Jesus Preaches (part 1)

Sermon by: Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.

Scripture: Psalm 1, Luke 6:17-26

Many of us are familiar with the Beatitudes, part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (and so on). Matthew’s report of Jesus’ key preaching event, the Sermon on the Mount is 107 verses. We get a mental image of Jesus, preaching, sitting up on a hillside, the people spread out below him, listening intently. A scene we may have colored in Sunday school. 

But this is the year we focus on the Gospel of Luke, and Luke depicts a different scenario. Jesus spends the night up on the mountain in prayer alone. Then he draws aside 12 followers who will become those first sent out in his name. When he comes down from the mountain (back into the thick of real life), a huge crowd is waiting for him. They spread out on a level place, and he heals and teaches them, standing eye to eye with them at first. Then Luke reports shortly that Jesus looked up at his disciples, which makes sense, for a rabbi sits to teach. A typical crowd around Jesus is composed of three different types of people: the Twelve apostles (his inner circle), the crowd of disciples (those who were doing their best to follow him and serve as he directs), and the multitude of on-lookers, the curiosity seekers who weren’t interested in following him, they just wanted an afternoon’s entertainment (of course, we never know what God is doing in the heart and mind of the onlookers). His preaching is directed at disciples, not just the inner 12, but all those trying to follow him, like us. On the plain, Jesus tells of 4 blessings, but adds 4 corresponding woes. And next week’s part 2 gets even rougher. So if you dare, stop and read Luke 6:17-26.

Can’t you see them? Crowds clamoring for Jesus. The multitude of folks knows what it wants from the Galilean rabbi. They want him to display the feats he has been doing many other places. The majority of people in the huge mass may have only been interested in seeing what was going on, like how people nowadays pour out onto the street if a couple police cruisers and a fire truck with their lights flashing, are outside a neighbor’s house. People want to know what’s going on. Anything exciting?  The people in Jesus’ crowd came from quite a distance. Tyre and Sidon had mixed religious populations, so Luke is saying there were probably even Gentiles in the mix. They heard Jesus was a fine speaker and more importantly, he was a miraculous healer, so who wouldn’t want to spend a morning traveling to see if the rumors were true, especially if you have a persistent illness?

Luke describes the scene so casually. Everyone is cured; power comes out from him to heal them all. Funny language, isn’t it? You don’t see Jesus acting on them. You only hear power comes out from him and they are cured. Almost like when someone climbs out of the swimming pool and water drips all over. It’s not on purpose, but water just drips off everywhere. If you bump into them, you get wet... So with Jesus. If they touch him, they get well. 

It might make you think of folks who wander into worship from time to time. Many of them seem to know what they want. They want a little peace and quiet, a little reminder of God’s love, a little encouragement to be nicer to people around them. You know some of them come when life has taken a turn for the worse. When a marriage is in trouble, or they feel isolated, or a child has frayed their last nerve for several months in a row. Briefly bumping into Jesus seems like a good idea. He should be able to fix it, or at least make you feel better for the afternoon. People know what they want from Jesus.

But disciples get even more. Those who are serious about following Jesus, receive more than they expect. Unfortunately, the “more” they receive are very difficult teachings. Gospel writers use the term “disciple” not just for the inner Twelve, but all who are seriously committed to him and to living their lives guided by his teachings. Luke reports the huge crowd on the Plain included a large number of disciples. So no wonder when Jesus was ready to hand out the hard stuff, he looked at disciples. 

The blessings and woes may not sound earthshaking today, but in Jesus’ day, they would have been searing, blowing up what good people knew for certain about God. In first century Palestine, wealth indicated God’s favor. Hardship was a sign of God’s disfavor. Anyone with an easy life would expect to be included in the blessings, not the woes. So, when Jesus blurts out that the poor are blessed; that they have the kingdom of God (present tense, meaning they are already in the Realm), listeners must have been shocked. And what was harder for some to swallow was Jesus’ saying woe to you who are rich because you already have your reward (again, present tense). In other words, if life is comfortable, that’s all there is. 

As you know, biblical scholars continue to see this as Jesus’ turning social mores upside down. But remember, Luke begins reporting God’s intentional reversals before Jesus is born. When pregnant Mary visits pregnant Elizabeth, remember back in Advent, Mary sings how through her pregnancy, God has already brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. The hungry have been filled; the rich are sent away empty. 

Now on the plain, Jesus continues the teaching. Disciples are to be markedly distinct from the rest of society. Think of the Amish living around you. No one has trouble immediately identifying them as serious followers of Jesus. And you. Jesus may not be calling you to dress plain, but his disciples are to be distinct: in interacting in the world, in how they use their possessions, in their attitudes. Be as distinct as if you live upside down in the world. Everything Jesus preaches shows an upside-down vision of the world. If disciples pay attention, more is expected of them. 

Which means, God expects us to work. Anyone who is serious about their faith is expected to put energy into what God is doing in the world. The ongoing use of present tense tells us that God’s holy administration is already here, at least in part. The blessings and woes are not given as commands to give away your money, so when you are poor, God will look on you with favor. Instead Jesus make statements of fact. Those who are poor are in God’s kingdom already. And we who are spoken well of are in the same camp as the false prophets of old. Jesus makes indicative statements to let us know God’s upside-down-ness is real. God’s Reign is happening, and we get to participate, but we need God to help correct our vision. 

So, St Andrew, part of our work is pledging financial support. In most churches, a few people don’t pledge and in fact give nothing year after year. For those who don’t ordinarily give, let me encourage you to ask for giving envelopes and put in something, say $1 each week. And for those who regularly make an offering, you know you are sharing the work. I hope you took time to pray over your new pledge. If you haven’t given it any thought, you may want to hold back your card. Take time with it and return it next week. 

Of course, our faith is more than the offerings we make, but giving is part of our faith. Money helps us do the work. So, what does St Andrew do with our giving? The booklet in our pledge packet gives a lot of financial information. But let’s note some of the work which requires money. We support materials, buildings, and personnel so we can gather for communal worship each week, because God is worthy of worship. We bought equipment to livestream worship, now averaging 177 people online each week. We take care of the buildings where up to 10 groups meet each week. We are able to study and meet together over Zoom regularly. We support local and international relief, assistance, and justice work. We communicate with each other by email and phone every week. We do all these things as St Andrew United Church of Christ, supported by the tithes and offerings we give, which are part of living out the upside-down faith Jesus calls us to. Our generous God lets us participate in the work of the Realm going on all around us. Isn’t that fun?