As summer gives way to autumn and a new term begins for many, are you too thinking about change? Has the pandemic changed your attitudes? Is something changing in your life? This reflection contemplates a radical new vision of society set out by Jesus in a speech recorded in the Gospel according to Luke, that might inspire any changes we make.
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
The words and their context can be found in Luke, Chapter 6 and are paraphrased below:
Then, he looked up at his friends and said:
”Blessed are you who are poor - yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now - you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now - you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. When that happens, rejoice - leap for joy! Your eternal reward is great, for this is what was done 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 this is what was done to the false prophets.”
The aftermath of The Leeds Festival was a sea of discarded litter and abandoned camping equipment that covered a vast expanse of grass, as far as the eye could see.
A day before, thousands had been enjoying themselves - dancing, eating, drinking and laughing after a challenging year of isolation. In the article linked above, a volunteer from a charity for the homeless explains how the mass of scattered sleeping bags and tents, so casually discarded by revellers, would be gratefully gathered up and used to save lives this winter.
Here is a snapshot of national life that highlights the imbalance between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ -and this is nothing new. Jesus spoke about comparable problems in his society. We might consider it as we hear Jesus’ words.
In the account by Luke, ‘a great multitude of people’ are gathered to listen to what Jesus had to say - and to be healed by him.
Luke writes that Jesus looked up at the crowd before speaking. Imagine you are there and that he catches your eye.
How has your day been?
What do you feel?
What do you think he is about to say?
Jesus first talks to - and not about - the poor, the hungry and the sorrowful; people who might be overlooked and undervalued:
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.
Do you identify with any of the groups he mentions? If not, how does it feel that Jesus addresses them first?
What else comes into your heart and mind?
Jesus uses the present tense when addressing the poor - ‘for yours is the kingdom of God - and we might ask what this means.
Later, there is a contrast made between those who are hungry or who weep ‘now’ and their existence later (‘you will….’) Again, we might think about this.
Next, Jesus widens the scope of his comments:
‘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 what their ancestors did to the prophets.’
Does this resonate with you?
Jesus uses the term the Son of Man as a label for himself. What might it mean to be mistreated on his account?
The words that follow are, perhaps, less easy to hear:
‘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.
Imagine the reaction of the crowd to these words – maybe there was muttering? An uncomfortable hush? picture yourself at the scene.
Finally, an unsettling observation about many of us:
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.’
Spend some time letting this sink in and wondering what it means for you, and how it connects with any changes you are going through - or may wish to make - in your life. You may like to listen to the song linked below.