Sermon – Blessings and Warnings Rev. Sandy Lacey February 16, 2025
We are in the Gospel of Luke this lectionary cycle and there are some particular themes unique to this Gospel. As a general rule, Luke is more inclusive toward Gentiles and especially women in his Gospel. In the birth narrative, he traces Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam, rather than to Abraham as Matthew does. There is less quoting of the Hebrew Scriptures as his audience is more of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. But like the Gospel of Matthew, Luke’s Jesus begins his teaching in a separate area with blessings. Matthew describes this teaching time as the Sermon on the Mount while Luke describes it as the Sermon on the Plain. Recalling the Isaiah passage that Jesus read aloud in his hometown synagogue just a few short weeks ago, Luke’s Jesus teaches his disciples what the fulfillment of the Isaiah text looks like. It seems that Jesus is ushering in a new world order that is going to upset the balance of things. This new order sounds great for those who are hungry, poor, despondent, and bullied. If I put myself in the shoes of those listening, however, I cannot help but wonder if it sounds like good news to everyone else. By comparison, Matthew has more beatitudes than Luke, and Matthew does not have the woes; they are inferred but not spelled out. Also, Matthew softens the “Blessed are those who are poor, by adding, in spirit, whereas Luke just leaves it at, poor. One more difference – Matthew addresses the beatitudes in 3rd person – blessed are those – while Luke makes it more personal – blessed are you – the 2nd person – as he looks at his disciples. Both Gospels place these beatitudes right after Jesus identifies and calls his disciples. Since he seems to be addressing his disciples in both accounts, is he warning them of what is to come? After all, the group was a mixed lot, none of whom had status and privilege. They were fishermen, tax collectors, people either marginalized or hated by the Jewish people for collaborating with their enemy Romans. These were not well-to-do men in three-piece suits. So, was he telling them essentially that “you are going to be poor, hungry at times, sad and disconsolate at times because people will misunderstand you and revile you and even hate you”? Or was he telling them who the people that God especially honors, and therefore, to be honored by the disciples as well? Either way, Luke’s Jesus uses a tone that is direct and terse as he describes a new, unsettling order that God is ushering in. It is great news for the marginalized and abandoned people in that society, but we cannot help but wonder if is good news for everyone? The first thing I notice about Luke’s passage is the blessed are you part of the passage. It is a 2nd person plural – so it is more like blessed are ya’ll. Remember that the Hebrew culture is one of community. They did not have an individualistic, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality and culture, like we do. Their religious convictions and their indictments by the prophets down through the centuries were for ignoring or neglecting parts of their beloved community – neglecting people who had no status and no recourse for earning a living, such as widows and orphans. Jesus is falling right in line with those prophets, then, in this passage when he chastises the comfortable for forgetting those who are doing without. And as he chastises the comfortable, he provides encouragement to the ones who are uncomfortable, telling them that it will not always be so. Jesus, in looking at his disciples, reminded them that God is always on the side of the poor and forgotten. A few years ago, I met a couple who were hungry, distraught, and looking for help. The young man came to the church office asking for help, said he left his wife at the library while he went around to the churches to try to solicit help. He said that they had parked their vehicle in one of the local parking lots to allow it to cool down. It was not running smoothly and was in need of repair, he explained. While they were away overnight, visiting a family member, the vehicle was towed away. Because they are homeless and without income, they were in need of help to retrieve it. It was accruing a daily storage fee rate by the towing company. Since the vehicle was in her name, I agreed to take her to the towing facility, pay the fee, so that she could get the vehicle back with all of their things in it. To further complicate things, she had been robbed of her wallet and clothing recently and so did not have an identification that the towing company needed in order for them to release the vehicle to her. So, I agreed to take both of them (because she was so distraught that she could barely talk) to a couple of places that she thought might have a copy of her identification – a place where she filed her taxes and another place where she received medical care. She was successful in receiving a copy of her id at one of those locations and we went back to the towing company for me to pay them and for her to receive back her belongings and vehicle. In our travels around town, she mentioned to me that she has been on her own since she was 14 years old due to her parents’ abandonment. Most of us cannot even imagine the challenges she has faced in her life. She feels she cannot climb out of a hole that seems to be getting deeper every day. Many of you may know that in Kentucky I served as a Board President for a local Women’s Shelter in Frankfort, KY. All four shelters in the small town of Frankfort worked hard to deal with the multi-faceted issue of homelessness. Just like today, not only were the people homeless, but, perhaps, had little to no mental or emotional resources to stand on their own two feet. Perhaps they were never encouraged to recognize their strengths or were never challenged to live up to their potential or maybe they were always put down in school because they could never keep up with the other kids. Maybe to cope with poor self-esteem and not enough food, they started relying upon unsavory people that encouraged them to sell drugs or even themselves. Many have difficulty finding a job because they do not have the simple skills you and I take for granted about looking people in the eye, verbally relating our strengths, and expressing confidence in ourselves. And if they do get a job, many do not have the stamina and reserves to keep it when it gets difficult. And let’s face it, low paying jobs are always difficult, because people treat you poorly and try to take advantage of you. You add in some very poor relationships, unplanned pregnancies, and you have a multi-faceted challenge in dealing with homelessness. Our government approach (for many years, not just with our current administration) is one of “let’s just get them into housing and that will fix everything.” “Get them off the street” approaches are (in my opinion) the “band aids” that are applied without cleaning the cut and putting the first aid cream on it. And that is not even mentioning the other institutional sins that keep people from moving out of poverty into self-sufficiency. So, I ask you, how can these people be “blessed” as both Matthew and Luke tell us in the Beatitudes? Jesus says God honors them and they are favored in God’s eyes. They are encountering great difficulty now, but will have everything reversed in the future, Jesus says. This is wholly unlike you and me. Most of us in this room do not have to worry about where our next meal will come from, and we are not poor by the world’s standards – in that we have enough food to eat and have a place to live. People, in general, speak well of us and we have enough resources to save some for a “rainy day.” This text gives me pause, because Jesus says, “woe” to us. He cautions us and gives us a warning. Why? If you are like me, you try to not be cruel. You tithe your income (10%) so that communally we may care for the poor and marginalized in our midst, along with other concerns. But the truth is that those of us who have enough in our culture tend to isolate ourselves from the ones who do not. It is almost like we are afraid that the insecurity and lack of control will “rub off on us.” We walk on the other side of the street to avoid the homeless men in the park. We do not volunteer at the soup kitchen or any of the shelters. We do not advocate for the poor to our legislators and we allow them to focus their energy on personal freedoms and wealth making, rather than on communal concerns, like expanded medical care and food for the poor and disadvantaged across our world. We have a tendency to isolate ourselves and just worry about us and our individual concerns, rather than who Jesus says God is especially concerned about. And it is easy to do. I know it because I do it too. Jesus is speaking to his disciples then and to his disciples now. This passage is a call to action and Jesus does not mince words when he reminds us what we are to be about. In Luke, Jesus speaks on a level place, not a lofty place. He speaks plain and simple. He tells the truth and he sees us as we are. This passage is difficult and I am challenged by it. And I suspect it challenges you too. Last year, we started a new mission endeavor at this church. We have agreed to participate in the Family Promise program that works to assist homeless families with the skills and resources they need to be successful in not only getting into a permanent home, but keeping it. Theresa Riley has been coordinating our efforts and there are easy ways you can help. I pray you will email her/call her/talk to her about what you can personally do to help. If we are to be the people Jesus calls to be, then we will definitely need each other to hold us accountable, to keep us humble, and to generate ideas for how we might be the disciples Jesus desires. What if you were the one at the end of your rope with nowhere to turn and you had little to no resources? Wouldn’t you want a Luke’s Gospel Christian to take notice of you and give you real help and hope? Are you/we that kind of Christian? If we are not, then woe is me and woe is us. AMEN.
We are in the Gospel of Luke this lectionary cycle and there are some particular themes unique to this Gospel. As a general rule, Luke is more inclusive toward Gentiles and especially women in his Gospel. In the birth narrative, he traces Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam, rather than to Abraham as Matthew does. There is less quoting of the Hebrew Scriptures as his audience is more of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. But like the Gospel of Matthew, Luke’s Jesus begins his teaching in a separate area with blessings. Matthew describes this teaching time as the Sermon on the Mount while Luke describes it as the Sermon on the Plain. Recalling the Isaiah passage that Jesus read aloud in his hometown synagogue just a few short weeks ago, Luke’s Jesus teaches his disciples what the fulfillment of the Isaiah text looks like. It seems that Jesus is ushering in a new world order that is going to upset the balance of things. This new order sounds great for those who are hungry, poor, despondent, and bullied. If I put myself in the shoes of those listening, however, I cannot help but wonder if it sounds like good news to everyone else. By comparison, Matthew has more beatitudes than Luke, and Matthew does not have the woes; they are inferred but not spelled out. Also, Matthew softens the “Blessed are those who are poor, by adding, in spirit, whereas Luke just leaves it at, poor. One more difference – Matthew addresses the beatitudes in 3rd person – blessed are those – while Luke makes it more personal – blessed are you – the 2nd person – as he looks at his disciples. Both Gospels place these beatitudes right after Jesus identifies and calls his disciples. Since he seems to be addressing his disciples in both accounts, is he warning them of what is to come? After all, the group was a mixed lot, none of whom had status and privilege. They were fishermen, tax collectors, people either marginalized or hated by the Jewish people for collaborating with their enemy Romans. These were not well-to-do men in three-piece suits. So, was he telling them essentially that “you are going to be poor, hungry at times, sad and disconsolate at times because people will misunderstand you and revile you and even hate you”? Or was he telling them who the people that God especially honors, and therefore, to be honored by the disciples as well? Either way, Luke’s Jesus uses a tone that is direct and terse as he describes a new, unsettling order that God is ushering in. It is great news for the marginalized and abandoned people in that society, but we cannot help but wonder if is good news for everyone? The first thing I notice about Luke’s passage is the blessed are you part of the passage. It is a 2nd person plural – so it is more like blessed are ya’ll. Remember that the Hebrew culture is one of community. They did not have an individualistic, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality and culture, like we do. Their religious convictions and their indictments by the prophets down through the centuries were for ignoring or neglecting parts of their beloved community – neglecting people who had no status and no recourse for earning a living, such as widows and orphans. Jesus is falling right in line with those prophets, then, in this passage when he chastises the comfortable for forgetting those who are doing without. And as he chastises the comfortable, he provides encouragement to the ones who are uncomfortable, telling them that it will not always be so. Jesus, in looking at his disciples, reminded them that God is always on the side of the poor and forgotten. A few years ago, I met a couple who were hungry, distraught, and looking for help. The young man came to the church office asking for help, said he left his wife at the library while he went around to the churches to try to solicit help. He said that they had parked their vehicle in one of the local parking lots to allow it to cool down. It was not running smoothly and was in need of repair, he explained. While they were away overnight, visiting a family member, the vehicle was towed away. Because they are homeless and without income, they were in need of help to retrieve it. It was accruing a daily storage fee rate by the towing company. Since the vehicle was in her name, I agreed to take her to the towing facility, pay the fee, so that she could get the vehicle back with all of their things in it. To further complicate things, she had been robbed of her wallet and clothing recently and so did not have an identification that the towing company needed in order for them to release the vehicle to her. So, I agreed to take both of them (because she was so distraught that she could barely talk) to a couple of places that she thought might have a copy of her identification – a place where she filed her taxes and another place where she received medical care. She was successful in receiving a copy of her id at one of those locations and we went back to the towing company for me to pay them and for her to receive back her belongings and vehicle. In our travels around town, she mentioned to me that she has been on her own since she was 14 years old due to her parents’ abandonment. Most of us cannot even imagine the challenges she has faced in her life. She feels she cannot climb out of a hole that seems to be getting deeper every day. Many of you may know that in Kentucky I served as a Board President for a local Women’s Shelter in Frankfort, KY. All four shelters in the small town of Frankfort worked hard to deal with the multi-faceted issue of homelessness. Just like today, not only were the people homeless, but, perhaps, had little to no mental or emotional resources to stand on their own two feet. Perhaps they were never encouraged to recognize their strengths or were never challenged to live up to their potential or maybe they were always put down in school because they could never keep up with the other kids. Maybe to cope with poor self-esteem and not enough food, they started relying upon unsavory people that encouraged them to sell drugs or even themselves. Many have difficulty finding a job because they do not have the simple skills you and I take for granted about looking people in the eye, verbally relating our strengths, and expressing confidence in ourselves. And if they do get a job, many do not have the stamina and reserves to keep it when it gets difficult. And let’s face it, low paying jobs are always difficult, because people treat you poorly and try to take advantage of you. You add in some very poor relationships, unplanned pregnancies, and you have a multi-faceted challenge in dealing with homelessness. Our government approach (for many years, not just with our current administration) is one of “let’s just get them into housing and that will fix everything.” “Get them off the street” approaches are (in my opinion) the “band aids” that are applied without cleaning the cut and putting the first aid cream on it. And that is not even mentioning the other institutional sins that keep people from moving out of poverty into self-sufficiency. So, I ask you, how can these people be “blessed” as both Matthew and Luke tell us in the Beatitudes? Jesus says God honors them and they are favored in God’s eyes. They are encountering great difficulty now, but will have everything reversed in the future, Jesus says. This is wholly unlike you and me. Most of us in this room do not have to worry about where our next meal will come from, and we are not poor by the world’s standards – in that we have enough food to eat and have a place to live. People, in general, speak well of us and we have enough resources to save some for a “rainy day.” This text gives me pause, because Jesus says, “woe” to us. He cautions us and gives us a warning. Why? If you are like me, you try to not be cruel. You tithe your income (10%) so that communally we may care for the poor and marginalized in our midst, along with other concerns. But the truth is that those of us who have enough in our culture tend to isolate ourselves from the ones who do not. It is almost like we are afraid that the insecurity and lack of control will “rub off on us.” We walk on the other side of the street to avoid the homeless men in the park. We do not volunteer at the soup kitchen or any of the shelters. We do not advocate for the poor to our legislators and we allow them to focus their energy on personal freedoms and wealth making, rather than on communal concerns, like expanded medical care and food for the poor and disadvantaged across our world. We have a tendency to isolate ourselves and just worry about us and our individual concerns, rather than who Jesus says God is especially concerned about. And it is easy to do. I know it because I do it too. Jesus is speaking to his disciples then and to his disciples now. This passage is a call to action and Jesus does not mince words when he reminds us what we are to be about. In Luke, Jesus speaks on a level place, not a lofty place. He speaks plain and simple. He tells the truth and he sees us as we are. This passage is difficult and I am challenged by it. And I suspect it challenges you too. Last year, we started a new mission endeavor at this church. We have agreed to participate in the Family Promise program that works to assist homeless families with the skills and resources they need to be successful in not only getting into a permanent home, but keeping it. Theresa Riley has been coordinating our efforts and there are easy ways you can help. I pray you will email her/call her/talk to her about what you can personally do to help. If we are to be the people Jesus calls to be, then we will definitely need each other to hold us accountable, to keep us humble, and to generate ideas for how we might be the disciples Jesus desires. What if you were the one at the end of your rope with nowhere to turn and you had little to no resources? Wouldn’t you want a Luke’s Gospel Christian to take notice of you and give you real help and hope? Are you/we that kind of Christian? If we are not, then woe is me and woe is us. AMEN.