Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets

 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

Yesterday we read that it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of the 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.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan, who states that Jesus, as Son of God, doesn't pray to obtain grace or revelation from God the Father as we would.  But He prays -- as Son of Man, a title for Himself He has used twice in Luke's Gospel at this point -- as the Advocate for humanity (see also 1 John 2:1).   As Jesus has gone out to the mountain to pray, and also continued all night in prayer to God, we know that there is a momentous new step in His ministry that is being taken.   My study bible cites the commentary of Theophylact in noting that this depth of earnest effort in prayer before choosing the twelve apostles teaches us that before choosing a candidate for any spiritual ministry, it is important to pray that God will reveal the one suited for the task.  At any rate, it is an example for all of our lives before any important new endeavor is begun.

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.    Jesus calls His disciples to Himself:  disciple in the Greek means "learner."  He chooses twelve whom He also names apostles:  apostle means "one sent out (as on a mission)."  The two terms are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  These names are given in pairs, which suggests that they are possibly named as a list of those who traveled together on the first missionary journey, as Mark tells us they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7). 

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.  This is another significant sign of His growing ministry and fame that has now spread beyond Galilee:  He stands to speak not only to a crowd of His disciples, but also before a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious life,  and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile region.  The crowd witnesses to tremendous power that goes out from Jesus to heal.   That Jesus stood on a level place to deliver the sermon that follows renders it termed the Sermon on the Plain.  Similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), it is shorter but also has elements unique to this Sermon.  My study bible comments that Jesus would have repeated many of His teachings over the three-year period of His ministry. 

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  We note first of all that Jesus now speaks to His disciples.  They are the ones following Him, and seeking entrance to the kingdom of God which He proclaims.  To be blessed in Jesus' context indicate heavenly, spiritual exaltation, and not a common use of the word indicating worldly happiness or prosperity.   These are the blessings of the life of the Kingdom.  In Hebrew, my study bible notes, to be "poor" means both the materially poor, but also the faithful who are among God's people.  To be poor in spirit is to have the heart of the poor, the same humble attitude as the poor, a deep dependence upon God. 

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  Let us note the poetic way that Jesus delivers His Sermon, in couplets that give us understanding through paradox.  The hunger He speaks of is a spiritual hunger, which it is His mission to fulfill and offer the bread of the Kingdom.  In the Sermon on the Mount, He preaches to those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness," which He has come to offer and to teach.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."  To weep is to sorrow or to mourn.   It indicates a feeling of loss -- that is, a loss of comfort in the purely material.  My study bible notes that we sorrow over the sufferings of this life, the sufferings of others, the state of the world, and our own sins.  But we are comforted and find joy in the power of God (John 15:11, 17:13), which also gives us true mission and true identity (John 3:29). 

"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."  Here is a distinct and powerful contrast with the ways in which we may be treated in society and even community for being faithful followers of Christ.  We are to rejoice, and even leap for joy.  To be persecuted for righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:10) is to be like the prophets who fulfill righteousness, the saints and martyrs who came after them, and indeed, to be like Christ Himself.

"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."  In Luke's Sermon on the Plain, there are also four "woes" not found in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  (In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus pronounces many "woes" to the scribes and Pharisees; see Matthew 23:13-39).  My study bible tells us that woe is an indication not simply of sorrow but of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).   It notes that those who prize the vices that are listed here are liable to the "utmost misery."   But, according to St. Cyril of Alexandria, they find hope in sacrificing earthly blessings when showing mercy to others.

Why should Jesus mention woes?  In our modern concepts about Christianity, we frequently like to emphasize the inclusiveness and mercy of Christ.  But the ministry of Christ teaches us that His words have consequences.  The powerful word of Christ is something one ignores or rejects with risk of something, a risk of great loss.  When Jesus speaks of those who are rich, or who are full, who laugh now, and of whom all speak well, He is referring to those who sacrifice the values of the Kingdom for these material goods (and they are all material goods).  That is, as St. Cyril alludes, for a life in which all these things come first, and mercy and righteousness are sacrificed for material gain.  What the Gospels teach us that mercy is not a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.  God's mercy requires our own practice of mercy.   One of the Beatitudes given in the Sermon on the Mount is "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  God asks for our practice of mercy in order that we may also realize God's mercy for ourselves.  The entire thrust of the Gospels and Jesus' preaching is to teach us about the blessedness of this Kingdom.  But for those who do not wish to enter, there is a high price to be paid, particularly when rejection is deliberate and opportunities for mercy are repeatedly spurned.  All of this is to say that we are offered a choice, and that choice is clear cut.  Jesus never minces words when it comes to the fact that we must choose what comes first.  In the Sermon on the Mount, He tells us, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."  This is another way of phrasing the teachings in today's reading.  Let us choose wisely, for where our treasure is, there our heart -- our whole and full center of ourselves -- will be also (Matthew 6:21).  Jesus also makes it clear that righteousness can be costly; we won't necessarily be popular people.  But the price of admission to this Kingdom is well worth the cost.