Second Presbyterian Church

"Blessings & Bewares:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
May 16, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for May 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#18 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Isaiah 57: 14-21
• Luke 6: 17-26

I have already warned you that there were passages in Luke that can be uncomfortable to explore; this is one of them. I had placed in the Outline of the Gospel of Luke (do you still have your copy?) that one of the major themes in Luke's Gospel is that he understands that the Kingdom of God turns the values of the world upside-down. They become reversed. And that is what we witness in our readings for today. No longer are the wealthy considered blessed; instead, it is the poor, and so on.

You will recognize, almost at once that these verses in Luke sound similar to the Beatitudes that are located on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 5. There are, however, major differences. For example, the setting of Jesus' teachings in Matthew is on a mountain. The setting in Luke is on a plain. Matthew records 9 "Blesseds" and no "woes." Luke records 4 "Blesseds" and 4 "woes." The four "woes" correspond with each of the four "Blesseds."

In each of the beatitudes that Luke recorded there are some significant differences from what Matthew recorded. Luke uses a direct address, as if the people were in his audience - and they may well have been; it reads, "Blessed are YOU, …" Matthew makes the saying in a third person style; it reads "Blessed are (they) that are poor in spirit, …" The other differences and similarities we shall take with each of the beatitudes that Luke recorded.

1^ST Beatitude and Woe

Let's look at the first beatitude and woe. Luke wrote, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

In Luke, the meaning is basic; it is economical. Blessed are the poor, for you (plural) shall inherit the kingdom of God. It is an eternal inheritance, not one that we leave behind when we die. Then a few verses later Luke writes the antithesis, the "woe" saying. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." If you are wealthy, successful, as the world understands wealth and success, then there is no more reward; you have it already.

Now hear Matthew, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew adds the words, "in spirit," which seems to soften the impact of what Luke is saying. It creates an entirely different meaning. It is a very valid meaning, but it is different. To be "poor in spirit" means that one acknowledges how desperate our spiritual life is and how much we need the love and grace of God. Without it we are spiritually impoverished.

(By the way, the Matthian, kingdom of heaven is virtually identical with Luke's kingdom of God. It seems, in good Hebraic tradition, Matthew is showing respect to God by referring to His dwelling place, rather than naming Him directly. For Hebrews, the actual name of God was too sacred to pronounce.)

2^ND Beatitude and Woe

When we get to Luke's second beatitude, we note similarities to the first one. It reads, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Then verse 25 in Luke has the corresponding "WOE." It reads, "Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry."

Again, we experience Luke's theology of the kingdom of God as reversing the way things are in the world. Justice seems to come when the fortunes in the world have been reversed. The hungry shall be full; the full shall go hungry (the poor shall be rich; the rich shall be poor).

Once more it is interesting to compare to Matthew's version. Matthew wrote, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew's version places an entirely different meaning upon the beatitude. He has Jesus "spiritualizing" the beatitude. Now the meaning becomes a blessing for those who yearn for justice, honesty, integrity, and so on. It is a yearning for the removal of corruption from life. This, too, has a very valid place in our Christian life; no one of us yearns for corruption, injustice, or inequality. The only place we don't want total justice is for us to receive what we deserve because of our sin - death and separation from God. We are grateful that it is through the love and grace of Jesus Christ that we do NOT receive our just rewards!

Luke's is different from Matthew. Those who hunger now and suffer now will be full and satisfied in the kingdom of God. The beatitude echoes the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31).

Again, what Luke writes gives me pause. It is so straightforward; it is a simple statement. If you are poor, you will be blessed and satisfied in the Kingdom of God. If you are full, you already have had your consolation. You will go hungry. I don't know about you, but I find it easier to identify with the full person than the one who is living hungry all the time. The Lord won't have to ask me if I went hungry; He'll just look at me and know that I did not. It should give all of us pause, because we need to examine the justice of our plenty. I do not personally believe that having enough food is a sin in and of itself, but are we enjoying the plenty while letting our brothers and sisters go hungry? That will be part of the point in the Rich Man and Lazarus, not to mention his tremendous selfishness and greed.

3^RD Beatitude and Woe

The third beatitude is one in which Luke, again, simply reverses the fortunes of people. Those who weep shall laugh (in the Kingdom of God). And he states, "Woe to those who laugh, for you shall mourn and weep." Again, what is important here is Luke's understanding of how the Kingdom of God reverses fortunes. It is good news for those who are suffering in the present; it feels like bad news for those who do not suffer in this world.

4^TH Beatitude and Woe

The last, fourth beatitude in Luke is one that seems most profound to me. It has to do with our willingness to take grief, because of our faith in Jesus Christ as our redeemer. It reads:

Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

This time Matthew's version has virtually the same meaning. If you are persecuted and rejected, and talked about in an evil manner because of the Name of Jesus Christ, then your are blessed! That is to your benefit; God shall reward you!

And Luke comes back with the antithesis, the Woe. "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

In a word, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ means we live to another drumbeat. What the world values (wealth, popularity, etc.) is not of value in the Kingdom of God. What is of real value? Our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and our relationship with one another, these are what really count. That is what is valuable. When we are faithful to Jesus Christ, then we may well suffer. And if we suffer on account of our faith in Jesus Christ, then we can rejoice in our blessings.

On the other hand, if our joy is in our wealth, our food, our popularity here on earth then our blessings may become woes, or bewares. At that point we are running the risk of replacing God with material goods. And if that is the case, the Gospel will be experienced as not such good news after all.

Our trust in Jesus Christ is what really counts. It has to be the most valuable part of our lives, if we wish to be honest Christians; if we wish to be without hypocrisy. All other dimensions of our lives are less important than that. When we have this priority, the priority of the Kingdom of God, then we are blessed, blessed in the sense that we have been received by Jesus and that he has ushered us into the Kingdom of God. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.