Epiphany 6 Year C
Sermon Preached by Reverend Michael Hillier on Sunday, 16 February, 2025.
Luke 6.17 – 26
Our gospel reading for today is Luke’s account of the Beatitudes. Jesus has been on a mountain, really a high hill, where He chose His 12 disciples. Now, He comes down to the plain to share the Beatitudes. Interestingly, Matthew has Jesus ascending the mountain to deliver the Beatitudes, but this isn’t something for us to ‘lose any sleep over’.
Before exploring these, let me make some general comments on our text. Luke, our evangelist, emphasises two groups associated with Jesus: His disciples and what Luke refers to as ‘a great multitude of people’ (v.17).
This remark suggests that while many were curious onlookers during a time of little entertainment, others sought healing for physical ailments or mental health concerns. We learn that there was a profound desire to touch Him, as He appeared to radiate healing power.
It’s worth noting that some of these people, we are told, hailed from the region of Tyre and Sidon, which is modern-day Lebanon. His reputation was already spreading, and people were gathering from far and wide.
But there was also that other group – His disciples. Those who had sensed something deeper in Jesus and longed to touch this. They sought something profound connected to the spirit, involving meaning and purpose. Deep down, they felt God calling their names and had responded. They likely couldn’t articulate what they were searching for, a truth that would only become clearer with time, particularly beyond Jesus’ death and resurrection and with the arrival of the Spirit at Pentecost. Nonetheless, something had stirred in their hearts, even if it was just vague, initial stirrings.
Just before today’s gospel reading, while Jesus was on the mountain, He chose 12 disciples to become His apostles and eventually lead the newly established Christian Church. I wonder what they were thinking. Perhaps the word ‘Wow’ would summarise their thoughts.
Why? Because they had been chosen from that large group of disciples, and He was their Leader and Master, drawing crowds and astonishing them all. He could even perform miraculous feats and seemed to radiate a certain power! Everyone appreciates success, and this was shaping to be a life that exceeded their wildest dreams. Perhaps one day, they, too, might share in that power!
Jesus wouldn’t have been oblivious to the thoughts racing through their minds. As with all of us, psychological inflation can be a problem, and the twelve disciples would likely be sensing the first hints of possibilities for themselves. Would they become wealthy, never know hunger, and live in luxury? Would Jesus – and they wouldn’t want to linger too much on this risky thought – defeat the occupying Roman army? This might well mean they would become generals under Jesus’ leadership! What a brilliant notion! From fishermen and the like to military generals! Talk about inflationary possibilities!
And so, Jesus delivers what we know as the Beatitudes. It’s as if He has now become a metaphorical bomb thrower. His disciples would have been deeply shocked by what He said in these Beatitudes. Or perhaps, and more likely at this early stage, its profound meaning didn’t register with them. This was so far from their thinking that it might have gone entirely over their heads. Jesus spoke the truth, but at this stage, it was too deep and profound for His disciples as they began their journey with Him.
Let’s now explore these four blessings and woes. His listeners would have been surprised, if not shocked, at what He says about blessings and who is blessed: the poor, the hungry, those weeping, and those who hate and defame you. Then Jesus immediately follows this by pronouncing four woes against the rich, those with full stomachs, those who laugh, and those well-regarded—four promises and four warnings. This was not what they were expecting.
Our initial reaction might be to notice how these blessings and woes mirror each other, each serving as the direct opposite of the other: the poor are blessed; woe to the rich. Blessed are the hungry; woe to those with full bellies. Blessed are those who mourn; woe to those who are laughing right now. Blessed are the despised and reviled; woe to those held in high regard. What’s happening here?
It’s as if Jesus is turning the world’s values upside down, offering us a fresh way to live. God is flipping the world upside down and desires us to adopt a new perspective. Yet, instead of viewing it as God upending the world, we might see it as God simply setting it right. These are the values He wants us to embrace, values that stand in stark contrast to the world’s – no wonder they will end up hating us and defaming us as Jesus predicted.
Let’s face it: if you read the weekend newspapers, watch television programs, or engage with social media, you won’t see the poor, the hungry, or the weeping.; they are not presented as examples for us to admire and emulate.
So, what is Jesus really saying? Why are the poor, hungry, and weeping blessed by God? Let me explain by considering their opposites. When you’re rich, full, laughing, and comfortable, you’re often quite content with the status quo, thinking, ‘Long may it last!’ Like everyone else, I feel satisfied and drowsy and think all is well with the world after a big meal. I’m content with the status quo. Just let me be!
It’s only when I’m poor, hungry, and weeping that I feel the urge to change my situation. In that moment, I recognise my need and dependency. God invites me to rely on Him instead of myself, reflecting dependence and humility rather than self-sufficiency.
Let me consider this from another angle. There’s nothing inherently blessed about being poor, hungry, or in tears. In fact, many people in those situations might not see reliance on God as the solution. And yet, this is what God asks of us.
It feels like we’re at an impasse and in a tough spot. Perhaps the way forward is reflected in that saying where Jesus invites us to become like little children. He isn’t suggesting we should act childishly, but rather that we should embrace a child’s trust and recognise that we can’t do this alone. Only with God’s help and in His strength can we truly become who He wants us to be. The rugged, independent, lone ranger mindset isn’t the path forward for Christians. That’s not child-like!
We struggle with all this, and rightly so. Finding a way forward in life isn’t easy, and we often feel uncertain and unsure. God understands this and knows our struggles. It is through our struggles, even our failures, and in our trust—sometimes even in what feels like a furnace – that our character is shaped and forged, our Christian faith deepens, and we grow more reliant on God. Being right and having all the answers isn’t what the Christian faith is about; it’s truly about learning to trust in God’s goodness towards us.
In the end, all I can say is this: Do you remember when the rich young man turned away from Jesus, and He remarked on how difficult it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God? Peter asked, ‘Lord, who then can be saved?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible for humans is possible for God. All things are possible with God.’
That sums it up: I can’t save myself, and you can’t save yourself. Only God can. It’s a free gift. We can only endeavour to point ourselves in the right direction and leave it to God’s mercy. That’s what He wants, and what a gracious and merciful Father we have.