What Lies Between?
Luke 6:17-26
He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
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Once again, we'll soon celebrate another holiday named after a saint who a multitude of Christian traditions venerates. I always find the story, the mythos, behind these individuals interesting, like how there were no snakes for Saint Patrick to banish from Ireland, even though we say he did. Likewise, we would expect Saint Valentine to be something to do with love, but instead, the most we know for sure is that he was probably executed as a martyr of the faith, not the first thing that comes to mind when you say, "Valentines Day." Though maybe not romantic love, the love of God is pivotal in our reading for today, love that is not as binary as it first appears in this series of blessings and woes. Can we recall such love that overcomes the myths we created for ourselves that keep us from loving God and one another?
Just as a cloud of myths and legends surrounds the saints of old, we too find that we live in the midst of tall tales and fables. For a while now, not including the past few years of division due to the pandemic and politics, we've lived as though a set of divinely ordained binaries governed the universe. "You're right, or you're wrong," "You're with us or against us," "I don't care if it's a good idea, I won't ever trust an 'X,'" these are things we've been telling ourselves, the mythos we've created, and we've come to believe that this is the world we live in and the only way things work. So when we hear Jesus giving a lesson that involves blessings and woes, we naturally assume that the binary we've established applies, but it doesn't! Jesus shakes up our understanding of what it means to be blessed or face the consequential woes.
Contrary to the culture we've become so accustomed to, blessings are not a statement of "one is better than the other," instead, they are opportunities to bridge the gap that leads to the fullness of God's heart. So how can a blessing, a free and selfless gift, indicate status or favor with God? They cannot! God does not love us more if we are poor or mourning, just as God does not hate those who are rich or have good food to eat. However, what these blessings and woes do emphasize is that God cares deeply for us. For those who are poor and mourning, there is a promise of hope, and for those of us who are well off, there is a call to live with our hearts that are open and generous. We live in-between the realities of blessings and woes, not one or the other. We live each new day with a chance to attune our spirits to the heart of God.
God is creating something new in our presence, leading us somewhere new, to a place where the old hymn says, "There is no sickness, toil, nor danger." (Wayfaring Stranger) It's a place where the hungry are fed, those mourning are comforted, the poor are given what they need, and the despised a place of welcome. It's a place where Jesus holds it all together with those who find abundance, are well-fed and are joyful. It's a spiritual and physical home that God promises to rectify and a home where we are called to address these maladies and gaps in our own lives. Are our hearts focused on the promises of God? Are our lives focused on living "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21) or on counting blessings and woes as if it's some type of game that can be won or lost? "Rich toward God" is what Jesus tells us to focus on, and in our hearing of his teachings today, we are called to identify the areas that need our attention, that break the mythic cycle of our own self-loathing and hatred of one another.
We might say that blessings are more of a perspective than a miraculous act of God. Those who are blessed can see the world the way God intended it to be, and those who go astray witness the consequences of such actions. And we can participate in that shared vision of experiencing the fullness of God. So let us go with hearts that rejoice at the good news of life and love. There will come a time when we will all be blessed, and a time when we can see past the barriers we've erected and fortified. Jesus invites us daily to ask ourselves how we might live rich towards God and how we will bridge the gaps that keep us separated from one another. It is not easy work, but work that is required of all disciples, all followers, required of all those who find that their hearts are yearning and longing for the peace God offers us.