Loving God, you make us your children in baptism and call us to follow Jesus and learn from him.  Empower us by your Holy Spirit, helping us to continue to grow up into Christ, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Wow!  What a gospel, right?  “[Jesus] looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God’” (Lk. 6:20).  Hmm.  Good news for the poor.  “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” – Good news for the poor again.  “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” – Good news for those who mourn.  And so far, what do any of these people have to lose by following Jesus? – Absolutely nothing!

    But then we come to the next part: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”  Uh oh.  How on earth do we deal with this? – especially those of us who really like people to like us.  But the gospel says, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”  Apparently, though, this can actually happen, for in the rest of the New Testament we hear about followers of Jesus rejoicing when they were able to suffer for the name of Jesus.  They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for their faith in Jesus.  And so, blessed are you when people persecute you or ridicule you on account of your faith in Jesus.

    “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”  Is this “uh oh” all over again?  We might be considered rich when compared with the rest of the world.  So is it “woe to us,” or woe to those who take consolation in their riches?  After all, the rich have something to lose by believing in Jesus.  So, do we take consolation in our riches, or consolation in Jesus?

    Next, “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.”  Is this “full” as in having enough to eat?  Is this being “full of ourselves” so that there is no room for Christ?  Or, is this focussing only on the pleasures of this world (like eating, for example), rather than looking for the “heavenly food” that Jesus teaches about?  And what about those in the Scriptures who hunger and thirst for the presence of the living God?  Perhaps when we are too full, God gets pushed out.

    Well, then we come to, “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.”  Is it a sin to laugh? – I really don’t think so.  Is it a simple reversal of fortunes in the time to come?  Or is the woe to those who only laugh, and never take anything seriously, and wouldn’t want to even contemplate believing in anything, for that is “far too serious.”

    And then we come to another “uh oh.”  “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”  But don’t we want people to speak well of us? – Ah! – Do you remember the false prophets?  Do you remember how they told the people exactly what they wanted to hear?  In fact, some even gave the message of the person who was willing to pay the most!  And so, is people speaking well of us the problem, or is the problem telling people what they want to hear rather than the message of the gospel?

    It seems that so far we are being asked, Where is our trust? and Where is our focus?  Do we look to riches or to pleasures or to “people pleasing” for our security, or do we look to Jesus?  Are we afraid of what we might lose, or, like Paul, are we willing to lose everything because of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord?

    However, we’re not done yet.  There’s more!  The gospel continues: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies (Yeah - right), do good to those who hate you (that’s a toughie), bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”  Almost every person I know has trouble with these ones.  Yet, if we are to believe the Scriptures, it is not impossible to do these things.  Certainly, Jesus set the example – and Stephen, too, prays for the people who are stoning him to death.

    But wait.  Isn’t that just a little bit different than, say, being abused at home?  It’s one thing to be abused because of your faith in Jesus.  It’s another thing to be abused, just because.  However, is the gospel really making distinctions here?  As terrible as it might seem to tell somebody to pray for the one who has abused them, perhaps Jesus knew that a certain freedom comes when we can pray for somebody rather than hating them.

    “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.”  Hmm.  Another one that you would not want to hear in a situation of abuse.  But then again, there are those stories of Jesus and Paul being beaten and hit and not striking back, and also not thinking any less of themselves.  One would have to think that these words are directed primarily at those who would be abused because of their faith in Jesus.  There is no freedom whatsoever in staying there and taking it in a situation of abuse.  However, in not allowing yourself to be provoked, or in not returning evil for evil, or in handing over your shirt as well as your coat, there can be great freedom.

    “From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.”  Wouldn’t this say to somebody that these are only material things?  Wouldn’t this say that it is more blessed to give than to receive?  Wouldn’t this, in a sense, involve taking back your power? – You may want my coat, but I’ve decided that you should have my shirt as well.

    “Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.”  Wait a minute!  Isn’t that just enabling panhandlers?  Isn’t that just encouraging them to do nothing?  Isn’t it just allowing thieves to get away with it?  Where’s the justice in that?!  On the other hand, what if those who beg from you are really in need?  What if you’re their last hope, and the answer to their prayers?  What if that little bit extra that you’re giving them makes a huge difference in their lives but is only a drop in the bucket in yours?  What if, by giving away money or goods, you are expressing your faith that God will continue to provide for you?  What if, by letting go of some material goods, you could come to grips with what is truly important in the end?

    Which brings us to the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Lk. 6:31).  Ah.  That one, we seem to be able to get a grip on – except, of course, when other people don’t return the favour.  Wow!  What a gospel!  And so, what do we do with all this?

    Is this gospel kind of like a litmus test for those who are too assured of their own sainthood?  Is it to give us an impossible ideal to live up to?  Or is it to direct us to Jesus, who fills the hungry and comforts those who mourn and welcomes the excluded and shows us how to love God and the people around us?

    Really, if we’re looking to work our way into sainthood, today’s gospel is pretty daunting.  Thankfully, though, it is God who welcomes us as one of the saints in baptism, empowers us by the Holy Spirit and teaches us to follow Jesus.  Today’s gospel is not a ladder to be climbed, but an opportunity for us to see God’s power at work – “the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:19).  Amen.

All Saints Sunday(C)                            Luke 6:20-31
November 7, 2010                                Ephesians 1:11-23
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved