This boy in the story saw blessedness where many people would only see poverty. In a way, he saw what Jesus saw as he spoke to the crowds in today's gospel and announced that it is the poor and the hungry and the wailing and the persecuted people who are truly blessed (Lk. 6:20-22). Meanwhile, those who are rich and full and laughing and well spoken of are squirming and wondering if Jesus really knows what he's talking about (Lk. 6:24-26)! And so, it's a good time for us to ask the question as to what Jesus is really saying here and how it applies to us.

It probably won't come as a surprise to you that the disciples and the crowds would have been shocked by what Jesus was saying. This simply would not have fit in with their understanding of what it means to be blessed. In fact, both in the Greek tradition and in the Old Testament, there are quite different understandings as to who is to be counted as "blessed."

With the Greek word for "blessed" (makarios), a little bit of history shows how the meaning of the "blessed ones" changed over time. In the most ancient uses of this word, you basically had to be a god in order to be blessed. They lived up there somewhere -- beyond the cares of this world - and thus experienced happiness and contentment, or blessedness.

A little later on, the same word started to be used to refer to the blessed dead. These were human beings who had died and had gone to be with the gods. And so, in order to be blessed, you had to be dead.

Finally, this same word started to be used in order to refer to those who had lots of riches and power and thus didn't have all the same labors and worries as the "lesser folk." And thus, in order to be blessed, you had to be rich and powerful.

And then we get to the meaning of this word (makarios) when it was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. For, in the Old Testament, people are called blessed who have lived righteously and thus have received "a good wife, many children, abundant crops, riches, honor, wisdom, beauty, good health, etc." (Stoffregen - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke6x17.htm ). And so, in this case, you had to have big and beautiful things in order to be called blessed.

Now, I mention all of this because those who were listening to Jesus would have had in their minds that those who are blessed are "higher" than everybody else. They are the Greek gods. They are those who have gone to be with the gods. They are those who are wealthy and powerful. They are those who have lots of possessions. And then Jesus comes along and says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Lk. 6:20).

These "beatitudes" mean exactly what they say. These people are the poorest of the poor - absolutely destitute. They are hungry, and cannot fill themselves. They are literally wailing, just as one would wail over the death of a child (Lk. 8:52). They are hated and excluded and slandered - all because they follow Jesus. So why, exactly, would Jesus tell them (and us!) that they are blessed?

One of the reasons would be that these are people who know that they need God's help and that they need God's power at work in their lives. The prophet Jeremiah, in today's first reading, speaks about how those people are blessed who trust in the Lord (Jer. 17:7). These people are not blessed because they are poor and hungry and wailing and persecuted. Rather, they are blessed because they look to God for their salvation.

Another reason for the blessedness of these people is the new community that will be formed by those who follow Jesus. In that new community, justice, equality, and compassion will be living realities. Those who have an abundance of resources will share with those who are in need, so that all will have enough. These people will be blessed because of their participation in the body of Christ - the new community that will be gathered together because of their faith in Jesus.

Finally, these people who are poor and needy are blessed through their hope for the future. They look forward to a life lived forever in the presence of God. They look forward to the great future reversal where the last will be first and the first will be last. They look forward to meeting Jesus, who will welcome them home with open arms.

In the same way as these people are not blessed simply because they are poor, other people are not cursed simply because they are rich. Once again, the prophet Jeremiah gives us a clue in today's first reading. He writes:

"Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord" (Jer. 17:5).

Woes are pronounced on those who are rich, not simply because they have a lot of wealth, but because their riches and abundance are likely to draw them away from God and to entice them to put their trust in their own wealth and power rather than in God where it belongs. If those who are rich put all their trust in themselves, then they will indeed be hungry and mourning and weeping when their riches fail them and they are left with nothing. The truth is that riches are always a temporary thing, with no value whatsoever when it comes to eternity and salvation.

Here's a comment from Walter Pilgrim, who writes about wealth and poverty in the gospel of Luke (Good News to the Poor: Wealth and Poverty in Luke-Acts, p. 165).

"The Lukan response to possessions is not the call to total abandonment, but what we choose to term the discipleship use of one's wealth. What Luke commends for Christians in his day is a style of life in which possessions are placed radically at the service of those in need. While possessions in themselves are not evil, their true worth is to be measured by their use."

The long and the short of this is that the things that we have are not given to us just for our own personal use and comfort. Rather, they are given as instruments to be used in service of God and of the people around us.

Yes, it is possible to be blessed and to have enough to live on. It is a question of where we place our trust, and of how we use what we have been given. As we are reminded in the most recent Canada Lutheran, "We are made free from demand regarding our personal needs, so that we can attend to the needs of others" (Bishop Raymond Schultz, p. 10, Jan./Feb. 2004). This is simply part of what it means to be members of the new community formed by those who believe in Jesus Christ. May we follow with joy and love our Saviour, Jesus Christ, experiencing along the way the blessedness that comes from putting our trust in him. Amen.

Epiphany 6(C) Luke 6:17-26 February 15, 2004 Jeremiah 17:5-10 St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

? 2004 Lynn Hutchison All Rights Reserved