Blessed are You (who Need God) ~ Luke 6:17-31 ~ All Saints Sunday

They came from all over to be with Jesus.  They were sick; they were poor; they were tormented, broken, and afraid.  No one in their right mind would call them “blessed.”

But Jesus says: “Blessed are the 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…”

Is this something you’d say to a starving child?  To a family being foreclosed or evicted out of their home?  Is this what you would say to someone whose loved one just died?

It’s not a blessing to be poor or to be hungry or to be broken.  These are not circumstances we deliberately seek out.  This isn’t how we want to live. 

To be blessed means that you never worry about having enough money to pay the bills.  You can always have and do nice things.  You enjoy good health and great relationships.  You’re completely unaffected by the struggling economy and the healthcare crisis.  You are safe and well; with not a care to weigh you down…

Don’t we all want to be blessed?  We’re not asking for the world; just enough of everything that makes life truly good…

But can anyone really live this way?

At the end of the day, the only certainty in life is uncertainty.  We are all, all just one breath from death.  Our lives are just one lightning bolt away from chaos.

This is why Jesus says “woe to you who are rich; who are full now; who are laughing… Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you…”  Theirs is a reality that is more fragile than a house of cards in a windstorm.  The trouble is, they’re doing too well to notice.  They need God just as much as those who are “less blessed”—but they don’t know it. 

On the other hand—the poor, the hungry, and the weeping ones come to Jesus.  They come because they’ve lost everything—or because they never had anything to begin with.  They cannot help themselves.  Divine mercy is their only hope.  Thankfully, Jesus’ mission field was never the palaces of wealth and power of the world.  Jesus was sent to those who needed him most.  They are blessed because the Son of God is mindful of them and their hurt.  God will take care of them.  They who are empty now will be blessed and made whole with the love of Jesus—not with stuff. 

This is what it means to live by faith.  Your reality is no longer rooted in the present order of things, with all its uncertainty and unfairness.  Your blessing is not found in what is here today and gone tomorrow.  Instead, you live by God’s grace.  You are blessed because God is fully mindful of your hurts, your burdens, and your fears.  You are blessed because God will be taking care of you through the destroying storms of life.  You are blessed because God will always be your daily bread.  

So hear the voice of Jesus as he calls you by name: today is the day for you to be reborn into the reality of God.  Today is the day to be reborn as a saint. 

We don’t become saints through what we do; rather, we are transformed into saints by the living God.  We become saints as the Holy Spirit draws us into the reality of God.  What do saints do?  They pray constantly; they hear the Word and they study it; life is transformed into worship.  Saints see, by faith the work of God in their lives.  They live their lives so to magnify the presence of God before all people, particularly those whose realities are consumed with suffering and fear.  And ultimately, saints are those who prevail by God’s grace against the dreadful realities of evil and death in the world.  Saints are those who live forever.

Therefore, let today be the day that you stop pouring yourself into realities that are perishing.  You’ll never be able to achieve for yourself a permanent, problem-free existence.  You’ll never be a perfect person who pleases everyone and never does wrong.  You’ll never find the good life in material possessions.  These are but castles made of sand that time and tumult will inevitably sweep away. 

Instead, present yourself; along with all your weakness, your brokenness, your sin, your hurt, and your need as an offering to Jesus Christ.  Jesus will make you whole.  Jesus will give you peace.  So be today the person you were created to be: a saint.  Trust in Jesus as your Savior.  Let God’s love fill and consume your reality.  Rejoice that death shall never prevail against God—or God’s saints.