THE AUDIO-RECORDING OF TODAYS SERVICE:
Video Recording of Today's Sermon
Homily on Luke 6:17-26
In the past week and a half American President Donald Trump put a pause on all USAID to countries around the world. It has sparked strong opinions on all sides of the political debate. In Africa in particular there have been voices of deep concern about what this sudden loss of funding will mean particularly to HIV/AIDS programs, but more generally to disease control… will it potentially come back to bite America if serious diseases begin to spiral out of control? There is also the concern for food programs and those who currently depend on these. One of the lone African voices in support of Trump’s decision was that of Paul Kigame from Rwanda who stated in an interview that Africa needs to wean itself off foreign aid to become self-sustaining.
Some in America are clearly happy with the cuts in foreign USAid… on the basis that charity begins at home, especially when the US debt is running into the billions. Others are saying that America’s stability in the world order depends on stability across the globe. If third world countries are plunged into deeper instability is it not going to fuel further migration issues, not just for America but for America’s Western allies?
I guess we are all having to watch this space. How is all of this going to play out not only for America and America’s Allies but also for Third World Countries? – Time will tell. These things are perhaps a reminder that in a global world and a global economy where everything is interconnected it is all rather like an intricate spider-web. If you move one part of the web on the one side the vibrations and effects are felt on another. If key strands on the web are unhooked, there are dangers that whole sections of the spider web collapse.
These a complex issues and these are also fragile days for many many reasons.
Against the backdrop of all of these things we read a very challenging passage from Luke’s Gospel set for today’s lectionary readings. Now when we read any of the Gospels we need to remember that we are reading the Gospel ‘according to…’ Whatever stories or teachings we read in the four Gospels have been filtered through the understanding of the writer. That’s what it means when we say: ‘According to…’. And so while Luke’s Gospel may share a lot in common with Mark and Matthew, there is a lot of unique material in Luke’s Gospel. And in addition, Luke has his own philosophical and theological understanding of the significance of Jesus that is unique to Luke.
I would be surprised if you heard today’s passage being preached on in a Gospel Hall or a Baptist Church, and also even in a Presbyterian church that doesn’t follow a structured program for working through the Bible like the Lectionary. This is a passage that doesn’t fit neatly into the neat salvation theories of most evangelical theologies and therefore is often simply avoided. To be quite honest I think this is the first time I have ever preached on this passage myself!
And that is the benefit of following the common lectionary passages Sunday by Sunday… it makes us read things that we would otherwise avoid.
The passage we look at today from Luke 6:17-26 places us at the beginning of Jesus’ public teaching in Luke’s Gospel. It comes after Jesus has given his inaugural sermon in the Synagogue in Nazareth where the listeners were so offended by his reference to outsiders that they tried to throw him unsuccessfully off a cliff – that’s s a story unique to Luke’s Gospel. After that Jesus calls his first disciples with a miraculous catch of fish – a story that some might regard as symbolic while others might regard it literally. Following the flow of Luke’s narrative, today’s passage comes immediately after Jesus has called the twelve apostles and follows a night spent in prayer on a mountain.
The setting of today’s passage is deeply significant: while Matthew places Jesus’ famous sermon on a mountain (the Sermon on the Mount), Luke presents Jesus as descending to a level place, emphasizing his closeness to the people. Matthew by showing Jesus up a high mountain is emphasizing Jesus connection with God. By contrast, Luke, by portraying Jesus preaching on a level plain is emphasizing that Jesus is not placing himself above other people, but coming down as it were to the level of ordinary people. This ‘Sermon on the Plain’ is therefore characteristic of Luke’s emphasis on Jesus concern for and closeness to the poor, the marginalized, and the suffering and his concern to raise them up.
At the heart of this passage Jesus is portrayed proclaiming a series of blessings and woes. These beatitudes in Luke differ notably from Matthew’s version. Where Matthew spiritualizes the beatitudes—“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3)—Luke is more direct and down to earth: “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20). The contrast continues with the woes: “Woe to you who are rich” (Luke 6:24). Matthew’s beatitudes contain no such woes. But in Luke’s version of the beatitudes he presents a stark reversal of fortunes, a theme deeply woven into his Gospel. From the outset, in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), we hear of God who “has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” In the parable of the Rich Man and poor Lazarus later on in Luke’s Gospel we find a similar dramatic reversal of fortunes. Jesus’ teaching here in Luke 6 re-emphasizes that particular understanding of the writer of Luke: that the coming of God’s kingdom brings a radical reordering of human society what some might call “A Gospel of Reversal”.
Luke’s Gospel consistently portrays a world where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. This is not just a metaphorical or spiritual shift but an actual transformation of human relationships and economic realities. Jesus’ mission, as announced in Luke 4:18-19, is to “bring good news to the poor... to proclaim release to the captives... to let the oppressed go free.” Throughout the Gospel, we see this enacted in Jesus’ interactions: he eats with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29-32), elevates the faith of the marginalized (Luke 7:36-50), and tells parables that overturn conventional expectations, such as the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The blessings and woes in Luke 6 echo this trajectory, reinforcing a Gospel that calls for both personal and societal transformation.
In this passage, in keeping with the rest of the Gospel, Luke’s portrayal of Jesus underscores a divine bias toward the poor and the oppressed. This is difficult to understand, shouldn’t God be completely unbiased some might ask? But an analogy might be helpful – When a mother was once asked which of her children she loved the most, she refused to answer saying she loved them all equally. But as her questioner persisted and wasn’t satisfied with the mother’s answer, she eventually said the following – I love them all equally, but at any given time, the one who is suffering the most is the one who receives more of my love and concern. If there is a bias in God towards the poor as Luke’s Gospel suggests, then it is because the love of God is being directed towards those who are suffering the most – and in the ancient world the gap between the rich land-owners and the poor was extremely large (as it is across our world today). This does not mean that wealth is inherently evil, but it does serve as a warning: those who are comfortable, who are satisfied with the present world order, may find themselves resistant to the in-breaking of God’s kingdom. And so the woes towards the rich and the comfortable in this passage function as a call to repentance, urging those with wealth, power, and privilege to align themselves with the values of God’s reign, generosity, justice, and solidarity with the least and the lowest.
The message of Jesus here according to Luke is deeply challenging. It is easy to domesticate Jesus words, to interpret them in purely spiritual terms, but Luke resists this. Luke’s Jesus is concerned with the real conditions of human life, hunger, poverty, sorrow, and Luke’s Jesus calls his followers to radical trust in God’s provision and combined with radical generosity toward others.
Out of interest I saw this week that the word ‘alms’ as in ‘almsgiving’ comes from the word ‘nurture’… which is what a mother does to help her child to grow to maturity. Luke’s Jesus is not about charity that simply keeps the poor in a state of dependence, but rather their empowerment.
As always, this is just some food for through for all of us today, as all of us wrestle with what it means to be followers of Jesus in a really difficult and fragile world. Amen.
In the past week and a half American President Donald Trump put a pause on all USAID to countries around the world. It has sparked strong opinions on all sides of the political debate. In Africa in particular there have been voices of deep concern about what this sudden loss of funding will mean particularly to HIV/AIDS programs, but more generally to disease control… will it potentially come back to bite America if serious diseases begin to spiral out of control? There is also the concern for food programs and those who currently depend on these. One of the lone African voices in support of Trump’s decision was that of Paul Kigame from Rwanda who stated in an interview that Africa needs to wean itself off foreign aid to become self-sustaining.
Some in America are clearly happy with the cuts in foreign USAid… on the basis that charity begins at home, especially when the US debt is running into the billions. Others are saying that America’s stability in the world order depends on stability across the globe. If third world countries are plunged into deeper instability is it not going to fuel further migration issues, not just for America but for America’s Western allies?
I guess we are all having to watch this space. How is all of this going to play out not only for America and America’s Allies but also for Third World Countries? – Time will tell. These things are perhaps a reminder that in a global world and a global economy where everything is interconnected it is all rather like an intricate spider-web. If you move one part of the web on the one side the vibrations and effects are felt on another. If key strands on the web are unhooked, there are dangers that whole sections of the spider web collapse.
These a complex issues and these are also fragile days for many many reasons.
Against the backdrop of all of these things we read a very challenging passage from Luke’s Gospel set for today’s lectionary readings. Now when we read any of the Gospels we need to remember that we are reading the Gospel ‘according to…’ Whatever stories or teachings we read in the four Gospels have been filtered through the understanding of the writer. That’s what it means when we say: ‘According to…’. And so while Luke’s Gospel may share a lot in common with Mark and Matthew, there is a lot of unique material in Luke’s Gospel. And in addition, Luke has his own philosophical and theological understanding of the significance of Jesus that is unique to Luke.
I would be surprised if you heard today’s passage being preached on in a Gospel Hall or a Baptist Church, and also even in a Presbyterian church that doesn’t follow a structured program for working through the Bible like the Lectionary. This is a passage that doesn’t fit neatly into the neat salvation theories of most evangelical theologies and therefore is often simply avoided. To be quite honest I think this is the first time I have ever preached on this passage myself!
And that is the benefit of following the common lectionary passages Sunday by Sunday… it makes us read things that we would otherwise avoid.
The passage we look at today from Luke 6:17-26 places us at the beginning of Jesus’ public teaching in Luke’s Gospel. It comes after Jesus has given his inaugural sermon in the Synagogue in Nazareth where the listeners were so offended by his reference to outsiders that they tried to throw him unsuccessfully off a cliff – that’s s a story unique to Luke’s Gospel. After that Jesus calls his first disciples with a miraculous catch of fish – a story that some might regard as symbolic while others might regard it literally. Following the flow of Luke’s narrative, today’s passage comes immediately after Jesus has called the twelve apostles and follows a night spent in prayer on a mountain.
The setting of today’s passage is deeply significant: while Matthew places Jesus’ famous sermon on a mountain (the Sermon on the Mount), Luke presents Jesus as descending to a level place, emphasizing his closeness to the people. Matthew by showing Jesus up a high mountain is emphasizing Jesus connection with God. By contrast, Luke, by portraying Jesus preaching on a level plain is emphasizing that Jesus is not placing himself above other people, but coming down as it were to the level of ordinary people. This ‘Sermon on the Plain’ is therefore characteristic of Luke’s emphasis on Jesus concern for and closeness to the poor, the marginalized, and the suffering and his concern to raise them up.
At the heart of this passage Jesus is portrayed proclaiming a series of blessings and woes. These beatitudes in Luke differ notably from Matthew’s version. Where Matthew spiritualizes the beatitudes—“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3)—Luke is more direct and down to earth: “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20). The contrast continues with the woes: “Woe to you who are rich” (Luke 6:24). Matthew’s beatitudes contain no such woes. But in Luke’s version of the beatitudes he presents a stark reversal of fortunes, a theme deeply woven into his Gospel. From the outset, in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), we hear of God who “has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” In the parable of the Rich Man and poor Lazarus later on in Luke’s Gospel we find a similar dramatic reversal of fortunes. Jesus’ teaching here in Luke 6 re-emphasizes that particular understanding of the writer of Luke: that the coming of God’s kingdom brings a radical reordering of human society what some might call “A Gospel of Reversal”.
Luke’s Gospel consistently portrays a world where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. This is not just a metaphorical or spiritual shift but an actual transformation of human relationships and economic realities. Jesus’ mission, as announced in Luke 4:18-19, is to “bring good news to the poor... to proclaim release to the captives... to let the oppressed go free.” Throughout the Gospel, we see this enacted in Jesus’ interactions: he eats with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29-32), elevates the faith of the marginalized (Luke 7:36-50), and tells parables that overturn conventional expectations, such as the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The blessings and woes in Luke 6 echo this trajectory, reinforcing a Gospel that calls for both personal and societal transformation.
In this passage, in keeping with the rest of the Gospel, Luke’s portrayal of Jesus underscores a divine bias toward the poor and the oppressed. This is difficult to understand, shouldn’t God be completely unbiased some might ask? But an analogy might be helpful – When a mother was once asked which of her children she loved the most, she refused to answer saying she loved them all equally. But as her questioner persisted and wasn’t satisfied with the mother’s answer, she eventually said the following – I love them all equally, but at any given time, the one who is suffering the most is the one who receives more of my love and concern. If there is a bias in God towards the poor as Luke’s Gospel suggests, then it is because the love of God is being directed towards those who are suffering the most – and in the ancient world the gap between the rich land-owners and the poor was extremely large (as it is across our world today). This does not mean that wealth is inherently evil, but it does serve as a warning: those who are comfortable, who are satisfied with the present world order, may find themselves resistant to the in-breaking of God’s kingdom. And so the woes towards the rich and the comfortable in this passage function as a call to repentance, urging those with wealth, power, and privilege to align themselves with the values of God’s reign, generosity, justice, and solidarity with the least and the lowest.
The message of Jesus here according to Luke is deeply challenging. It is easy to domesticate Jesus words, to interpret them in purely spiritual terms, but Luke resists this. Luke’s Jesus is concerned with the real conditions of human life, hunger, poverty, sorrow, and Luke’s Jesus calls his followers to radical trust in God’s provision and combined with radical generosity toward others.
Out of interest I saw this week that the word ‘alms’ as in ‘almsgiving’ comes from the word ‘nurture’… which is what a mother does to help her child to grow to maturity. Luke’s Jesus is not about charity that simply keeps the poor in a state of dependence, but rather their empowerment.
As always, this is just some food for through for all of us today, as all of us wrestle with what it means to be followers of Jesus in a really difficult and fragile world. Amen.
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