The logic of the kingdom

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

He came down with them 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. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

‘Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

‘But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

‘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.

‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

- Luke 6:12-26

Our physician, Luke, tells us that Jesus prays all night before this next episode of Jesus' ministry. It's significant that this prayer is all night in its duration, because the events of the next day, as portrayed here, are so central to Jesus' ministry. Our physician has Jesus taking time for reflection, prayer, communion with the Father before making important decisions and giving the teachings that will last through the centuries to our time. It's significant to me that this necessary time alone with God precedes the actions and decisions Jesus takes. It teaches me that if we are to do what is truly good for us, we should follow this example. The "doctor" teaches us what a whole, full life is - it is not just action but also balanced by the necessary contemplation.

Jesus' first act after this all night prayer is to choose his twelve apostles. And then he gathers with them and the crowds who have once again come for healing, and he begins to preach the elements which are meshed in all of his teaching and are familiar to us from the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is found in the gospel of Matthew; this is a more abbreviated version and is sometimes called the Sermon on the Plain, as Luke records that Jesus stood on a level place. A commentary notes that over the course of three years, Jesus taught many of the same things in a setting of hills, plains, the lakeshore and the cities, and we have these teachings in various versions. He is everywhere with us, his teachings apply to us wherever we are, whoever we are.

It's important, again as part of a whole, full picture of this ministry and what it means to "minister," for us to understand this sermon and teaching as part of healing. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. It is as if Jesus has been "charged" by his all night prayer, and all these forms of healing and ministry are the effects.

Jesus begins to preach the "logic" of the kingdom and its reality.

‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

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

‘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.

‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

This is the language of the world of Spirit, in which it is our values, those fruits we bear that Jesus will continually preach about, that give us identity and character, and create for us a definition of what is good.

This logic stands the logic of narcissism on its head: we are not simply what others think about us, we are not the appearance we make to the world - our value may indeed be the opposite of that which is reflected back to us from the world. This is the logic of humility, and of an inner truth that determines identity, value and worth.