Epiphany 5

Epiphany 6 What, and Whose, Needs Are We Meeting? 2/8 and 11/07

Jesus seemed unable, or unwilling, to avoid trouble with the 1^st century religious authorities. Jesus, by His actions and words, rubbed many the wrong way, caused many at least a modicum of discomfort and…to my reading…never apologized for doing so. Jesus lived in, but not according to, the world of the first century A.D. He was, as the Church is to be, counter-cultural, as clearly indicated by such lessons as: “What good is it for a man to gain the world, and yet lose of forfeit his very self?” (Lk. 9: 25) and “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” (Jn. 15:19) and “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16: 33) and, as Jesus prays for His disciples, He speaks to His heavenly Father: “They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.” (Jn. 17: 16) Whereas we, by nature, desire to “fit into this world”…to “go with the flow” and to be part of the “crowd,” Jesus calls us in an entirely different direction. We are, in the words of Jesus, to be “in” the world, but not “of” the world! Jesus lived out and offered as a living and dying example of how this can be accomplish, with regular worship, study of scripture, and an active prayer discipline. As you know this world and as you know Jesus Christ, are you daily more worldly or more godly?

Jesus was often in trouble for disobeying the restrictive Sabbath laws. Jesus’ disciples had plucked a few heads of grain as a quick, heart-healthy snack and were accused of “harvesting”…a violation of Sabbath law. Jesus enters the synagogue and eats some of the bread reserved only for the priests… another Sabbath law violation. In the verses preceding our lesson this week, Luke records that on the Sabbath Jesus healed a man’s shriveled hand and, as J.B. Phillips writes: “…the Pharisees were filled with insane fury and kept discussing with each other what they could do to Jesus.”(6:11

Undeterred, Jesus climbs up a mountainside and “spent the entire night praying to God” (Lk. 6:12). Jesus, by this time, had gathered a large crowd of followers, and “When morning came, Jesus called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them” (Lk. 6: 13). With His chosen twelve and the “large crowd of his disciples,” Jesus descends the mountain, stopping at a large level place. Here they were greeted by “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” (Lk. 6: 17-18) With “power coming from him and healing them all”(6:19) , Jesus, then, turns to teach His disciples.

The Beatitudes recorded by Luke differs from the more familiar Matthew account (ch. 5). Matthew writes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Luke simply writes “blessed are the poor” (6:20). Matthew writes of a blessing upon those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake,” whereas Luke simply writes: “Blessed are the hungry” (6: 21).

Luke was a physician, attuned to peoples’ physical conditions and circumstances, and he possessed a special affinity for the poor. Luke proclaims Jesus’ blessings for those who are poor and hungry…who press on, day to day, in the midst of inner pain, outward tears, and worldly poverty! Luke reminds us that the spoken Gospel might well be drowned out by the deep rumbling and shooting pain of a person’s starvation-swollen stomach. If the faithful do not address these circumstances, our witness is irrelevant, even cruel, to those who are hurting. I’m reminded of James 2: 14-16/ “If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, ‘Well, goodbye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,’ and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do?” People do not care how much we know until they know how much we care?

We are not only to ask for God’s blessing upon the poor, we are to be God’s blessing. Meeting the physical needs of an impoverished world lends credibility to our witness about God’s love. Jesus healed the diseases and, only then, huddled and taught the disciples! We reach out that others might be reached!

Jesus not only promises blessing for the poor and the oppressed, according to St. Luke, Jesus also pronounces judgment for the rich and the oppressor. The “woes” that accompany these “blessings” are vital to the lessons Jesus teaches and the value-system He preaches. Jesus’ mother Mary warned our world of as much, recalling the Magnificat (Lk. 1:46-55): “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.” God, in Jesus, walks among the poor, rubs elbows with sinners, and is called “friend” by the ill and infirmed. We, the body of Christ, are commissioned to do and be the same. To meet people where they are and, then, walk with them to where God is! Amen.