Jesus, are you talking to me?
This coming Sunday, we have before us Luke’s version of the beatitudes (6:17-26), Jesus’s statements of blessings (and in this case, woes!) that are much beloved, yet eternally challenging.
Matthew’s version (5:1-12) tends to be the more popular one. It’s longer, spiritualized (“blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”), and doesn’t contain any of the curses.
Luke is briefer, more specific, and directed at the present moment. Here’s the NRSVue edition that we’ll read on Sunday (emphasis mine):
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you…
Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven.
I remember sitting in my evangelism class in seminary when a classmate raised the issue that sometimes the good news isn’t good for everybody. Any interpretation of this text (especially once you read the curses that follow) that suggests Jesus wasn’t talking about people who are literally poor, hungry, weeping, and reviled surely misses the mark. Yes, we can talk about the spiritual implications when Matthew’s version rolls around, but if we are so “blessed” not to be poor, hungry, weeping, and hated, maybe Jesus isn’t talking to us, at least not right now.
Commentators point out that throughout Luke’s gospel and the book of Acts (which Luke also authored), there are some well-off people who come to be followers of Jesus: Zacchaeus, Joseph Barnabas, Cornelius, and Lydia. In other words, the beatitudes aren’t about who’s in and who’s out. But they are a clear indicator—amidst life’s injustices and injuries—of where God’s heart lies.
As we gather this Sunday, some of us will hear Jesus’s words (a la Luke) as very good news indeed. We have known or perhaps know even now what it is to be poor, hungry, weeping, and excluded. But if it seems like Jesus isn’t talking to us, or if we find ourselves identifying more with the woes section, all is not lost. Draw near to the heart of God, and see what happens. We may find there’s more than enough blessing to go around.
Pastor Jen
