Jesus delivers blessings to those in need and “woes” to those who have enough. Why? Why paint all of the rich and powerful with a broad brushstroke? Certainly, they’re not all bad people. What about the poor? Are they all good people? Why are they all given a blessing? Some of them are probably poor because they’re lazy. They might be earning six figures begging for alms. These poor people might be using those alms to buy wine.

This text is referred to as the Sermon on the Plain. In my experience, it hasn’t had nearly as much air-time as its more popular counterpart, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). Could it be because this sermon goes a step further and includes “woes” that are directed toward the rich? In this context, the rich also happen to be religious leaders.

Difficult Words

I see other aspects in this text that make it more difficult to preach. The Sermon on the Mount focuses more on attitudes. Luke’s account sizes people up based solely on their need. These blessings and woes are the kinds of hot-takes you see in social media. They might not fit neatly into a three-point sermon without offending your financial “givers”. So, what is being conveyed in these verses about the rich and the poor?

Similar to the sermon in Matthew, these blessings and woes kick off a bigger talk that addresses other issues. This sermon follows two events where Jesus is questioned by the religious leaders. In one instance Jesus picks grain on the Sabbath because he and his disciples are hungry. In the second instance, he heals a man’s hand on the Sabbath. We can see that the way these religious laws are upheld creates an undue hardship for the poor and marginalized.

The Rich and Powerful Make the Rules

This imbalance of power is the bigger point. Often when there are rich and poor co-existing, the rich are the people in charge. Too often the rules protect the riches of the rich. This was happening in the first century and it still happens in the 21st century. As a “religious leader” who lives in a rich country, I sit up and take notice. These woes are written in the second person, plural. This means these woes are for the community of rich people, not individual rich people who are abusing their power. It’s not good enough to say not all men, not all police, not all churches, not all white people… If we are part of a category of people who are abusing power, it’s our obligation to do whatever we can to address or end that abuse.

The religious leaders, and the government of that day, chose to deal with the problem by saying there isn’t a problem. They focused their efforts on silencing Jesus.

I have so many concerns, I see so much inequity, I don’t know how to address it all. I don’t know if I’m speaking into the wind. Social media “whataboutism” makes addressing these concerns seem futile.

Two Places Where I See Inequity

We are wrong to make our comfort the higher priority over the welfare of immigrants and asylum seekers. I read an article by James Dobson where he purports to set the record straight. It read like a propaganda piece, naming good things the right has done and bad things the left has done. The bottom line was that the needs of immigrants would negatively impact our country. Dobson claims it’s a “wave of poverty that will take us down”. This justifies the squalor in which we’re imprisoning these people. In this situation, we are the rich and the immigrants are the poor–regardless of how your income compares to your neighbor’s.

Our mass incarceration practices have skyrocketed because we’re creating reasons to charge and imprison more people. These laws and sentencing are levied against the poor and people of color to the fullest extent. The rich or influential caucasian person receives a reduced sentence if any at all. In this situation, we are the rich and the imprisoned are the poor–regardless of how your income compares to your neighbor’s.

How Do We Respond?

These are just two of many issues in which people are oppressed and we as a country justify that oppression. We need to pause and take these words in Luke seriously. Over and over in the scriptures, God shows up as the defender of the poor and helpless.

These words in Luke were spoken to the community, not to individual abusers. Keep in mind the demographic “communities” to which you belong as you read these words.

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For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

1 Cor. 12:12-18

One of the ever-present barriers to church unity is the unspoken (sometimes spoken) expectation for uniformity. When other Christians believe or behave differently than us, or when other churches apply the Biblical text in a way in which we disagree, we’re all too eager to charge them as fake Christians. The conversation ends when we do this. There are times when we need distance. Sometimes the toxicity is so thick that we have to care for our mental health. I’ve had to do that. Generally speaking, the lack of unity we create in the church is usually over the need for correct beliefs.

Preserving our Traditions

Many times we simply hang around people who practice the faith like we do because it makes sense and it’s comfortable. Churches also carry various rich cultures from one generation to the next. We wouldn’t want to lose those traditions in favor of one neutral practice–that would be uniformity as well. So what does unity look like?

First, let’s set aside the analysis of all the reasons the church self-segregates. It should still be possible to have different roles in society, a different look and feel, and still have unity. Let’s look at the body metaphor itself.

How Does a Real Body React?

When my son was three he graduated to a twin bed with no rails. One night I woke to the sound of him crying. In my half-sleep state, I believed he had fallen out of bed (he hadn’t) and was hurt (he wasn’t). I ran to his room in the dark and as I entered his room I whacked my little toe on his drum set. I immediately fell to the ground, cradling my foot in both my hands, rocking back and forth trying not to scream.

The next day my toe still hurt and I was limping. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I tried to put my shoes on for work. My foot had swollen, so I found my roomiest shoe and tried to stuff my foot into it (I was part-time hourly, and we desperately needed every dollar I could earn). I was determined to get that foot into that shoe, but my whole body rebelled–I became thoroughly nauseated from the pain. It wasn’t going to happen.

I think about this event often when I think about the Christian church. Part of us is broken and inflamed, and another part of us is determined to keep plugging away, business as usual. Most likely, we all see ourselves as the “broken and hurting” part and “the other person” as the ones trying to move forward, “business as usual”.

The Body of Christ

What we really need to do is respond to each other like my body’s first instinct the moment I broke my toe. My toe didn’t have to convince my body it was hurt. My body was in enough communication with all its parts that it knew the moment my toe broke. I fell to the ground, my hands covered my toes—a self-protective instinct to prevent further harm. My voice held back a scream. At first, I was holding my breath, my body rocked to dissipate the pain that my whole body felt.

Now, I know that Paul’s point in describing the church as the “body of Christ” is that we all belong, we all have a part to play. Yes! The Christian church hasn’t been good at realizing that to this day. That topic will be another post for another day.

We Start By Caring

Before we can appreciate the reality that we have different roles in the Body of Christ, that we look and act differently, that we believe and practice differently, we first have to care about each other. We need to acknowledge that we are all a part of one body, whether we like it or not.  When we act as a body, we will know each other, we will be there when the other is in pain, and we will care. We will weep with those who weep, whether or not they interpret the Bible the same as we do. If one part exacerbates the pain, the rest of us should react to stop the damage that’s being done.

We are all imperfect. We are being transformed, so this is messy work. Even in the midst of the messiness, we can care and empathize, maybe even help, our brothers and sisters who are in pain. We can stop trying to press on as if nothing’s wrong, expecting people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. How we treat each other is the gospel in action.

Reflection

Do you see your sisters and brothers with whom you disagree as part of the same greater body–the body of Christ? Would this perspective change how you interact with people? Do people around you care about your pain like it was their own? How would you feel if they did?

Crowd photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Android photo credit: by Franck V. on Unsplash

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
    Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

Luke 1:41-55

Perhaps this was an answered prayer for Elizabeth, whereas for Mary it was more of a surprise. God saw them both. They were given the great responsibility–to raise a child who would make a difference.

Answered Prayers

It’s hard to know how much they perceived about what their children were chosen to accomplish. The angelic visitation, which Elizabeth didn’t get firsthand, would indicate that this was more than just a blessing of a child (during an era when having children was a measure of a woman’s worth). Mary received more information in her visitation, and Luke tells us she pondered these things in her heart.

What seems clear to me in this passage, is that Mary recognizes that the experience she and Elizabeth are having, recalls the experience of Hannah. Hannah, like Elizabeth, couldn’t have children. She begged God for a child because in her society, not being able to conceive was perceived as God’s judgment. As part of her request, Hannah vows to dedicate her child to service in the temple. God answers Hannah’s prayer. On the day she brings her son Samuel to the temple she sings a prayer, which is similar to Mary’s.

Hannah’s Prayer

It’s possible that Hannah’s prayer (1 Samuel 2 ) was passed down through the generations as a song. There are also similarities in Mary’s song with the prophetic writings of Isaiah 40 and 61. The similarities in her song are likely intentional on Mary’s part. This would mean that Mary was a student of Scripture. She was able to create a song using multiple passages relevant to her and Elizabeth’s situation. This would have been unusual for a woman in this society. This speaks to the kind of woman that God chose to be a mother to Jesus.

What are the overlapping themes in Mary’s song and Hannah’s prayer? Hannah starts out exclaiming, my heart exults in the Lord. She talks about how the powerful and arrogant don’t need God, but that God provides for the weak. The rich have food but God feeds the hungry. Hannah sings about God’s power to exalt people or bring people low. Isaiah 40  repeats this theme poetically by saying the valleys will be brought up and the mountains made low. This text references the strength of God’s arm in verse 10 and goes on to compare the powerful and the weak in verses 23-24. Isaiah 61:8-10  also repeats these themes using language very similar to the language Mary uses in her song.

Preparing Their Hearts

So the songs are similar, why is this important? Mary and Elizabeth are sharing this moment of joy. Later in their lives they will both share the grief of losing a son. They were aware of the prophetic role their sons would live—John as prophet and Jesus, who fulfilled the roles of prophet, priest, and king. Historically the prophets weren’t received well. This awareness gives Mary and Elizabeth context and the ability to prepare their heart for the events to come.

God saw and chose Mary and Elizabeth. Mary knows that she is humble and recognizes the truth of the Scriptures that speak of God defending the weak.

Life can get discouraging when rulers wield their power in a domineering way. Are you weak and in need? Do you have power? How can you recognize the humble people around you and be an answer to someone’s prayer?

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One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

The Gospel of Mark shows us the perspective of the teachers and religious leaders through this interaction. We can see some of what they thought about Jesus. They’re vetting this grass-roots teacher. Jesus didn’t have the lifelong education and training they had. He didn’t go to seminary, he wasn’t affiliated with a mega-church, and the fringe people in society were drawn to his teaching. The religious leaders needed to check out his theology because their people were listening to Jesus.

Not only was Jesus teaching without their permission, but he often added another layer of thought that implicated the religious leaders somehow. Sometimes he broke the laws found in the Scriptures—evidence for them that something was amiss. Some of the people were supporting him financially. That’s money that should have been given in support of the temple. This blue-collar teacher was only of concern because the crowds loved him. How would the religious leaders get anyone to follow all of the carefully taught laws if this cultural icon was breaking them?

Some of the religious leaders who challenged Jesus were trying to stop him at all costs, but some were sincere. Some were doing their due diligence. As people responsible for the spiritual care of the masses, they wanted to make sure the people weren’t being duped by a false teacher. This interaction is one of those sincere conversations.

A Sincere Vetting

This scribe is testing Jesus on his understanding of the law and is pleased with his answer. The scribe understands the heart of the law, and affirms Jesus. This scribe adds on to the answer Jesus gave, to explain why it was correct. This could easily look like hubris–this scribe is explaining to God why he answered correctly about his own law. If we look at it through the lens of the scribe, he just sees a man teaching crowds, who answered an important question correctly. The scribe wants to make sure Jesus understands his answer.

Here’s where I want to pull on the brakes before we get to the punchline. Let’s flip the conversation around and look at it through the lens of Jesus. You might think you were already doing that if you’re a Christian, but rooting for Jesus is different than being Jesus. We can’t know his lens, but let’s guess at it.

Jesus, as God, is walking among his creation. He’s God incarnate as a human, but still sees everyone he meets as a beloved child, an image bearer of God. The scribes, lawyers, and Pharisees see him as an anomaly or a threat and often oppose him. Like any group, they are made up of individuals who have their own opinion about Jesus. When they question him they have different motives, which Jesus perceived. When this particular scribe questions Jesus, he humbly answers him. Jesus loved him, perceived his sincerity, and gave him a straightforward answer. We see the scribe’s sincerity after he responded.

Don’t Interact on Auto-Pilot

Pause right there. One takeaway from this story is that each interaction you have with people should be a fresh interaction. Certainly, societal groups have similarities among their members, which is why they gravitate towards each other. Some groups should be avoided if they pose a danger. Jesus certainly avoided danger at times. However, once we’re conversing with a single person, we need to remind ourselves to stop thinking in categories and soundbites. We need to listen and engage in the nuances of that conversation. Especially when the person is part of a group in which we don’t belong.

Listen Closely, Respond Honestly

Jesus listened with humility and gave a forthright answer. Even in his corrective at the end where he tells the scribe he’s not far from the kingdom of God, I hear Jesus saying this gently. He’s trying to reach this man within his context. Another example of this is Nicodemus, who was sincere in his questions. After an honest conversation with Jesus, he went from questioning Jesus to questioning his fellow Pharisees.

Unlike Jesus, we can’t clearly see another person’s motives. We need to use wisdom and intuition when we interact with people, especially if they’re a part of a group that’s dangerous to us. As we interact, let’s not be satisfied with lumping people into categories, but instead listen closely and interact with humble honesty.

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‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,’
Let Israel now say—
‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.’
Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

This short Psalm is a Psalm of thanksgiving to the Lord, who delivered the people of Israel from certain death. I don’t know if this was originally written about a specific victory. Psalm 124 is one of the Psalms of Ascent, which were sung each year as the Jewish people returned to Jerusalem for Passover. This song reminded each generation to remember God as their deliverer from many instances of oppression.

A quick reading of this Psalm sounds as though trusting in the Lord is some kind of force field against the troubles of life. This isn’t a shortcut to a life of health and wealth. The history of the Jewish people shows us that they faced conflicts and enslavement for generations. The history shows us that this Psalm isn’t a pat answer, but rather a deep commitment to giving praise to God. They are recognizing that their fate, as bad as it was, could have been worse. This Psalm portrays their arrival at a radical acceptance and gratitude, which certainly wouldn’t have been an easy journey.

What about us?

So, how does this apply to us today? Do we just declare God as “on our side” against our political adversaries? What if there are people who follow God on both sides of the political conflict? There usually are.

God isn’t a part of your political party. We don’t summon God to join us, God calls us to join in with what God is doing. The people who wrote this Psalm had been oppressed and were eventually delivered. As I wrote about in Defender of the Poor, God comes to the aid of the oppressed. Not as a force field, but as one who was also oppressed. God meets you in the suffering, comforts you there, strengthens you, and sometimes brings physical deliverance.

The difficult part about this Psalm is the determination to see God’s love in the middle of oppression, and to be thankful even if everything is stacked against you. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Dirt road photo credit: by Leks Quintero on Unsplash

Bird photo credit: by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash