The Poverty of Privilege: Luke 6:17-26 - Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

 ¹⁷[Jesus] came down with [the twelve] and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.¹⁸They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

  ²⁰Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
 “Blessed are you who are poor,
  for yours is the kingdom of God.
 ²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
  for you will be filled.
 “Blessed are you who weep now,
  for you will laugh.
  ²²“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
 ²⁴“But woe to you who are rich,
  for you have received your consolation.
 ²⁵“Woe to you who are full now,
  for you will be hungry.
 “Woe to you who are laughing now,
  for you will mourn and weep.
  ²⁶“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” (NRSV)

"A" Yacht by Romain Drapri on Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

As a pastor, I love to hear people share their faith stories.

Never had I heard anyone share their faith story as exuberantly as Hattie, an African American woman I met last week, who is working as a visiting homecare provider for one of our members. 

She spoke of how she grew up on the streets and struggled with homelessness and substance use for decades. But everything turned around one cold night, when she had no place to stay and nowhere to go. She cried out to of Jesus, and never stopped. “They threw me out of hell because the Devil can’t stand the sound of Jesus’s name.” 

I must say, the light of Christ absolutely radiated from her as she spoke so joyfully about how Jesus healed her and gave a life that she had never known before. I am also thankful that God sent Hattie to be a “visiting angel” for one of our own.

I see her as a prime example of what Jesus promised in today’s Gospel when he said, “Blessed are you.”

A great crowd had assembled before him to hear his teachings and be healed of their diseases. Seeing all these desperate faces, Jesus looked up and his disciples and said, “Blessed are you who are poor… Who are hungry… Who weep… Blessed are you when people hate you.”

Typically, when we talk about being “blessed,” we think of all that we are thankful for: our homes, our health, our families, our daily bread; or the sheer, simple fact that we are alive. Indeed, these are all blessings from God. 

On the other hand, it is not a blessing be poor, hungry, hurt, or hated; and no decent person would ever wish such things on a fellow human being. 

Unfortunately, there has always been a mindset among God’s people which equates wealth and prosperity to God’s favor. Therefore, if you are poor, hungry, hurt, or hated, that must mean that you have done something to merit God’s disfavor—and nothing is going to change until you make it right; until you stop doubting and have faith.

In Jesus’s day, this was what most people believed. This is what was taught by the religious leaders. But Jesus never demanded anyone to “get their act together” before he heals them. Instead, the people are healed of their diseases and released from their demons simply by coming to him in faith. In their brokenness, they receive his blessing. Amazing grace is what they needed—and amazing grace is what Jesus gave. 

But what if you’ve never been poor, hungry, hurt, or hated? 

Jesus has blessed Hattie in ways that I’ve never needed. If you have always had an abundance of food, shelter, health, and the support of loved ones, then praise God! God does not want you (or anyone) to be poor, hungry, hurt, or hated. God does afflict you in order to bless you. We must not romanticize human suffering, nor should we fail to take it seriously just because Jesus promises to bless suffering people. And if you have never been poor, hungry, hurt, or hated, that does not mean you never will.

We’re all sinners. Even the most righteous person can fall from grace.  And a comfortable life can turn into a nightmare in an instant. 

This is why Jesus says, “woe to you who are rich and well-fed; woe to you who are living the good life and have everyone’s approval.” 

If you have always been able to rely on your health, your wealth, your strength, and your reputation, have you ever really needed Jesus? Many will call on Jesus to save them from their sin and suffering, but have you ever called on Jesus to save you from yourself? From your pride? From your need to control everything? Have you called on Jesus to save you from your attachment to and reliance upon everything in your life that is not him?

Do you know how it’s said, “let go, let God”? The more you have, the harder it is to let go of it all. 

To any who are poor, hungry, hurt, or hated, Jesus speaks a promise: “You will be filled. You will laugh. Your reward is great in heaven. Yours is the kingdom of God.” There are no pre-qualifications that must be met for you to be healed in Christ, forgiven in Christ, or raised to new life in Christ. Just come before the Lord and put your trust in his words.  Regardless of whatever happens in your life from this point on, you can be assured that Jesus is on your side. His love awaits you on whatever pathway you must walk, no matter how scary or dark it may be. He will bless you in his time and in his way. 

It may seem as though Jesus’s promises apply only to the poorest and most broken among us; and if you’re living comfortably, God has you in the crosshairs. But that is not the case. Jesus speaks an invitation: Greater blessings await when you surrender the life built on comfort and privilege, and receive a sacred trust from him. Use your good standing to uplift those who are hated and rejected. The good things you enjoy today will become even more beautiful when you share them with someone else. But be warned: the good you have today may not be there tomorrow; so, act now!

We are church together—the rich and the poor, the sick and the healthy, the well-known and the unknown, the weak and the strong, the lost and the found. How beautiful it will be when Jesus says to someone, “blessed are you,” and you show up. How beautiful it will be to see the power of God at work redeeming the sinner, healing the sick, giving new life to the dead.

Don't be a consumer of God's grace. Be a fountain of God's grace. We are blessed because we belong to each other in Christ.