A word that I want you to consider this morning is the
word Paradox. A paradox is a statement
that seemly contradicts itself. A
paradox is used to challenge the mind and make you think about the statement in
a new way. A paradox is often used to
make you question common thoughts. Take the statement "Less is more."
These two opposite words contradict one another. How can less be more? The concept behind this statement is that what
is less complicated is often more appreciated. . So, I
want you, as you hear the Gospel reading this morning, to listen for the
Paradox in Luke’s four blessed statements and the four Woes that follow.
Feb 17, 2019 1 Corinthians 15:12–20 Luke 6:17–26
In today's Gospel reading this
morning, Luke puts his own twist to four of Matthews’s beatitudes. It is a
vison that is strikingly different from that found in the Gospel According to
Matthew. Instead of eight statements
concerning those whom God will bless, Luke lists only four statements that
resemble the beatitudes - four statements concerning those who are blessed. At first glance the four seem familiar enough,
but then he adds four woes which seemly contradict the first four. Let us hear the first four once again. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is
the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be
satisfied. Blessed are you who weep
now, for you will laugh? 22 Blessed are
you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your
name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”
I think most Christians are relieved and willing to accept that
God will bless the poor and the hungry.
That God will comfort those who mourn and reward those who are often
scorn upon for telling the truth or doing the right thing as taught by the Son
of Man. These statements also give the rich and the middle class hope, because
well, we cannot exclude ourselves from needing God’s grace at some point in our
lives too.
But then Luke goes on and
instead of listing four more blessed statements, he delivers four disturbing self-contradictory statements. Here we
go once again folks dealing with a biblical paradox. It is disturbing because they are contrary to
the blessed statements and to societal norms often taught within family life
and often within the Christian traditions.
Well then, let us consider his woes.
“But woe to you who are rich, Woe to you who are well fed now, Woe to you
who laugh now, Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you. His woes appear to contradict his
first four statements. What
then is Luke trying to get us to understand here? Is that not what many of us have been taught
and strive for in life, to work hard and get ahead of the crowd, to become well
off, well fed, seeking financially security for our family, our community and
of course ourselves you know, for our senior years. Should we not laugh and enjoy the good life
as presented by wealth and prosperity. Well,
on the other hand, may I suggest to you that riches and prosperity often make
people stingy, especially if you have worked hard all your life to get what you
have, even if you were given your riches on a silver platter the woe should be
heard here? Riches have been known to harden the heart of individuals, countries,
even communities of faith are not immune to the condition of the hardened heart. Remember I made this statement last
Sunday that the heartbeat of a church can be found in its mission work. To do the work of mission you must give
freely of your resources, this would not only include your money, but your
time, your talents and your experience. If you have no defined mission to share your
resources, the individual will die from the inside out and the same goes for
communities of faith. Without an
outpouring of your personal resources, your talents, your gifts, and your love to
others, you will wither and die on the inside.
We are not meant to just gather
for ourselves. The giving, from what
we have gathered to those whose bellies are empty produces fruit for the giver,
the blessed, and in fact makes our gathering whole. Without the out poring, our resource, no
matter what they are, they can becomes stagnant and a worrisome burden that can
be self-destructive in the end. Self-centeredness and greed will eventually turn
on us, stealing away our laughter and bring us nothing but heart ache and sorrow.
How many of you are familiar
with that famous song “I Did It My Way”?
People love it because it gives
off the impression that one has total power and control over our one’s
life. It also represents a societal
value that contains its own deception. The
deception of course for a Christian, and I emphasize Christian here, is found in the statement “MY WAY.” We should be able to hear within its lyric
the warning “Woe To You”? The deception being that none of us, have ever
really accomplished anything without the sharing by others along the way, be it
a good thing or a bad thing. May I suggest to you that in the real world there is no such thing as doing it “My Way”?
And, if whatever we do, is to be done in our
best interests, we Christians would do it Jesus’ way, right? The
truth about being saved is in the doing, not in words that a person might say,
but in the fruit of what they do.
So then Woe to we who are full now
without good conscience, especially when we are aware that some of our brother
or sister are existing on empty. It is a
warning to all Christians that we not only need to share our wealth, talents,
experience and our food supply with those in need but we must do it without judgement. Then we need to give thanks and praise to God
as the source of where our food, talents, abilities and our wealth have come
from. Often, we again make the mistake
of thinking we receive according to our good works and see the blessings are
our reward. Now
here is a shock to many Christians who feel deserving because of their goodness. When in reality all of our
abilities to attain and sustain our well-being are gifts bestrode upon both the
good and the bad, by the grace of God, Matthew 5: 44-45 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, “that you may be children of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous.” you
see its by grace not by merit.
We are called to share and give without
judgement, we are called to be Disciples of Christ, mission workers, helping to
build God’s Kingdom here right now and we must trust and follow in the ways of
Christ. Luke 6:38 tells us: “Give,
and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.”
Luke’s woes are a needed contrast,
take them in, they will soften a harden heart, replacing it with a new
compassionate and loving heart. For we
are all God’s children meant to be servants for each other. This is the foundation that produces the
Agape love our souls so long for.
