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 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened on the second Sabbath after the first (meaning a feast day that occurred after the Sabbath day) that He 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.   The Orthodox Study Bible comments that Jesus, being the Son of God, does not pray as if to obtain grace or revelation from the Father.  As Son of Man, He prays as the Advocate for humanity (as stated by St. Ambrose of Milan; see 1 John 2:1).  Here Jesus spends all night in prayer before He chooses the twelve apostles.  According to Theophylact, 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.  

 

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.  My study Bible explains that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Disciple means "learner" in the Greek, and apostle means "one sent out."  We note that their names are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name.  Here, as in St. Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 10:1-4), the names are given in pairs, which suggests who may have traveled together on their first missionary journey, as St. Mark writes that 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 we are told that Jesus stood on a level place, His sermon that follows these verses is called the Sermon on the Plain.  We first note that His ministry has grown so in terms of public interest that people have now come from everywhere to hear Him, even a great multitude from all over Israel (including from Judea and Jerusalem), and even from the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon.  This despite the fact that up until now His ministry has been focused upon Galilee.  The whole multitude seeks to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.   As we begin to read the Sermon on the Plain that follows, let us keep in mind that it is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), although not as extensive.  My study Bible comments that Jesus repeated many of His teachings over a period of three years (as understood from the three Passover festivals reported in St. John's Gospel).  Let us note also that Jesus comes from prayer on the mountain in communion and prayer with the Father, to this "level place."  From the imagery we are given the understanding of Christ's condescension to the world; the choosing of the disciples means they are the ones who will be sent out into the whole world with the gospel message that follows.

 

 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."  As noted above, these first verses of the Sermon on the Plain bear a great resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount.   Jesus' language reflects ultimate realities behind what we experience in life, and this in particular is directed toward His disciples.  My study Bible comments that blessed in this context indicates heavenly, spiritual exaltation, rather than earthly happiness or prosperity.  In Hebrew, it says, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people.  The poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) are those who have the heart of the poor, with the same attitude as the poor, and are totally dependent upon God.  Those who hunger desire righteousness (Matthew 5:6); they shall be filled with the presence of God and God's Kingdom.  Those who weep are similar to those who mourn in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:4).  They sorrow over the sufferings of this life, the sufferings of others, the state of the world, and also their own sins.  But they will laugh with joy over the presence of God.  Those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and slandered for the Son of Man's sake are those who suffer for the Kingdom.  My study Bible comments that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs (Matthew 5:11-12).

 

 "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."  Here St. Luke reports four "woes" which are not found in the Sermon on the Mount of St. Matthew's Gospel.  Woe, according to my study Bible, is an indication not simply of sorrow, but rather of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18; Revelation 12:12).  According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, those who live only for the worldly comforts listed here are liable to the "utmost misery"; however, they find hope when they sacrifice their earthly blessings in showing mercy to others.  St. Cyril points to the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in which the wealthy man could have found salvation through mercy to Lazarus (see Luke 16:19-31). (Commentary on Luke, Sermon 29.)

 

In this beginning of the Sermon on the Plain we have an interesting phenomenon, for it can't be simply categorized.  It has elements of prophetic literature as well as apocalyptic Scripture, in its messages of comfort amidst turmoil and persecution, and also the "woes" that await those who now enjoy the spoils of life in a worldly sense.  But both the Sermon on the Plain and the Sermon on the Mount differ from apocalyptic and prophetic literature in the sense of the unique quality that this is God speaking directly to the people, and not through an apocalyptic vision or a word given to a prophet.  Jesus as Son of Man is God Incarnate, and descends from the mountain where He has spent all night in prayer with the Father in order to directly give us the word Himself.  And yet there are qualities of both apocalyptic vision of the realities behind the world we see and experience, as well as the prophetic word of ultimate comfort, resolution, and justice in what He expresses to us here.   Perhaps this is because as Son of Man, He is the only One who can do so.  While God's word always remains God's word (such as that given to Moses or the other prophets), Jesus is Himself the Word, incarnate in human flesh (John 1:1-14).  Indeed, we may consider that this forms one of the purposes of the Incarnation itself; as Jesus has said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  The apocalyptic qualities of the Sermon on the Plain, however, stand out boldly in these first verses, for they are addressed to an audience of disciples who will soon be under persecution.  This is a reassurance that, ultimately, God and God's justice will prevail.  Moreover, like the prophets of old, and even in the courage of the Psalms (see, for example, Psalm 60:4), there is encouragement for the faith in which we take refuge at all times.  Jesus' teachings in the Beatitudes are often used, in a modern cultural context, as a social teaching, telling us of the ways in which we should conduct ourselves in the world, even in a moralistic sense.  But there is so much more here than simply a social teaching.  Let us take Jesus in His fullness, and understand the refuge and power He offers us.