Sermon On The plain: Last Sunday's Sermon

The Gospel

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."

The Sermon

When I was in India, I traveled with monks who had basically nothing. They had a change of clothing and they were given enough to travel to the places they were assigned to visit. Some of them worked in schools, some in clinics and basically were put to work using whatever skills they possessed. I got to know many of them very well and we developed close friendships.

Several times these friends of mine would give me their condolences that I lived in America. The reason they felt sorry for me was because they believed it would be nearly impossible to lead a God centered spiritual life with so many temptations. Many times I would hear them say, “I don't know how you can do it.”

I think Jesus is telling us the same thing. He is telling us that while it may seem that you are better off if you have all you could want or need, really, in a spiritual sense, those who have less are more likely to turn toward God and the salvation that God offers.

Jesus was on to something. I have heard of and seen so many who have so much and find their lives to be a broken mess. I am sure many of you have read stories about people who have won fortunes in the lottery and within a short amount of time find themselves in far worse shape than they were before their 'good fortune'.

Jesus is cautioning us to not become attached to material things that will pass away. He tells us not to become attached to praise for our deeds. He is telling us to stay humble, to realize that all that we have and all that we take pride in will fade and be gone some day.

We must realize that we are part of humanity and God's love transcends all we could possibly possess and all the honor we could possibly achieve. God loves us and God does not care how new our car is or how big our TV is. God loves the person who begs for food on the street corner as much as he loves the person who owns a grocery store.

Jesus is telling us that that person on the street corner may be more vibrant and spiritually fed than the other.

If you have had good fortune in life, I ask you to be generous with the gifts God has given you.