SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C

GOSPEL READING: LUKE 6: 17, 20-26

BLESSED ARE THE POOR. WOE TO YOU WHO ARE RICH.

Rev. Linh N. Nguyen

INTRODUCTION:

Today’s Gospel from Saint Luke is called Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain.” In contrast to Matthew’s eight beatitudes, Luke has four beatitudes and four woes. Jesus takes the attitudes of the world, and turns conventional wisdom upside down.

GOSPEL BACKGROUND:

Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.

In the previous paragraph, Luke mentions that Jesus was praying on the mountain. After spending a night in prayer on the mountain, Jesus chose his twelve disciples. In the Bible, a mountain is a sacred place of revelation and communion with God. Jesus descends the mountain and stops on a level stretch, and teaches his disciples. The disciples seem to be the specific audience for the four beatitudes, but they seem an inappropriate audience for the four woes. It is thought that these woes are addressed to others in the crowd, who are potential disciples if they follow Jesus.

FOUR BEATITUDES:

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.”

Jesus never intended to call material poverty a blessing. This poverty is a curse. In fact, Jesus commanded that his disciples to try to alleviate material poverty. The poor whom Jesus says are blessed, are those who cannot depend on the things of this world for happiness, and therefore they need to put all their trust in God. In ancient world, the vast majority of people were poor and powerless.

These poor are “blessed” because their powerlessness and need helps them realize how much they need God. They realize they are completely dependent on God. And God shows preference to the poor, even as a parent cares for a child in need.

“Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied”

Again Jesus is not referring to those who are physically hungry. This is a curse. Rather, he means anyone who hungers and yearns for fulfillment. There are many different kinds of hunger, especially hungers of the human heart.

They too are blessed because they realize nothing on earth can fully satisfy them. They are fortunate to experience the truth of hunger for righteousness. They can continue to seek God who alone can fulfill their deepest hungers.

“Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.”

The word for “weeping” here means any loud expression of pain or sorrow. Again, some of us may be hurting and crying inside, for any number of reasons.

There is no blessing in the weeping or cause for grieving itself, rather it is a sign that they have not insulated themselves from the pain of living and loving. Like Jesus, they open themselves up to hurt and also to the healing help of God.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.”

These are three terms for an experience of rejection, one of life’s deepest wounds. Later in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus warned his disciples they will be hated and criticized. Jesus also promised that such disciples will be rewarded greatly by God in heaven.

FOUR WOES:

Jesus now gives four “woes” which match the four beatitudes in form and content. Jesus connects these woes to things we usually consider to be sources of happiness.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

To be rich denotes not only material wealth, power, influence, and security, but it is associated with the attitude that they do not need to rely or trust totally in God. This kind of wealth can give one a false sense of independence and arrogance.

The consolation of the rich is their worldly wealth.  Their “consolation is now.” This is contrasted with the consolation of the poor, which is the kingdom of God.

“Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.”

These middle two woes, like the middle two beatitudes, describe present conditions of need or comfort, that will experience a complete role reversal in the future. Those who are presently in a position of comfort will later experience hardship.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Again Jesus turns around the conventional wisdom of this world... Those who are accepted and respected by others may be like the “false prophets.” Whereas those who are rejected by others are being accepted by God.