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

 

 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 sons 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 on a 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 sons of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  Let us note here with my study bible, which cites St. Ambrose of Milan, that Jesus, as He is the Son of God, doesn't pray as if to obtain grace or revelation from the Father.  Instead, as the Son of Man, Christ prays as the Advocate for humanity (see 1 John 2:1).  This is, in a sense, the high priestly function, as He prays on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16).  This passage tells us that Jesus spent all night in prayer before selecting the twelve apostles; my study bible cites St. Theophan, who writes that this teaches us that before choosing a candidate for any spiritual ministry, we should pray that God will reveal to us the one suited for the task.  Jesus chooses from among His disciples ("learners") the twelve who will also become apostles (those "sent out" on a mission).  In a comment my study bible notes that the names of the twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name (and Levi, who was introduced to us as the tax collector in our previous chapter in Wednesday's reading, is now called Matthew).  As in Matthew's Gospel, these names are given in pairs, which suggest who might have 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.  As Luke tells us that Jesus stood on a level place with this crowd of His disciples as well as a great multitude of others from all over regions of Israel, the sermon which follows after these verses is called the Sermon on the Plain.  As we will read, it is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), although it is not as extensive.  My study bible notes that Jesus repeated many of His teachings over a period of three years in His ministry.  Let us also note here that Luke once again speaks about the power in Jesus; as those who seek to be healed in faith reach out to touch Him, power went out from Him to heal.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  As with the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-10), Jesus preaches first the blessings of the life the kingdom of God.  To be blessed in this context indicates heavenly, spiritual exaltation of those who participate in this life, rather than earthly happiness or prosperity.  My study bible says that in Hebrew, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people, those who are dependent upon God.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  Jesus speaks to those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6).  Christ and the blessings of the Kingdom which He brings in His ministry are present in order to fill this hunger.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."  Those who weep are as those who mourn over the sorrows and sufferings of life, the sufferings of others, the state of the world, and their own sins.  In the context of this Sermon, Jesus seems to indicate weeping over a necessary separation through faith, a loss of community and departure from the past through the embrace of the life of the Kingdom.

"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."  Jesus compares those who are willing to follow Him in disciples to the prophets of old, who were also persecuted for adhering to the voice of God, and for seeking the kingdom of heaven.

"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 addition to the Beatitudes, Luke also gives four "Woes" that aren't found in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew.  My study bible says that woe is an indication not merely of sorrow, but of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24, Amos 5:18-19, Revelation 12:12).   My study bible cites St. Cyril of Alexandria, who states that those who prize the vices listed here are liable to the "utmost misery"; but they find hope when they sacrifice earthly blessings in showing mercy to others.  

In the Sermon on the Plain, it is striking to me that Luke's orientation is toward the Gentile audience among the nations outside of Israel who are becoming Christian.  In the Beatitudes and Woes we might imagine those members of the expansive Roman Empire who risk their lives and social standing to become Christian, departing from social life and community in particular ways in order to live their faith in Christ.  We read in the promises of this Sermon the voice of Christ speaking to those who will leave what is known to them, possibly risking martyrdom as worship of the Emperor is mandatory, and turning to the blessings of the Kingdom -- Christ's "blessed" way of life even in this world.  (Of course, the Gospel is also addressing the Jews who follow Christ and are also enduring persecution.)  He speaks, importantly, about the sadness and hardship involved in doing so in the Blessings, but also of the Woes which will come to those who live only for material wealth and social standing, addressing the faithful who choose instead to follow their conscience and their souls' response to God.  These words remain important because for many of us, 2,000 years after these words were spoken, the challenges remain similar.  We're not going to be penalized because we refuse pagan worship or to worship an Emperor, but for many of us there are social choices to be made in following our conscience and embracing the blessed way of Christ.  Christ preaches to us humility in a world that prizes self-promotion in every venue, at a time when social media offers us all a way to present ourselves in the pictures and statements we wish for others to see about us.  The temptation is great not simply to create some image of perfect life in accordance with social demands of our particular circle ("when all men speak well of you"), but also to conform to the zeitgeist; that is, to whatever particular things are now considered to be social norms.  Again, especially through social media, this pressure is fierce, with every media outlet streaming into a personal mobile phone through apps and platforms of any sort.  Media personalities drive opinion, and we've all become familiar with the remorseless social pillaging of those who dare to be different and to think for themselves.   Some social interactions seem to take on the dynamic of the "old wineskins" we read about in the Gospel, of the "clean" vs. the "unclean," so there is no room for the prescriptions of the healing ministry of Christ.   Therefore many of us live today out of step with the values of conformity, scapegoating, self-promotion, and especially the vilifying of enemies as something less than human, rating less than human treatment and personal dignity.  Such values are entirely out of step with the preaching of Jesus Christ, especially in the Sermon on the Mount.  It really matters very little what political "side" one might belong to; Jesus Himself speaks to our souls about faith and our connection and deep need for reconciliation and union with God.  He does not offer political solutions to the problems of Israel.  Indeed, at the Crucifixion, it will be the one who represents the political solution who will be prized by the crowd, while they call for the death of Jesus on the Cross.  We as faithful are called to the fruits of the Spirit, to the blessings of the Kingdom, to cultivate the heart of the poor and dependence on God, humility in our understanding of ourselves, and to seek the praise of God over the praise of men, even to pray for our enemies.  We are called to be prudent, and especially to endure in practicing mercy as we are conscious that we await the Bridegroom's return.  That is the way of the Kingdom.  Self-righteousness, which seems to be so easily cultivated on social media, is the last thing we want.  An unfortunate cultivation of outrage and hate goes hand-in-hand with it.  But true righteousness is in obedience to God, and an awareness that we are always on a road of deepening faith and awareness of the things we need to change in ourselves in order to grow in our dependence upon God.   These are places to which we are called by God, and cannot define by our own inadequate measuring stick.  Let us consider the Gentile faithful of the struggling early Church to whom Luke orients his Gospel, and understand that we live in a time somewhat similar in ways to their time, especially for those of us blessed with a relative prosperity among the countries of the world.  Where entitlement becomes the baseline, we so frequently have no idea how good we have it.  Let us never forget the heart of the poor, as well as the poor among us wherever they might be found, whether they are simply those discarded by a social circle, isolated or depressed or struggling, coping with temptations and hardships and violence, unemployment or health concerns and family trauma, or simply struggling for their faith in a hostile world.  Indeed, the poor might be all around us, but it's likely we won't see them unless we become "no respecter of persons" in imitation of Christ, the One who judges with true judgment.