Sixth Sunday after Epiphany February 11, 2007
Scripture	Luke 6:17-26 17 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. 20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “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. 26“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Devotional	The teachings of Jesus in Luke’s gospel are not dressed up and they come to us straight. Jesus talks of real poverty, of real hunger, of actual weeping, and of being hated and excluded. Next, Jesus talks of the will and works of God, which will overturn these situations. The Beatitudes in Matthew are much easier for us to live with. Alan Culpepper’s description makes me uncomfortable: The first beatitude describes a way of life, and we, who are not poor—not really—run to Matthew in relief. But our preference for Matthew says much more about us than about the words of Jesus. The poor are those whose desperate need and inability to help themselves have driven them to turn to God for their hope, but we are now being called upon to recognize that Jesus really meant the poor and not just the humble. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the liberation theologian, has commented that God has a preferential love for the poor not because they are necessarily better than others, morally or religiously, but simply because they are poor and living in an inhuman situation that is contrary to God’s will. The ultimate basis for the privileged position of the poor is not in the poor themselves but in God, in the gratuitousness and universality of God’s agapeic love. Because we are not poor, this beatitude either mystifies us or leaves us feeling guilt rather than joy. Like the rich young ruler, we hear the Lord’s word and go away sorrowful because our possessions are many. Our pride and our ability to provide for ourselves have blocked the channels of blessing. Our first response, therefore, needs to be repentance and a reordering of the priorities we have set for our lives. But what a hard thing that is! 1 Jesus issues a warning to the rich, the full, those who laugh, and those of whom others speak well. Is this one of the teaching of Jesus that we are able to convince ourselves that he means someone besides me? Finally, Jesus is saying that if we live in this world with our loyalties toward enjoying all the world’s benefits we should be prepared to undergo God’s judgment for our lack of realizing God’s purpose for our lives. 1 R. Alan Culpepper. ”Gospel of Luke” in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. IX p. 145 2