|
|
|
|
|
 |
February 11, 2007 |
| |
Blessings & Woes
Luke 6.17-26
6th Sunday after Epiphany
Rev. Wes Kendall
First Presbyterian Church ~ Owensboro, KY
|
Haves and Have Nots
“In theory, communism works … in theory.” Homer Simpson said that. And while he may not be a professor of politics at Harvard, his statement is nonetheless true.
The 20th Century taught us the reality that communism – the idea of a classless society and equal distribution of goods – is not feasible. In reality, the same corruption, deceit, greed and pride that have always plagued society were just as present in 20th century Soviet Russia as 18th Century Autocratic Russia. Despite the grandest political, social or economic designs, humanity has never figured out a way to “Share the Land.”
The United States is certainly no different. This past week, National Public Radio has been airing a seven-part series looking at the growing gap between the richest citizens in our country and the poorest. This is not a new trend. In fact, some research suggests this has been going on in some way or another for an entire generation, but more than ever the gap seems to be increasing. The wealthiest 20% of the American population owns over 80% of America’s wealth. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Regardless of what you feel about this trend, the simple fact remains: we are becoming more and more a nation of haves and have-nots.
Jesus in the Mix
Enter Jesus into the mix and our text from Luke 6:17-26. Jesus – fresh off a solitary evening of prayer and spiritual refreshment – is coming down from a mountain. As he comes near the bottom – having recently selected twelve disciples with whom he will live and teach – he encounters a diverse crowd full of nay-sayers, committed disciples and everyone else in the middle. And all of a sudden he starts speaking like Robin Hood or Karl Marx – listing out four blessings and four woes of social upheaval.
A Jab to Awaken Us
Let me pause for a second. If you’re like me, sometimes you find Jesus difficult because he speaks in parables. Other times, like today, I find Jesus difficult because he speaks so clearly. Jesus’ blessings and woes are cut and dry, despite how difficult they may be to swallow. These words are meant to strike you right between the eyes – to stun you like a jab, wake you up and reorient your perspective.
But, the fact is, many of us don’t know what to do with these blessings and woes. We’ve heard them many times in Sunday school and decide they just don’t make sense, so we get on with our lives. Others have used these sayings to shame us, so when we hear them we tune out the sermon and wait for a more palatable Jesus-lesson. We’ve been told that poverty is a blessing, and hunger is a merit badge. So, we try to live our life in such a way that people will see how blessed we are based on how meagerly we live.
Let me say this as clearly as I can. The blessings and woes are not a list of “shoulds” and “should nots.” They are not a license for social terror and upheaval. They are not meant to glorifying poverty and hunger. Jesus does not say, blessed are the poor, for they shall be poor. Satisfaction is still the goal.
Blessings and Woes: God Showing God’s Hand
What are they then? Quite simply, the blessings and woes are declarations – declarations about God’s biggest blueprint and where God stands on the issue of haves and have nots. In effect, Jesus is saying, despite our best efforts to pull ourselves apart and the inevitable reality of social inequality, God has a clear favorite: the under-dog.
In fact, God does more than show favorites; he takes sides. This is the dramatic reality of Jesus – God in the flesh – walking around as a long shot: God is literally siding with the downtrodden and rejected. Pardon me for a woefully inadequate analogy, but Jesus in Luke 6 is like Rocky in Rocky I. A nobody, a joke, a never-should-a-been, trying to fight a system while children cheer him on, striving against doubters, chasing a prize. Except Jesus never throws a punch, never wins a race, never gets the girl.
Like I said, it’s an inadequate analogy, but hopefully you get the point: God likes underdogs. God likes immigrants who are trying to make rent month in and month out. God is cheering for an orphaned girl whose parents died of AIDS. In fact, Jesus says underdogs are blessed.
God and Favorites
The same cannot be said for favorites and fat cats. To those who seek to satisfy themselves in spite (or because) of the misery of others, Jesus pulls out one of his harshest words: “woe.”
Now, Christians (and non-Christians) in every age have taken Jesus’ woes and turned them into polemic, invective weapons – cutting people down before God is ready to say the show is over.
The fact is, though, Jesus doesn’t need others deciding who will and won’t be judged. The reality of life shows us that seeking to satisfy ourselves in this world leads to woe. We need no further proof than the reality of gangs. Anyone familiar with the gangster life-style, whether it is The Godfather, The Sopranos or life in south central Los Angeles is well aware that such living more often than not leads to woes. We are, perhaps, very mindful that Gangsta Rap – which has become synonymous with living large and over-indulging – also comes with a heavy price: never knowing if you’re going to be shot, constantly in fear bullet-proof vests and body guards.
But before we start pointing fingers and saying our own woes, we must remember some facts about our own existence. We live protected by the largest army in the world, enjoying the grandest amusement and theatre complex the world has ever known and on land that produces food enough for all with plenty left over. Quite simply, we live in a nation of abundance.
[silence]
God and King of the Mountain
All I’m saying is that Jesus’ words in Luke 6 should be a jab to the nose. They should startle us. If nothing else, they should make us think. They should wake us up to God’s priorities. Blessings and woes should remind us where God stands in the midst of a world continually dividing itself into haves and have-nots.
Growing up in Indiana, one of my favorite winter games was King of the mountain. Whenever we got a really big snow, the church behind us would bring out the snow plows and move all the good stuff off the parking lot and into huge mounds at the side – to the delight of driving adults and playful children. My siblings, neighbors and I would gather out on the mounds of snow during those days, trying to become the King of the mountain by climbing and wrestling our way to the top. But, in reality, it wasn’t much of a match. My step-brother was quite older and stronger than the rest of us, so the game quickly crowned a king while the rest of us played serf of the ground – trying not to be the person at the very bottom.
For some people – life seems like a wicked game of King of the mountain where there is no hope of ever getting to the top. Perhaps that has been you at some point. Perhaps that is you now. Certainly there are people in this community for whom that is true. Certainly the world is full of people who gave up on being King of the mountain long ago.
Well, God’s got good news. Jesus showed up under the radar as the longest of long shots. And when he met a crowd of speculators, he declared definitively: God is rooting for the underdog. They are blessed.
Everybody loves an underdog. Including God. Including us.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we are mindful that the world – on a day to day basis – does not always reflect your glory or your will. Through corruption, deceit and tyranny, the world often gets divided into winners and losers. But even when we experience difficulty or trial from being overlooked, left out or excluded, help us to remember you work to lift up the lowly. And when we experience abundance or leisure, help us to remember those who have no leisure and live day to day. Above all, help us to side with you and to side with the long shots of this world. For blessed are those who seek satisfaction from you and not from this world. Amen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
