Hope because Jesus Came Down

February 17, 2019

Gospel Lesson: Luke 6:17–26 [The beatitudes]

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 coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil 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 men 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 fathers 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 all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.”

Today we have come to church to hear the Word of God. We want the Holy Spirit to speak to us. We want the hymns to give us joy or hope or comfort. We want our prayers to be acceptable to God and answered in the way God seems best for us. And we want the sermon to speak to our hearts and souls and daily lives, as if the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to us. And in humility as a preacher, I pray that my words will not be a hindrance to the Word of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for your church’s preacher!

In the same way and for the same reasons that we come to church, in the Gospel reading given to us today, a large crowd of people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. They wanted to be healed, and Jesus granted their prayers. Jesus showed the love of God. God loves us 100%, our physical bodies, our spiritual souls, our mental and physical and emotional needs. This is shown in his healing and in his teaching.

Jesus taught, “Blessed are you who are poor, you who are hungry, you who weep, you who are hated.” When Jesus says “you” he includes you and me. As he spoke to the crowd that day, he speaks to us wherever two or three are gathered in his name. The blessings are for us, too.

Jesus also said, “Woe to you who are rich, you who are well fed now, you who laugh now, you who are spoken well of.” And the warning is for you and me, also.

Blessings and Curses. Law and Gospel. Saint and Sinner.

Pessimistically speaking, if you get all those blessings from God then you have to be careful not to forget that it was God who gave them to you. It reminds me of a passage from the Book of Proverbs, 30:7-9. “Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: ① Keep falsehood and lies far from me; ② give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

Optimistically speaking, no matter how poor I am both physically and spiritually, if I receive the Kingdom of God, then I am content, no matter how hungry or sad or hated I might be.

But we are seldom content. We want to be richer. We want to eat good food and be healthier. We want to have more fun and excitement. And of course we want everyone to praise us for being such great Christians and wonderful people. Basically these are good things and the first three are the blessings that Jesus says we will have. They become “woe” when we worship them and forget to thank God for the blessings he has given us.

Another danger is when we do not see these blessings in our lives: when our diseases are not cured, when our evil spirits are not exorcised, when we poor, when there is not enough food or clothing, when life is sad. The danger is to give up on God, to lose hope, to lose faith, to lose God. But God does not give up on us!

Our Gospel reading for today starts with these words, “He went down with them and stood on a level place.” Jesus had gone up into the hills to pray. Then with his disciples he came down to where the large crowd was. This is the heart of the Gospel. “Jesus Came Down.” Jesus came to this earth. He understands therefore our prayers because he experienced our woes. He was poor. He was hungry in the wilderness and thirsty on the cross. He wept when his friend Lazarus died and he wept over the City of Jerusalem because he knew its fate. And of course he knew the hate and insults and rejection which crucified him. And he knew the great joy of his resurrection.

The Gospel is that Jesus has come down to us. He is with you whether you are rich or poor, hungry or satisfied, sad or happy, praised or scorned. And that is why Christians can survive. That is why we have hope. That is why we can pray and praise with boldness and leap for joy.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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