Luke 6: 17-26

He came down to a level place. The great multitude came from Jewish and Gentile territory to hear him teach and to be healed of their diseases and whatever beset them.  Luke tells us he healed all of them. Jesus then taught them blessings and woes. Here, Luke records Jesus preaching what could have been the cornerstone of his messages depicting the Kingdom of God in the here and now.

Blessed are you amid your condition now because things will change. When he speaks, things change, and when he arrives, things tend to change. Blessed are you who do not deny who you are or what besets you now. Yours is the kingdom of God. You will be filled. You will laugh. You will rejoice and leap for joy. The light of God came into the world, and he showed them the kingdom of God by healing them all and spoke to them of the reign and realm of God. Blessed are you, however you are, because things will change.

He challenges the great multitude to believe. As this message in Luke 6 continues, he challenges the great multitude to love. He concludes this message in this chapter to challenge the great multitude to grow. Today, we hear and read of this lesson on the blessings and woes. Woe to you who are rich, and full now, and laughing now, and are spoken well of now. Just as we are blessed in our current condition of difficulties now, woe to us who are content and full and thought well of now. Things. Will. Change. Honestly, which would you rather be?

The ones who are in the great multitude are seeking him, seeking him for relief and solace, seeking him for wellness and salvation, seeking him for what only he can provide. The institutional religion of temple and priests couldn’t provide for what people craved and needed. The institutional religion based in the temple and the priesthood taught them to observe feasts and festivals, sacrifices and alms. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets was far removed from the people because the religious practices kept the people busy, but it didn’t meet the spiritual hungers and brokenness of the people. The great multitude longed for the God of their forefathers and mothers, the simplicity of loving God and loving their neighbor. The complications of lambs and doves and pilgrimages and bowing to Pharisees and fearing the unclean and referencing the God of ancient times but not experiencing his presence in the lousy here and now drove the great multitudes to find the One who blessed without question, who healed without condition and forgave without payment. Whoever these people were, they were hungry – hungry for blessing, hungry for healing, hungry for forgiveness.

Blessed are the poor and hungry and sorrowful now. Woe to the rich and content and laughing and respected now. The light of God has come, and light reveals our condition and circumstances. We cannot hide from this light! And this light speaks and tells us things will change. So, in the context of pending change, which would you rather be?

You don’t have to spend much time around a person who grew up in the Depression (in the 1930s) to hear what real poverty is! One fellow said the garbage man would back up to his parents’ house during the Depression and ask, “Pick up or delivery?” Another guy said, “My sister got married just to get the rice.” Someone defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession, you are delighted the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression, you begin to look longingly at the dog and cat.

Now, regarding the rich, old Cyrus Barker was the richest man in town. When he became terminally ill, there was much speculation among the villagers concerning the extent of his wealth. When Cyrus died, one of the town busybodies made it his business to run to the deceased’s lawyer and ask, “How much money did old Cyrus leave?” The lawyer replied, “All of it, my friend, all of it.”

Uncle Irving, who was not noted for his religious devotion, needed three million dollars to clinch an important real estate deal. So, he went to a local synagogue to pray for the money. By chance he knelt next to a man who was praying for one hundred dollars to pay his rent. Irving reached into his pocket for his money clip and took out a hundred-dollar bill. He pressed it into the other man’s hand. Overcome with gratitude, the man got up and left the sanctuary. Uncle Irving then looked heavenward and prayed, “Lord, now that I have your undivided attention . . . “

Jesus touched the sick and troubled and began to teach this particular day, Luke wrote, on a level place. Everyone, therefore, came to Jesus on a level place, on equal footing. More than likely, the rich and poor, the Jew and Gentile, alike. He promised to everyone who could hear him change was coming. Things were not going to stay the same. The sick and poor, hungry, and mourning were not going to be joined by others in a morose throng of gloom. They are blessed because change was coming. The rich and satisfied, gleeful and respected were not going to band together for a unprecedented display of wealth. Woe was coming to them because change was coming. Everyone on that level place was to expect change. 

Those who were to lose the most would experience woe. Those who were to gain the most would experience joy and relief. This is not to be missed. No one would want to be poor in this world. Practically, everyone would want to be rich and satisfied in this world. Jesus, the light of the world, was beginning to show and offer a new world, a new kingdom. The rich may not be all that interested. They would have too much to lose. The poor, sick and broken were told to think of themselves as the blessed.  Again, which would you rather be? The change Jesus brought in deeds and words were from a new world found in him. Change found in him is always about to come, just around the corner. Are you ready for it?

(Preached at St Mark United Methodist Church in Anniston, AL, 2-16-25)