Sermon: An Uncomfortable Gospel

Lectionary 6(C)

Texts: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; Luke 6:17-26

Beatitudes, Gospel Differences

Poverty and Wealth, William Powell Frith, 1888

When we encounter the beatitudes, the version we usually hear or think about is the one found in Matthew. As we just heard, the version in Luke is different from the one in Matthew. Luke’s version is placed in a different setting, there are fewer blessings, and each blessing is paired with a woe. The differences speak to the different purposes each gospel writer had in including the beatitudes into their gospel account.

Matthew has Jesus going up a mountain and immediately begins speaking. For Matthew, Jesus is the new Moses and the new lawgiver, who ascends a new Sinai to proclaim a new set of laws that the new community that is being inaugurated are to follow.

Luke, on the other hand, has Jesus coming down from a mountain, to level ground. He is surrounded by people from all around the region. He met their healing needs first.[1] And then, not even standing up, he looks up to his disciples and begins to speak to them.

For Luke, Jesus is one with humanity. He is the one who came down from God’s presence, giving up all its privileges and power, and became human. Jesus is not just human, but he is one who places himself as a servant and a slave to everyone else. He is one who identifies with the lowest of the low, the most outcast and reviled, the poorest of the poor, the most abused and desperate. Ninety-percent of the people in the Roman empire lived in poverty. Two-thirds were barely surviving or worse.[2] Luke’s gospel reveals a God whose preference is for these kinds of people.[3]

The Gospel is Uncomfortable

Luke’s version of the beatitudes is very uncomfortable to read, especially for many modern Christians who do not experiencing the privations, possible persecution, and powerlessness that many first century Christians experienced. We prefer Matthew’s version that omits the woes and spiritualizes references to the poor and to the hungry. We prefer a more comfortable, domesticated, and defanged gospel.[4] But Luke challenges us to sit with the discomfort.

One commentary suggests a scenario in which Luke’s gospel might have been read.

Luke’s churches listened to this sermon read aloud as the wealthy believers reclined in the dining room (triclinium) of a Roman house and the poor sat out in the peristyle garden (Osiek and Balch: chs. 1 and 8), the setting in which Luke places Jesus’ last supper (22:14, 24–30). The sermon is specifically addressed to “disciples” (6:20) divided by economic class.[5]

This demands that we ask of ourselves: Does this scenario in any way have resonance with our own present-day circumstances? Do we sit in comfortable spaces with plenty to eat while many others remain outside and hungry?

Poor Doesn’t Just Mean Poor

We also need to better understand what the term poor meant to Jesus and to Luke. What layers of meaning are encoded in this word?

Here I quote from Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw’s book Scapegoats: The Gospel Through the Eyes of Victims.

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the law and prophets defend “the poor” and show them to be of special concern to God. The poor are not only economically disadvantaged but also victims of the unjust structures of society… The concept involves the forces that act upon people to further marginalize them. The poor are the powerless, the vulnerable, the insignificant, the exploited, and the oppressed…

The law, the prophets, and the Psalms make the claim the Yahweh takes the side of the poor and oppressed and vindicates their rights against their rich and powerful oppressors. When Jesus states that the Spirit anointed him to bring good news to the poor, we must take his meaning in its context. The good news to the poor must at the very least be about fighting the powers and systems that keep people poor.[6]

This is all in mind when Luke has Jesus saying, “Blessed are the poor, the hungry, and the weeping.” In a world where the rich and powerful control everything and they continue to amass more and more, there is nothing left for the ninety-percent. For many, there is not even a crumb.

For Luke, the community of Jesus-followers is supposed to be bringing the blessings declared by Jesus to the poor. We see this in Luke’s second volume, known to us as the Acts of the Apostles, where he describes the very first Christ-followers working together. Those with means donated money and food so that the poor would experience the blessings that Jesus taught.

Woes of Wealth

However, as the record of Acts reveals and with what we read about in the Corinthian church, the cultural tradition and human nature associated with wealth and privilege corrupted the equitable treatment of people in the church. And that is perhaps one reason why unlike Matthew, Luke is explicit and includes woes to pair with the blessings.

The wealthy would like everyone else to believe that the availability of wealth is infinite, and therefore anyone could become wealthy with enough hard work or luck. But this is a lie. Throughout history, the wealthy became wealthy through exploitation of others.

For Luke who pairs the blessings and woes, he intends to make his audience understand that,

As soon as the rich no longer exploit the poor, the poor will experience comfort. The two fates are interrelated; Jesus is calling out and convicting the oppressor so that the suffering of the oppressed might end.[7]

For those who claim to follow the way of Jesus Christ, this must be doubly true, otherwise we are not following Christ.

Hated for Being Generous Like Christ

But what about the last pair of blessings and woe? This is the one where the blessing reads, “Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One?” And the corresponding woe, “How terrible for you when all speak well of you?”

It is suggested that at least some of Luke’s audience did take Jesus’ message to heart. Referring back to a commentary read earlier,

Patrons in the Lukan house churches [invited] their poor brothers and sisters to dinner (14:12–14), which generated ostracism from their wealthy, disapproving peers. This relates the fourth beatitude directly to the first, since the disciples were acting and eating according to Jesus’ teaching.[8]

Larycia Hawkins, a biblical scholar said in a podcast interview I listened to,

… What does it mean to have a perspective of the oppressed? And this is what I believe Jesus did. I believe Jesus saw people—Jesus saw people created in God’s image. Jesus dared to be touched and moved by them. He saw that they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd…

How do you heal lepers if lepers live in leper colonies? You go where the lepers are. So I think the impulse to be at the center, centers of power as opposed to clamoring to be last, not first, is anathema to embodied solidarity. So I think there’s something about proximity to suffering that we need to relearn and reclaim. I think the desert is, and the wilderness is, where a lot of us need to be to be rejuvenated, to have our faith challenged. And we could also talk about that as the margins, right? And so where are these marginal places?

And when we are in places of power, are we willing to do risky things?[9]

A Challenge to Live Out the Gospel of Liberation

And I think that is the question we need to wrestle with at this time in history. When so much of what passes for Christianity seems enamored with power, privilege, and comfort, are we willing to risk our reputations and our livelihoods to stand up for the true gospel of liberation that Christ announced and lived out? Are we prepared to do more than just see the poor and oppressed as subjects of theology and our charity? Are we ready to speak out against the systems, institutions, policies, and governance that create and perpetuate poverty? Are we willing to risk our own comfort and security to actively work to dismantle systems of injustice and oppression, wherever they occur?

A few chapters later in Luke, Jesus says to all who seek to follow him, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will save them.” (Luke 9:23-24 CEB)

This week, I invite you to meditate on the discomfort of the gospel of liberation and the cruciform life demanded by it.

In the name of God who lifts the poor,

In the name of God who comforts the oppressed,

And in the name of God who calls us to join with our suffering siblings, Amen.

Works Cited

Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2009). Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 1 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Garcia Bashaw, J. (2022). Scapegoats: The Gospel Through the Eyes of Victims. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2014). Feasting on the Gospels: Luke, Volume 1, Chapter 1-11. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

The Bible for Normal People. (2025, February 10). Episode 52: Larycia Hawkins – Embodied Solidarity. Retrieved from The Bible for Normal People: https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-52-larycia-hawkins-embodied-solidarity/

 

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[1] (Jarvis & Johnson, 2014)

[2] (Garcia Bashaw, 2022)

[3] (Jarvis & Johnson, 2014)

[4] (Bartlett & Taylor, 2009)

[5] (Dunn & Rogerson, 2003)

[6] (Garcia Bashaw, 2022)

[7] (Garcia Bashaw, 2022)

[8] (Dunn & Rogerson, 2003)

[9] (The Bible for Normal People, 2025)

Sermon: God Among Us

Lectionary Year C, Epiphany 6
Luke 6:17-26

God Among Us

A lofty God is much easier to handle and live with. That’s the picture the Beatitudes recorded in Matthew gives us. In Matthew’s version, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and the disciples came up to see him. In response Jesus offers his disciples an idealistic, spiritual vision of his kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled…”

But Luke’s recording of the Beatitudes is different. Jesus is among the crowds and travels down with them to a level place. Jesus is not lifted above the crowd. Jesus is one among them. Jesus is approachable. Merely touching him brings forth healing power from him. And the way Luke begins the Beatitudes offers a hint into what Jesus was doing among the crowd.

Luke introduces the Beatitudes by writing, “Then he looked up at his disciples and said…” Not only was Jesus among the crowds on a level place, he appears to be stooping down to minister to those around him. Jesus is on the ground and physically below his disciples. He must raise his eyes to look up at his disciples. It is a complete reversal of the setting that is found in Matthew.

When Jesus does speak, Luke’s version of the Beatitudes does not attempt to spiritualized away the difficulties of life. In Luke’s recording Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled…” In Matthew, the Beatitudes are lofty, idealistic philosophy — Jesus speaks in abstract, religious terms. In Luke, Jesus speaks directly to his disciples in immediate, physical terms.

Matthew’s Beatitudes read more comfortably. It read more like moral philosophy and something that we might strive toward, but we don’t necessarily expect a complete fulfillment until some distant future.

Luke’s Beatitudes are uncomfortable. Jesus is speaking to you — to me. And whereas Matthew omits any kind of woes, Luke carefully balances four blessings with countering four woes: “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…”

Luke’s Beatitudes are uncomfortable, because for most of us sitting here we identity more with the conditions that bring woe than with the blessings. How many of us are so destitute that we are begging for handouts on the streets? How many of us are so destitute that we would sell our own bodies or our children just to survive? How many of us are so hungry that we would search bags of garbage and dumpsters for a scrap of spoiled food? How many of us face the hopelessness and desperation of having the powers and structures of society turned against us? How many of us are recipients of public spite, exclusion, and slander for speaking out against injustices and standing with the desperate and marginalized?

On the other hand, how many of us live in relative comfort? How many of us worry about being homeless and out on the streets? How many of us had a good dinner last night? How many of us have full refrigerators and pantries? How many of us are generally living a good life, where despair and hopelessness are far from our thoughts? How many of us are respected members of community?

On balance, it seems that as individuals and as a faith community, we find ourselves on the “woe” side rather than on the “blessings” side of Luke’s formulation of the Beatitudes. It isn’t surprising that the more spiritualized Matthean version is the one we hear more. After all, all of us can honestly claim that we are “poor in spirit” and “hungry for righteousness.” But Luke doesn’t offer us that option, and so we must sit in the discomfort and with questions about what we are supposed to do with this text.

One possible interpretation is a very literal one. I point to a later section in this very same Lucan gospel where Jesus seems to advocate and praise such a literal application. In chapter 18 we read about the rich ruler:

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” 21 He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

28 Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

A couple of the most notable examples who literally followed Jesus’ words just read include Francis and Clare of Assisi. Each was born into wealthy families but left their families and what they could have inherited and vowed themselves to severe poverty to serve the poor through service and prayer.

Again, we are forced to sit in discomfort as we ponder the Beatitudes of Jesus.

Another way to read this is to see it as time and culture bound. In other words, the words which Jesus spoke and Luke wrote down are specific to the historical period and people that is being addressed. Whether the early or later authorship dates of Luke are considered, both fall in periods during which followers of Jesus were at best seen as oddities and at worst seen as danger to the establishment. There may not have been prolonged and systematic persecution of the church, but they would have been targets of harassment and occasional persecution at the hands of both fellow Jews and Romans. The lengthy fourth blessing about being hated, excluded, and defamed seems to emphasize this historical circumstance about the audience community.

It should, therefore, not be surprising that the Beatitudes seek to bring comfort to those who are suffering and being slandered. It should not be surprising that woes are directed against those who are probably seen to be the instigators against Jesus’ followers, who laugh and mock them, and who are the respected citizenry and who hold power in society.

It would be easy to dismiss the Beatitudes as not that applicable to us. We live in very different circumstances from its original audience. Or we might say that it is applicable to present-day Christians who are experiencing the things described in the Beatitudes, but not to the rest of us. We could say that the words are meant to offer comfort and promise of divine attention, but it bears little practical relevance for most of us.

This too, is uncomfortable, because now we are dismissing an entire scripture passage as having little relevance to present-day life.

Maybe the discomfort is the point of this passage. The unease and tension that we feel as we wrestle with this difficult text may be the point. We prefer settled interpretations and answers, but instead the words of Jesus invite us into questions and dialogue. We are encouraged to approach the text from many angles.

A rhetorical, literary structural perspective offers a third way.

The carefully constructed parallelism between the blessings and the woes are patterned after prophetic utterances found in the Old Testament. As with the prophets of old, Jesus is portrayed by Luke as announcing a reversal of fortunes. Those who have been oppressed and marginalized, Jesus offers relief and comfort. To those who have lived in comfort, Jesus prophesies discomfort and ruin. Jesus tells his hearers that contrary to what is often believed, God is among the poor and hungry, rather than with the rich and full. God identifies with those who are reviled and rejected by society. Just as Jesus stopped down to care for the hurting and suffering, God is found among the despised and diseased.

Perhaps the questions to be asked of this passage is this: Where are we looking for God to show up? Among what kinds of people are we expecting to find God’s blessings?

What seems to be the case according to these Beatitudes is that the groups that we typically think of as “blessed,” the life circumstances that we often label a result of God’s “blessings,” are in fact, not. Instead, those who seem to be suffering the most are the recipient of God’s blessings. Those who are least in control of their own fates are the most blessed by God. In God’s economy, those who appear to have the least have the most, and those who appear to have the most don’t have anything. I think we’ve been trained to think about God’s kingdom as a better, more improved version of what we have now. But it is a complete reversal.

The Church is a manifestation and a breaking-in of the kingdom of God into this world. Since the kingdom of God is a reversal of the priorities and fortunes of this present world, what should the church look like? What should the church’s priorities be? What kinds of activities should the church be involved in? Where and among whom should we be spending our time?

Today’s text isn’t comfortable, and I don’t think it’s meant to be. It is there to wake us up and lead us to examine our priorities, both individually and corporately. Jesus has described whom God calls blessed. Where are we in relation to that? Are we God’s blessing to the world?

Whatever the verdict of our own self-examination, we can be sure that God can work through our sincere efforts. God’s grace and power is larger than any of our shortcomings and failings. We need new minds to even think about a world ordered completely upside down from what we know. That is the kind of “repentance” God desires in us – a completely new way of thinking. Through the words of today’s Beatitudes, let us begin to allow God to change our minds and thoughts.