Scripture Luke 6:17-26 (NRSVUE)
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. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“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.
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
“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.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Sermon “Reputation”
This week the wealthiest man in the world tweeted a photo of an attractive blonde woman smiling broadly, along with the caption:
“Watching [the administration] slash Federal programs, knowing it doesn’t affect you because you’re not a member of the Parasite Class.”
In other words, the woman is not poor. Here, “Parasite Class” is referring to those who are poor, and therefore, who need the assistance provided by Federal programs such as Medicaid and the Child Health Protection Act.
Vilification of the poor is not new. Poverty has a stigma attached to it that helps to perpetuate it across generations. It’s easier to blame people for living in poverty than to do the work of understanding the systems that benefit the haves and penalize the have-nots. People living in poverty tend to have lower self-esteem, struggle to hang onto a sense of dignity and self-worth, and can experience feelings of shame—all of which contribute to the cycle of poverty, as they can cause crises of mental and physical health.
As of 2024, the United States was the ninth wealthiest country in the world, according to our gross domestic product, but our levels of poverty over the past forty years remain basically consistent, making up between 11 and 15 percent of our population. Currently, 37.9 million Americans live in poverty, and roughly half of that number live in deep poverty, meaning they are striving to live on income 50% or more below the poverty line. And poverty isn’t experienced equally across races. In the U.S., while our overall poverty rate stands at about 11%, more than 25% of Black and Hispanic people experience poverty.
And this week, someone who has enormous influence over government programs called these people, these human beings made in God’s image, the Parasite Class.
Today, Jesus has something to say about poverty. We meet him just after he has called his inner circle together—the twelve apostles. But there are more people following Jesus than these twelve. Our passage sets the stage by telling us that there’s a great crowd of his disciples, and a great multitude of other people following Jesus, to hear him preach and to ask him for healing. These people follow Jesus to a plain, a level place. Jesus is standing on the same level as the people. He turns to his disciples, and says these words:
“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.
These sayings are hard. If Jesus himself weren’t also in the business of feeding people, healing their diseases, and telling them hilarious stories, because, trust me, a lot of the parables in their original context are hilarious, these words would sound almost cruel. As if Jesus were saying “Don’t worry, be happy” and then turning his back. But that’s not who Jesus is, and that’s not what he does.
First, let’s remember: Jesus lives in poverty. He has stepped away from the trade into which his father trained him to live as an itinerant preacher, healer, and wise man. When sending his disciples out to share the gospel and heal people, he will tell them: Don’t take money, don’t take a purse, don’t have extra clothing with you. We can assume he is telling them to live as he lives. A roving rabbi, who doesn’t carry money, doesn’t have extra clothes, and depends upon the kindness of strangers and friends for sustenance and a place to rest his head.
Second, as I already mentioned above, Jesus does works to alleviate the suffering of the people he meets—those multitudes. He takes very limited resources and somehow manages to feed vast crowds of people. The “wrong kinds” of people invite him to dinner, and he accepts their invitations. People come to him in pain, and he eases that pain, even removes it entirely—whether he is restoring sight, casting out a demon, helping a lame man to walk, or even raising a beloved family member from the dead. Jesus is speaking to people he is committed to caring for, and to teaching his followers to care for.
And finally—but perhaps most importantly—Jesus addresses the shame, the lack of self-worth that so many of the people he encounters experience. He addresses the stigma, the reputation they put up with because they have few or no resources. He says,
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”
Yes, Jesus is calling them blessed because they trust him, because they want to be near him, because they believe he can help them. And isn’t that largely a factor of their poverty to begin with? With no money, no resources, little or no food, and the grief of living in their dire circumstances, they now have found someone in whom they can hope. When we are at our most vulnerable, we can become more aware of our need for God. Fear, loss, anguish can open us up. I believe Jesus calls them blessed because their struggles have been their painful path to hope and trust.
The Jesus of Luke’s gospel has “woes” in addition to blessings. Interesting factoid I learned by listening to “Sermon Brainwave” this weekend. The word “Woe” in Greek is a case of onomatopoeia. Anyone want to show off and remind everyone what that means? It means the word is a sound. Like “bang” or “whoosh” or “tweet” it’s word that expresses a sound. And the sound here is “Whoa,” or “Ooh.” One scholar suggests that a good substitution would be “Yikes!”
And it’s “Yikes” about things our society values—and basically, societies throughout the ages have valued, too. Wealth, plenty, jollity, and a good reputation. YIKES, to all of this! Not, I think, because they are bad in themselves. This week a celebrity sold an expensive car she owned and donated the proceeds to National Public Radio. She’s rich. She’s got a great reputation. Is she automatically bad? No. These are not curses—Jesus isn’t saying “CURSED are you…” He’s saying: BE CAREFUL. Be careful, because, just as vulnerability can open our hearts to God, a sense of invulnerability can keep them closed. Be careful, because wealth can cause us to lose sight of those who are in need, even lose sight of their humanity. Be careful when plenty is something we don’t even have to think about, because too many people—God’s children, made in God’s image—don’t have that luxury. When we take our plenty for granted, we tend to take poverty for granted—as if it were something we have no power to address, as if there were nothing we could do. But that’s simply not true. Be careful when life is a bowl of cherries and everyone thinks we’re the greatest, because reputation can be gone in a heartbeat, and it is a phantom not worth chasing. And besides… following the Way of Jesus isn’t about wanting people to think we’re great. It’s about knowing that God is great and wanting to be a part of the good news, wanting to share God’s agenda of love, justice, and peace.
Do these words echo for you in any way? Do they remind you of something we heard in Advent? Remember when Mary sang her song of joy in Elizabeth’s presence?
God’s mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
God has shown strength with his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
God has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
God has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
Jesus is living into the prophecy sung by his mother. Jesus is showing who brought him up and taught him about the God of Abraham and Sarah, who always reminded the people to care for the least of those in their midst. Jesus is reminding us that to love God and to love one another is the fulfillment of all that is written in the law and the prophets.
Mahatma Ghandi said, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” This has always been true, and we are living in a time when we will discover what that measure is in our nation. My belief is that the vast majority of Americans don’t, in fact, believe that those living in poverty, or those who are disabled, or those who are elderly, are parasites. I believe that most people recognize that these are our siblings, whom we are called to support, and care for, and make room for. We can disagree on how best to do that. But to even have the conversation, we must begin from the premise that there is innate dignity in every human being, whether we know them or not, whether we understand them or not, whether we identify with them or not. God made each of us in God’s own image. And Jesus gives us reminders of that every chance he gets.
Thanks be to God. Amen.