Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 6:17-26
Blessings and Woes
One of the advantages of a late
Easter is that we get to spend more time looking at Jesus’ early ministry. The
sermon on the mount is a familiar scene, Jesus, on the hillside, sharing his
wisdom. The version of this in Luke’s Gospel is a little different from the
Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel as the short list of blessings is mirrored by a
short list of woes. These blessings and woes are significant especially because
for those who hear these words, both two thousand years ago, and today, they
seem to be the wrong way round.
Blessed to be hungry?
Woe to be full?
Blessed to be poor?
Woe to be rich?
Blessed to weep…
Woe to laugh.
It seems all wrong doesn’t it?
Turned upside down… wrong way up.
The prophet Jeremiah also has
warnings of who is cursed and who is blessed: these on first glance seem more
acceptable: cursed are those who trust in human things; blessed are those who
trust in God… and a warning too: God sees into the heart – God knows what it is
we really trust!
Those who heard this proclamation
first-hand struggled: their society believed in the rule of you reap what you
sow; that good things happened to show you were favoured by God, and if bad
things happened it must be because you had done something bad and God was
punishing you.
And we sometimes fall into that trap
too: we hear others saying, what have I done to deserve this? Or, we say, you
don’t deserve that; or, we ask, why didn’t God prevent this, or that from
happening.
Well, truth is, stuff happens.
Bad things happen to good people; good things happen to bad people, and vice
versa. Stuff happens.
Jesus was turning it round to
help us move beyond the ‘stuff’, and into a real God relationship.
If terrible things do happen –
find the blessings – because those who suffer are blessed, known and loved by
God.
These blessings. The Beatitudes
are not a list of conditions to aspire to; nor are they some weird contract
Jesus is setting out for us to strive after. There is no condition attached.
It is part of our human condition
to believe we are not worthy; that we are not special enough, good enough. Yet,
what Jesus is telling us is that we ARE worthy.
We ARE special. We ARE loved.
If we find we are suffering, that
our spirit is hungry, that our lives do not feel worthy, we are blessed.
Not, we will be blessed at some
point in the future, once we’ve repented or apologised, or made good.
But we are blessed
Right now
Right here
Right where we are.
Jesus' teaching was to show people
who were marginalised, who were constantly feeling unworthy and unacceptable,
that God loved them.
Jesus' teaching was aimed at those
who felt they did not have a place in God’s Kingdom. To tell them, that their
place was now. That they were indeed part of God’s kingdom; that they were
indeed part of God’s family.
That teaching stands the test of
time; and we hear it again today: we are part of God’s story now. Today.
We are part of God’s kingdom.
Do you have things you are
unhappy about in your life?
Me too!
Do you have things that make you
feel unsure, uncomfortable, unacceptable?
Me too!!
Does that exclude us from God’s
kingdom? Does that bring us woe?!
NO!!!!
That blesses us; that confirms
the blessings that God wants us to receive.
When we hear the Good News of the
Gospel again, we are reminded we are part of God’s Story.
We are: beloved. Blessed. Known.
Loved. Forgiven.
As we strive to live as well as
we can.
We live into our blessedness
We take up the blessings God
bestows
We accept that God loves and
blesses us
The blessings – the beatitudes
are not a statement of intent; they are not even a promise.
They are a statement of what IS.
Now.
The beatitudes tell us, without
condition
Today, you and I, are blessed.
If this seems all wrong and for
others but not for you… remember, Jesus turned everything upside down and wrong
way round.
You are blessed
Believe it
Live it
Know it.
Amen 
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