewards his people with good things and punishes evildoers.We know from the questions people posed to Jesus that some of them believed that people who are ill have been made that way by their sin or the sin of their parents; or that those whose lives are broken and filled with suffering should be treated with contempt, because they must be far from God’s love.

 

 

But this is Jesus reversing everything that his listeners think they know: the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the hated.. are blessed by God.

And just in case they think they have misheard or misunderstood, Jesus presents the crowd with another reversal of fortunes:

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”

 

Jesus isn’t cursing the people who are rich, full, laughing or praised by others – Jesus never cursed any of the people he met, he only blessed, cured or engaged with them. Jesus is stating the fact that those whose lives are good now are not specially blessed by God – they are just materially fortunate, and they run the risk of being complacent, or judgmental of others, and so finding themselves far from God.

We shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus is recorded as saying this in Luke’s gospel – Luke has set his story out in a way which should make us expect something like this.

 

 

As the story is told in Luke’s gospel, when Jesus begins his ministry he is rejected in his home synagogue; he faces conflict over his cleansing of a leper and his healing of a paralytic; he calls Levi the tax-collector to join his disciples; and he is questioned about his approach to fasting and the Sabbath. The Pharisees are baffled by Jesus’ unconventional life and his lack of interest in all the things normally regarded as ‘good’ and ‘Holy’ as Jesus tries to move people’s thinking from law… to compassion… to grace.

 

So I wonder what the crowd who had gathered to meet Jesus thought of this strange new teaching, where sinners and outcasts are the most welcomed in the kingdom of God?

 

We are told that many in the crowd have come to Jesus to be healed – they want to see what this Jesus can do. But Jesus wants them to know that God’s kingdom isn’t just about people being made to feel better – it is about what God wills, what God’s values are, how they can live their lives turning towards God, truly “Walking in God’s way”, as the Psalm puts it.

The Good News that Jesus comes to proclaim is that life in all its fullness is not about how they feel now, or what they do now, or who they think we are – the Kingdom is open to them - all of them – God’s love is for them, whoever they are, whatever their lives are like, however they feel.

It was true for Jesus' hearers that day, and it’s true for us:

If you’re poor – the kingdom is for you

If you’re hungry – God will fill you with good things

If you are weeping – God will wipe every tear from your eyes

If people hate you for what you do in God’s name – you will be rewarded.

 

And if you’re rich, full, laughing, spoken well of… if life is easy for you – watch out! These things won’t last forever, and they might blind you to what is important. But did you notice there is a cycle here: Jesus says 'woe if you are full.. you will be hungry; but he also saud blessed are tose who hunger.. for they will be filled. God’s love is always waiting for you to turn away from the shallow things of this life and see the reality of God’s kingdom where ALL will be welcomed.

 

Perhaps we’ve lost a sense of how surprising this Good News is. You probably don’t hear many sermons based on a ‘prosperity gospel’, which teaches that those who enjoy greatest worldly riches are those who have been most blessed by God: you certainly won’t hear me preach that the rich and the powerful are the holiest and the most blessed ones. 

Rather, I think we all need to hear Jesus say the lowest and the least are the most blessed by God – and then we need to stop and think that this Kingdom, of blessing for the poor, weak, hungry and hated, is come among us in Jesus Christ.

At our Elders meeting on Tuesday evening Kate Wolsey was encouraging us to think about how we could build on our strengths as a church to reach out to others more.

 

 

What could Jesus say that would surprise us?

“blessed are those who wonder if God exists”

“blessed are those who never go to church”

“blessed are those for whom life is a constant series of disasters”.

“blessed are you when you listen to your neighbour and welcome in the most broken person”…

Jesus wants all his listeners to know that the good news is for all, that the Kingdom is open to all, that God loves all – all of them, all of us, whether poor or rich; hungry or full weeping or laughing; hated or admired.

 

 

The blessing of God is for all and for each.

May the living Jesus help us to believe it, proclaim it, and live it.

To God’s praise & glory.

Amen.