The Message, February 16, 2025: "Blessings and Woes," Luke 6:17-26

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
February 18, 2025

“Blessings and Woes”

A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau

Luke 6:17-26

            Sometimes a story just sticks with you. Many years ago, my friend, Joe, shared a story with me and I tucked it away in my memory for safekeeping. Like many ministers, one holds onto those stories because they may be good sermon illustrations someday. This story has been with me for over twenty years at this point! 

            Joe shared the story of the day that he took his four-year-old son, Jamie, to his first soccer practice. The field was full of three and four year old children that were very excited and energetic. And remember … this was their FIRST practice.

            I do not know how much preparation the coaches gave the children, by the story goes that they had the children on the filed and they dropped a ball at mid-field. ALL of the children converged on the ball. There were no attackers, or mid-fielders, or defenders. There were twenty excited children gleefully chasing a ball around a field.

            The coaches started blowing their whistles … but the children kept on running. They did not know what the whistles meant.

            The children got to the white boundary lines painted on the field … but they kept on running. They did not know what the lines meant.

            The children chased that ball onto an adjoining field full of adult soccer players … but they kept on chasing that ball. They did not know that the adults were not part of the game. They just kept on running!

            And they are still running today!! Okay … I made that up. But Joe said that the parents stood on the sidelines laughing until their sides hurt. And just like me, you can probably picture the scene. What a wonderful day! Thank you, Joe!

            Those energetic and excited children were playing a game that they had never played before, but they did not yet know the rules.

            The passage that Bethany read this morning is Luke’s version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In Luke it is referred to as the ‘Sermon on the Plain.’ In Mark’s Gospel, the sermon takes place near the lake. However, it matters not what you call it, or where it took place. What matters is that this sermon was one of the greatest teachable moments in human history.

            In this sermon, Jesus laid out the foundation for his teaching ministry. Jesus Christ came to offer the world a new way, but the world did not know how it worked. The world had an old way, but clearly that old way was not working.

            Because, as we heard, a large crowd had gathered that day hoping to learn about that New Way. We can also see that it was a diverse crowd. There were people from all over. There were people from the south … Judea and Jerusalem. There were people from the north … Tyre and Sidon. And we can assume that there were people from the region of Galilee.

            We cannot know for certain, but we can guess that in the crowd there were those who were frequent participants in synagogue worship. They would likely have been familiar with their sacred scripture. They would have known about their history, the heroes of their people, and they would have known who the villains were as well. And they would have … or should have … known about God’s design and vision for the world.

            And we can also guess that there were Gentiles in the crowd as well. The region of Galilee and the cities around Capernaum, the regions of Tyre and Sidon had a very diverse population. We can guess that they were curious about this wandering preacher that spoke with authority and performed acts of power.

            What we do know is that there were those in the crowd who were desperate. The sick came to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits came to be cured … exorcised of their demons. Those desperate people pushed in trying to touch Jesus, or be touched by him, because the power was coming forth from him and healing them all!

            And you may recall that this event occurred not long after that memorable moment in Nazareth when Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah that proclaimed good news for the poor, restored sight to the blind, and release for the captives and the oppressed. And then as Jesus sat down to teach, he told those gathered in that synagogue in Nazareth that the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing. Everything that they had hoped for, and prayed for, and dreamed of for generations had been fulfilled in Jesus!

            Clearly, the word had spread. The poor were gathered there, pressing in on Jesus to receive their blessing.

            The Greek word for “poor” that Jesus used as he began his blessings was “ptochoi.” The literal translation is, “so poor as to have to be.” That phrase does not fit our ear very well. What it refers to in our contemporary language is those who are completely destitute; they have nothing.

            Think about what that means. Jesus was not talking about people that were a few dollars short. He was not talking about people that were having a rough week. Jesus was talking about people that were desperate … destitute … hopeless. He was speaking to those whose days were filled with misery, and all that tomorrow offered was more misery.

            And now imagine what it must have felt like for them to hear Jesus say, “The Kingdom of God is yours. YOURS! This promise is not reserved for the wealthy or the merchants. This promise is for YOU!”

            ‘The sick, the blind, the oppressed, the marginalized, the demonized … the poor; those who sit at the city gates and grovel and beg for scraps … this is for you!’

            The words of Jesus in Luke’s telling are powerful and raw. Jesus was not talking about “the poor in spirit.” He was not talking about those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” He was talking about the actual poor who work and scrape every day and still find themselves on the margins.
            Jesus was talking about people who were actually hungry, because hunger is a reality for the poor.
            Jesus was talking about people who were weeping, because weeping is also a reality for those who are destitute.

            Jesus came to proclaim good news to them. They will receive freedom. They will receive life. For theirs IS the Kingdom of God.

            There were likely those in the crowd that had heard the ancient scriptures. They would have remembered that God’s vision for humanity was harmony. God’s vision for humanity is beauty and unity. God did not say to the ancestors, “Well, you know, it is a dog-eat-dog world out there. Every person for themselves. Good luck.” God’s design, God’s vision is that community cares for one another. God’s design is that blessings are to be shared. In the Kingdom of God, there are no poor, because the blessings of God are shared.

            Jesus came to remind the “faithful” of what it means to be faithful. And he came to teach those who are new to the faith of what it means to be human in God’s vision for the world.

            The Kingdom of God belongs to the poor. Jesus does not glorify or idealize poverty. Rather, he proclaims a reversal of fortune for those who are poor, who are desperate, who are hopeless. In the Kingdom of God there are no poor because everyone shares the resources of the community. The poor will be set free. They will be released from their degradation. They will have their dignity restored.

            Jesus’s message was scandalous. It was revolutionary. It overturned conventional expectations. The accepted belief of the day was that the poor deserved their lot. Obviously, they had sinned in some way. Their poverty was their punishment.

            And the reality is that this sentiment is still alive and well in our world today. There are many people that believe that the poor and destitute deserve their lot. Obviously, all they have to do is hike up their boots and get to work. They are just lazy moochers, feeding off of the rest of us hardworking folk. The Kingdom of God absolutely does NOT belong to the likes them!

            The woes that Jesus offered spoke to those in that day … and speaks to those in our world today … that share that mentality.

            The woes were for those who laugh at the plight of the poor, those who scoff at them. The woes refer to those who are indifferent towards those who struggle. The woes are for those who have received God’s blessings, but have abused them. The woes are for those who have hoarded God’s blessings while leaving others in need.

            These words from Jesus are not the sweet Jesus in the meadow surrounded by a bunch of little lambs that we sometimes imagine. These words were Jesus being direct and honest. He was telling it like it was. He was stating facts about the human condition … as well as the consequences that result from the decisions that we make.

            The fourth Beatitude that Jesus offered was a blessing upon those who are the faithful, those who are willing to offer this same “scandalous” message. This blessing is for those who are willing to rattle the cages and challenge the status quo. And again, Jesus was clear and honest; it will not be easy for you. Those who enjoy power and privilege will not relinquish it readily. They will rebuke you and revile you. They will reject you and they will hate you.

            Look at Jesus’ disciples, he said, “This is what God intends. God desires harmony. God desires that we care for one another. This is my message. If you choose to follow me, this is your message as well.”

            I know that I do not need to tell you that these words are just as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. However, they may be more scandalous now than they were then. Because we have people in our world who cloak themselves in “God Language” but actually reject the teaching of Jesus Christ.

            And that makes our response to the call of Jesus Christ that much more important. Those who cloak themselves in “God language” will fight tooth and nail to maintain their positions of control and authority. They will not relinquish it willingly or readily. Therefore, we must be willing to proclaim the Good News that Jesus Christ preached. If we are to be God’s faithful, if we are to be genuine disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to offer the love, and the mercy, and the freedom that he offers. The “poor” are all around us. The desperate buckle under the weight of their burdens. And every day, we have to ask ourselves, as disciples of Jesus Christ, “How can we bless them?”

            Amen.

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