Finding Faith ... in Jesus spelling out exactly how we should live in faith

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Nov. 6, 2022.

This week's gospel: Luke 6:20-31

Blessings and Woes

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “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.

26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Love for Enemies

27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

The message:

Given our 21st century lives, living here in America, I think it is very difficult for us to understand just how ground-shaking today’s gospel was when Jesus uttered these words some 2,000 years ago.

After all, these words would have sounded like nonsense to his audience of followers in the 1st century.

I mean blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are excluded … because in God’s heavenly kingdom they all will be rewarded.

And look out to those who are rich, who are filled with food and those who are laughing … because they have already received their gifts here on earth.

Spoken to a 1st century crowd of disciples who were fishermen, a tax collector and maybe one man of education -- Jesus’ collection of disciples -- these claims would have seemed foolish.

After all, this was the first century Middle East where you didn’t move political stations in life. If your parents were poor, you were going to be poor too. If your father was a fisherman, you likely were going to be a fisherman too. If your father was a merchant, you were likely to be a merchant too.

If your parents were slaves … well, you were destined for slavery too.

Society was rigid; classifications were set. The idea that the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who were excluded would find reward anywhere, at any time, was ludicrous.

All of society was set up to benefit those in power, those with money, those with prestige. And you didn’t move up in class because society wasn't fixed that way.

So, really, Jesus … blessed? The poor and hungry and excluded are going to be blessed in the heavenly kingdom? … We know you are the messiah, and we do trust in you. But this all sounds too fanciful to be real.

And well … now that I do think about it … maybe these words should come across as incredibly ridiculous to us even yet today.

Because … for the vast majority of us in 21st century America … life is pretty good.

Most of us will never live among America’s poor, let alone the world’s poor -- an entirely different level.

And it’s hard for us to grasp that people in our country go hungry when food is so readily available.

Finally, for many of us who live comfortably, we will rarely come in contact with those in our country who are the ones weeping and the ones who are excluded.

Because while our time is different from the 1st century in that a person through extraordinary circumstances may break free to another class of lifestyle in America, it’s not so different from Jesus’ time in that our society is still fixed by certain pillars.

Pillars of wealth, entitlement, prestige … power. We don’t like to admit this here in America where we believe that we live on an equitable playing field, where we still believe in the American Dream.

But the same factors that kept people fixed in poverty, in hunger and in hopelessness in the 1st century … still exist here in the 21st century. … And it’s just as easy for those of us who are comfortable to ignore it.

So I guess it is a little uncomfortable to hear that second set of Jesus’ prophecies in the gospel today, isn’t it?

When you actually think about where we fit into this equation. … When you realize that we may be among the ones who are the filled, who are not poor, who are not excluded, Jesus’ words can be a bit unsettling can’t they?

Well, wait … a … minute, Jesus … I live a pretty comfortable life right here … do you mean that I might be the one in woe …

Yeah, so maybe now we can understand why Jesus and his prophecies unsettled those in power so greatly in the 1st century. … Because, in a lot of ways he was speaking right at us, trying to motivate us to change our ways.

But Faith Family … if today’s gospel text hits a little too close to home for us … if Jesus makes us squirm in our seats a little today … well, take heart … because he also provides us faithful with a step-by-step plan to live our lives.

A plan that would help those of us with a little privilege in our lives right here on earth … to maybe find a way to live more humbly in Jesus’ footsteps.

And that plan is revealed to us in the final third of Jesus’ speech in the gospel today ….

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. … Faithful, you gotta turn your cheek, give up your coat … even your shirt if the moment calls for it. Give to the beggars, and don’t ask for anything in return.

And finally, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” … Now that … is Jesus’ recipe to a faithful life, Faith Family. … And we should take note, as Jesus is speaking directly at us.

His prophetic words he speaks here, while meant as a balm to comfort the poor and hungry and those in mourning … a balm to help them get through this earthly life reminding them that they will receive their rewards in the heavenly kingdom.

Well … those same words are indeed directed at those in privilege too … and not as a balm … but as a warning as to how we are supposed to live a life of faith here in this world.

You see, that’s the challenging thing about prophetic speech in the Bible. It’s often pointing its finger at the ones who are the most tone deaf to its message.

And today, if we aren’t among those who are hungry, poor or mourning, then we have to assume … we are among those who are laughing, who have full bellies and who have received our consolation.

Now, that’s a little sobering … isn’t it?

Yeah, now we begin to see why the ruling classes of the 1st century thought Jesus was so dangerous … why they thought Jesus had to die. … Because he made them uncomfortable and threatened their station in life.

Faith Family … we like to believe that every Sunday when we walk into the sanctuary that we’re going to hear a comforting gospel text from our loving Savior. … A message to reaffirm that we are living good and faithful lives.

But we often forget that Jesus was as much a prophet … as he was the messiah. And the job of the prophets in ancient times was to make their audiences think about some really uncomfortable things.

I mean seriously, name a prophet in the Old Testament, and I can promise you that they weren’t popular among those who they prophesied to.

And, well, today Jesus is speaking as a prophet, prophesying to us, and we’d do well to heed his message.

Those of us who are comfortable, who don’t go hungry, who aren’t in mourning. … Jesus gives us our directions. He spells out exactly how it is that we should be living our lives here.

And so the question now is: Are we listening?

And that is the Good News for this All Saints Sunday … Nov. 6, 2022. Amen.