Gospel text for Sunday 13 March 2022

 

Luke 6:17-26      Jesus came down with the twelve apostles 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 all in the crowd were 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 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."

"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 what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”

Reflection  After choosing his twelve apostles Jesus looks at them and says, “Blessed are you when you are poor, or hungry or weep or people hate and exclude you.” Can you imagine? 

What does he mean, to be blessed? To be blessed is to be made holy. To be holy is to be sanctified or set apart, purified, redeemed and made happy. Like the apostles, for those of us who commit to love Jesus more dearly and follow Jesus more nearly (and be sent out to continue his work) the promise is, even while in the  midst of suffering the holy abides with us, thus we are blessed, no matter what.

Then Jesus reverses course and declares, woe to you who are rich, full, laughing and when people speak well of you. Woe is an interjection of grief, “Oh no…!” When we are on top of our game and the world seems to be in our pocket, we cannot cling to things of this world therefore, woe will inevitably befall us. Oh no, inevitably our good fortune will fade. So, Jesus, is it blessing or is it woe?

I believe Jesus is directing the apostles and us to break out of our dualistic categories of right and wrong, good and bad, woe and blessing.  When seemingly bad things happen we have reason to hope and be holy. When seemingly good things happen we have reason to grieve.  Could this be Jesus foreshadowing St. Ignatius of Loyola’s insight that in the midst of desolation is hidden the seed of consolation, the promise that all will be redeemed and restored to holiness when we choose “with God life?” Likewise, tucked away in the heart of good fortune (consolation) is the seed of desolation because we cannot cling to fortune, inevitably it will pass?

The beatitudes poetically acknowledge our ever changing human condition. No matter who we are, we endure suffering, injustice and loss as well as fulfillment, joy and gain. Although we prefer to gloss over it, we are all subject to adversity as well as advantage, we all are vulnerable to change. What makes the difference in how we navigate the good times and the bad;   whether or not we set our hearts to love Jesus more dearly and our feet to follow Jesus more nearly regardless of the ever shifting sands of circumstance. Navigating the vicissitudes of life with Jesus, we are blessed no matter what. 

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 Luke 3:1-6        In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Reflection        Political and religious power pyramids have plagued humanity since long before the “ fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius” when God’s word did not come to Tiberius, one of Rome’s greatest generals. God’s word did not come to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea who served under Tiberius. God’s word did not come Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. God’s word did not come to Herod’s brother Philip.  God’s word did not come to Lysanias, ruler of the slopes of Mount Hermon.  Neither did God’s word come to the high priests Annas and Caiaphas nor to anyone else with power and privilege in government or the temple. 

As we read in Luke’s text, the word of God comes to John, the son of Zechariah, an itinerant prophet who lives in the wilderness; a sticky bearded eccentric calling for apocalyptic change. The word of God comes to John who pretty much has nothing at all… except bad breath, an empty belly and the word of God. How can this be?

Skipping ahead three chapters in Luke’s text we meet John's cousin Jesus who just spent the night praying on a mountaintop and choosing his twelve disciples. He is coming down to a flat place, a plain, where he heals the crowds of their afflictions and launches into his famous sermon of blessings and woes;

 ‘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.…

‘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 what their ancestors did

   to the false prophets.” (Luke 6.21-26)

According to Jesus being blessed, which is to say,  experiencing our “with God life,” does not depend on position, power and privilege. When it comes to life with God, apparently less is more. Perhaps this is why the word of God comes to John in the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of unadorned wandering and perplexing wondering, a place where we set aside our stature and distinction to eat bugs, listen to trees, talk to birds and grasp our rootedness in creation. Once disentangled from religious and political power pyramids we begin to be informed by wisdom, the living word of God with us.

John, the son of Zachariah whom we also know as John the Baptist, consents to his place in the mystery of the wilderness rather than turning toward the Roman baths or columned temple halls. Is it not interesting, people from all over the region around the Jordan river  clamor to hear this crusty bearded holy hippie “Crying out in the wilderness. Repent! Prepare the way of the Lord…” Don’t you want to shout right back, “Tell me how?”

I believe if John was here he would answer, “Take your heads out of the temple walls and government halls and put them in the wilderness of your hearts.” Do not be daunted by the mantle of power. Do not put your faith in emperors and presidents, governors and majority leaders, rulers and minority leaders, bishops, priests or anyone else. None of them can and none of them will mediate your relationship with God. 

So, repent! Turn around. Put your head in the wilderness of your heart. Stop looking for truth in the mouths of political and religious authorities. The wisdom word of God arises in the mysterious wilderness of our hearts, so, put your heads in the wilderness of your hearts. Listen to trees, talk to birds, smell the air and walk in the night forrest confident that God is with you. 

Since long before the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius the word of God has challenged humanity to stretch beyond our hierarchical apprehension of the world, experience our rootedness in creation and taste the words of wisdom rising in the  wilderness of our hearts.

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paint  image of garden with head planted in the middle