Tables Overturned
Luke 6:17-26[1]
I think most of us
approach life in a way that we are trying to make the best of it. We take care
of our families, we work hard, we save for the future, and we do good in the
community. It’s all part of what it means to “be a good person.” And we hope
that “being a good person” will translate into having a good life. I think we
tend to want our faith to fit in with our ideas about life in general.
Believing in God, going to church, helping those in need are part of what it
means to “be a good person.” And like the other areas of our lives, our
practice of faith is a matter of doing the best we can to have a good life. It
makes up what we believe constitutes the way life is supposed to work
With that in mind, I’m
afraid that, if we’re truly paying attention, our gospel lesson for today may
sound positively shocking. And I think it’s a normal response to find ourselves
feeling uncomfortable with what Jesus says here. After all, he takes our
“conventional wisdom” about the way life works and even what it means to have a
good life and he turns it all upside down! More than that, what Jesus says here
takes our beliefs about what it means to be a “good Christian” and turns them
upside down as well. It can leave us feeling confused, because none of it seems
to make sense with how we approach either life or faith.
Jesus’ beatitudes in
Luke’s Gospel remind us faintly of the “usual” ones in Matthew, but they take a
very different turn! Here Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be
filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Lk 6:20-21)! And if
that weren’t shocking enough, Jesus adds, “But woe to you who are
rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and
weep” (Lk 6:24-25).
If you’re not stunned
by those words, it may be due to the fact that they run so contrary to our
understanding of the way life works that we simply cannot hear them properly.
Here we have a very specific, very concrete statement about what it looks like
when Jesus says, “the first shall be last and the last first.” Jesus came to
announce the coming of God’s kingdom into this world, and in our lesson for
today he was spelling out what that looks like in real life so that we couldn’t
possibly miss it. The problem is that it probably leaves us feeling like the
folks in the Temple after Jesus had come through and turned over all their
tables.
That’s exactly what
Jesus was doing in our lesson for today: turning all the tables over. And the
impact of his words and deeds continues to overturn our view of the way life
works. For one thing, we tend to think that what Jesus came to do was to bring
us salvation, which is something spiritual. And we tend to assume that what is
spiritual isn’t related to “real” life. But Jesus turns that notion over. As we
saw in his sermon at Nazareth, he came to preach the “good news to the poor,”
“release to the captives,” and freedom to those who are oppressed (Lk 4:18).
The Kingdom of God isn’t about a spiritual reward in heaven one day, but rather
it’s about changing the way this world works.
As we begin to better
hear Jesus’ words to us today, we may think that the kinds of issues Jesus is
addressing belong to “social justice.” That has become a label that in many
cases refers to something we see as separate from the gospel and our faith. It’s
a “special” kind of action, perhaps even something optional for those who feel
compelled to pursue it. But on the contrary, Jesus called his disciples to
follow him in the work of the kingdom of God. And part and parcel of that work
was bringing “release” to all who suffer due to the way the world works now.[2] It’s what I would call the
“justice of God’s kingdom.” God’s kingdom is about changing the way this world
works to reflect God’s mercy, compassion, and love. If we would align our lives
with Jesus, we must align our lives with the justice of his kingdom!
Of course, what makes
this Scripture truly disturbing is the fact that Jesus talks about poverty and
wealth. We tend to like our faith to leave our possessions alone. We believe
that what we have is something that we have worked hard for and that therefore
it’s ours to do with as we see fit. But Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are
poor,” and “Woe to you who are rich”! It’s not that our wealth disqualifies us
from participating in God’s kingdom, but rather if we would follow Jesus and
align ourselves with God’s kingdom, then we cannot complacently assume what we
have is ours to do with as we please. Rather, our wealth creates a
responsibility for us to use our means to further God’s mercy and justice in
this world.[3]
If you’re feeling a
little uncomfortable with all this (or a lot!), I would say don’t be surprised.
It’s hard for us to hear Jesus say these things. I’ll give you fair warning:
we’ve just begun our journey through Luke’s gospel this year, and he’s not
through with us! Some may even be worrying that I’m suggesting all the “rules”
by which we’ve lived our lives have to change. I think that’s a fair question.
And I would say that that is exactly what Jesus is doing: completely redefining
the way the world “ought” to work. It may be hard for us to see because most of
us benefit from it, but the way the world works now is not right in God’s
sight. And Jesus made it clear that what God is doing is about more than just
“saving souls”; God is working to set things right. So if we want to follow
Jesus, instead of making our faith fit in with our ideas about life, we have to
make our ideas about life fit in with our faith! And that means if we want to follow
Jesus, who turned over lots of “tables,” we must align our lives with God’s
purpose and join him in the work of making things right in this world.
[1] ©
2022 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 2/13/2022 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Cf.
R. David Kaylor, Jesus the Prophet,
104: “Jesus addressed the poor, the hungry, the discouraged, and the persecuted
with the message that God is on their side, supporting them in their struggle,
and that God’s just will focuses on their relief. Because people opposed to God
are currently in charge, God’s kingdom is not now fully present, and God’s will
is not now being fully done. But it will not remain so.”
[3] Cf.
Stephen Shoemaker, GodStories, 217–18:
“There are only two ways you can enter the kingdom and experience its joy. One
is to be among the poor, oppressed, bruised, blind, and brokenhearted; those to
whom God comes as healing, comfort, justice, and freedom. The other way is to
be among God’s people who are going to the poor, oppressed, bruised, blind, and
brokenhearted and bringing God’s healing, comfort, justice, and freedom.”
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