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

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

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

"Blessed are you poor,
  For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
  For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
  For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
  And when they exclude you,
  And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
  For the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
  For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
  For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
  For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full,
  For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
  For you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
  For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 - Luke 6:12-26

In yesterday's reading, the Gospel tells us that on the second Sabbath after the first Jesus went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage; and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  Luke's Gospel presents us with the choosing of the Twelve Apostles.  My study bible points out for us that "Jesus prays all night before He selects the Twelve whom He will train to continue His mission in the world."

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  At this point Jesus' ministry has reached such a point that He must preach in places where huge crowds ("a great multitude") can gather; the Gospel tells us that there is even "a crowd of His disciples" with Him.  People from everywhere in Israel and outside of Israel are gathered, far beyond just Galilee.  Everyone who seeks healing, of all kinds, comes to Him.  Jesus emanates great power; it is something that comes from Him.  It is the crowds who seek simply to touch and make contact with this healing power.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."  My study bible points out that "this teaching is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) but not as extensive.  This has been called the Sermon on the Plain because Jesus 'stood on a level place' (verse 17) when He delivered it.  Jesus taught many of the same things over a period of three years in a setting of hills, plains, the lakeshore and the cities, and we have His teachings in various versions."  In the "Beatitudes" taught here, we see a theme with which we are familiar (especially from the Beatitudes of Matthew).  But it hearkens back to the song of Mary at the Annunciation (known as the Magnificat) and also the quotation of Isaiah by John the Baptist.  Both of these are also found in Luke's Gospel, and both also tell us of a kind of "evening up" where the lowly are lifted up, and those who exalt themselves are humbled.  It is a common theme.  Here, in these beatitudes or blessings found in Luke's Gospel, we have worldly values turned on end:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  This is the real message, given here to these people who stand on the plain to be healed and to hear Jesus.  We know that power radiates from Him, and so there is something at work here that is powerful, in the midst of the powerless.  The poor that are here are blessed for one great reason -- for theirs is the kingdom of God.  It is this kingdom, from which comes and in which is retained Christ's power.  In this sense, so shall the hungry be filled, as Jesus taught Peter to "feed my lambs."  And also those who weep will laugh with the joy that He leaves us and gives to us, not as the world gives.  Even when we may be hated, excluded, reviled and called evil for His sake, we should leap for joy -- for one powerful reason, because of the treasures we have in this kingdom.  We are included in the lineage of prophets, all belonging to this Kingdom, filled with the Spirit.

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."  My study bible tells us that "Luke also reports four 'woes' in addition to his four Beatitudes."  Here, the "evening up" also takes in those who are secure in a worldly status but without this kingdom.  In Matthew's Gospel, in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about charitable giving, and those who give in order to be seen.  He tells His disciples not to be like those hypocrites, and He adds:  "Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  So I believe we should read Jesus' "woes" here, about those who already have their reward but fail to store treasures in the true place of treasure; they are those who live for the opinions of others -- the "praise of men, rather than the praise of God." 

The words of Mary in the Magnificat echo an earlier song by another woman expecting a child, those of Hannah.  In the Old Testament lineage of types, we seen these themes of worldly expectation turned upside down, the rich who mourn and the poor who may rejoice -- the hungry filled by the One who has lifted up the lowly.  Isaiah speaks of freeing the captives and setting at liberty those who are oppressed in the passage which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth, when Jesus tells His former neighbors, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  Everywhere there is fulfillment of this Kingdom, there is also the power of Christ, to heal those who need healing, to lift up the lowly, to comfort those who mourn -- all for the sake of the Kingdom.  Isaiah also gives us the words we may hear in our liturgies:  "Heaven and earth are full of your glory."  Where Christ's power is, there His kingdom is also.  And this is the great thing which gives us joy, which fills the earth and the heavens and all creation, within which we proclaim His glory together with the angels.  It is the thing that gives us joy, that is even worth being reviled for and hated for.  It is this very tangible blessing which we put first in our lives, before the "praise of men," from which we may take joy and in which we are comforted.  It has sustained the prophets and it blesses us anew.  So, before you plan your day today, before you take time for the things that concern you in life, think about putting this Kingdom first.  It may shake up your perspective.  It may take you out of your priority list.  It may give you comfort in the place where you mourn, and it may exalt you with a kind of joy that is incomprehensible where you were down.  And then plan your day, and then remind yourself of the power that comes from Him.  To live within this Kingdom is not to be without the rest of the things of life, but it is to take note of the priorities He sets down.  We just may find that our lives take on meanings and values we can't quite explain in worldly terms, and a sense in which the intangibles give us something beyond the worldly things and in ways the world cannot give.  To come to know this is also to be healed with His power.  Let us remember, also, that there are many ways to be poor, many ways in which people mourn and weep, many ways and things for which people may hunger in their lives -- including those which are not obvious to a worldly eye and in the lives of those whom we may envy.  So also many worldly "riches" (including the "praise of men") may be false, empty, even forms of self-delusion.  But Christ is here for each one of us.