Jeremiah 17: 5-11; Luke 6: 17-26
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
Feb 17, 2019
Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings. - Jeremiah 17: 5-10
[Jesus] came down with them 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.
Blessings and Woes
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 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.
‘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: 17-26
Luke tells the story of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection for one purpose: that we may know the truth about Jesus’ instructions to us (Luke 1:4). Jesus’ instructions embody God’s unconditional love which truly changes the world. Jesus was sent to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43).
According to Luke, Jesus began his ministry by going to the mountaintop to pray. He chose his twelve disciples which he also called apostles, for they would be sent to proclaim the kingdom too (Luke 6: 12-16). When they come down from the mountain Jesus began his greatest teaching on why the kingdom of God is so good. And so, he taught with God’s authority to the twelve and all who desired to follow him.
The twelve disciples were so compelled by Jesus they had left everything to follow him. And they had no idea what they were getting into. Proclaiming the kingdom of God would cost Jesus Christ everything. As Jesus taught the blessings of God’s favor and woes of God’s judgment the disciples would soon learn what it means to trust God in all things. Trusting God’s kingdom and trusting in the kingdom of the world are two very different things. It matters where you plant your trust.
Rev. Rachel Hackenberg connects Jesus’ blessings and woes in this way:
Blessed are you who know that you are planted in the kingdom of God, for the world will never hesitate to starve you and blame you for your own hunger. Woe to you who do not notice God’s abundance, who consume for fear of want.
Blessed are you who know that you are planted as a beloved child of God, for the world will demonize you as fast as it glorifies you. Woe to you who do not recognize God’s delight in you, who gather a cohort of false prophets & priests.
Blessed are you who know that you are planted in God’s faithfulness, for tears and struggle will always find you. Woe to you who do not notice the relief of God’s comfort, who are drunk with joy for fear of pain.
Jesus’ teachings were rather scandalous because God’s heart always favors the poor, the powerless, and the marginalized. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God helps those who help themselves. Instead God is a refuge for the poor and needy in their distress (Isaiah 25:4) Not only would God be a refuge for the disciples who were poor in leaving everything behind to follow Jesus, but also God’s heart broke for the poor and powerless.
Jesus Christ is the suffering servant that Isaiah prophesied about; the One anointed by God’s Spirit to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim God’s freedom, and to open our eyes to God’s promise of new life (Isaiah 4:18). God’s kingdom is present in the good news of Jesus Christ to restore the brokenness of all humanity and creation back to God’s intentions; those intentions always point to righteousness – right relationships between God and one another.
The Lord pays special attention to restoring our impoverished sisters and brothers to the whole of God’s beloved community whose self-worth, belonging, hope, and peace are threatened.
Jesus teaches that we are to plant our faith in the Christian ethics of God’s kingdom. In his blessings and woes, Jesus is rather direct that a disciple cannot live into Jesus’ example by setting one’s own conditions. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “When a disciple makes himself [or herself] available to Jesus but retains the right to set his [or her] own conditions then, at that moment, discipleship stops being discipleship. It becomes a human program” [1]
The Christian ethic is to allow the roots of our faith to be firmly planted in trusting God above all else in life. Tears and struggle will always find us as our human will wrestles with God’s will. The more our trust grows in God’s will, love and provision, the more we see God’s abundance and are grateful. We are to share God’s abundance unconditionally to care for the poor, feed the hungry, and weep with those who are weeping over the world’s wrongs.
Jesus told the disciples that in striving to do God’s will they too would be hated, reviled and scorned (Luke 6:22). As we said in our prayer of confession, discipleship demands a lot from us because it cost Jesus Christ everything. The cross is a symbol of Jesus’ costly grace and to the world it looks so very foolish.
But God’s unconditional love will always be counter-cultural to the human heart and to the kingdom of the world. God’s love leads you and I to places we may not ever choose to go on our own accord.
The discipleship Jesus teaches about strives to actively love one another with mutual affection; it resists an individualized feel-good faith. That feel-good faith which requires mothing of us is the message of false prophets.
Jesus teaches about Gods’ relationship to the disciples. God loves all creation and humanity beyond measure with a love that nothing can ever separate. God has chosen us out of grace and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5: 18-19).
As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, the church is to continue Jesus’ ministry of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God in authentic and life-giving ways. We are to serve God and neighbor not out of obligation but with grace and gratitude for God’s blessings. And with God’s blessings comes great responsibility. Therefore, the Lord is free to search and judge our hearts as Jeremiah and Luke tell us today.
Several years ago, Rev. Heber Brown III decided he needed to do more than pray. Brown is a 38 year-old African American pastor. He serves a small congregation in Baltimore, Maryland. The Spirit opened Brown’s eyes to see the ones whom God’s heart was breaking for; they were women and men in Brown’s church and community suffering from diet-related illnesses.
The kingdom of the world would blame these folks for their circumstances in life, but the kingdom of God sees these beloved very differently.
Brown studied the context of his community. In Baltimore City alone, one in three residents is obese and 12 percent has Type 2 diabetes — two conditions that disproportionately affect black Americans.
Additionally, 34 percent of black residents in Baltimore live in food deserts (compared to 8 percent of white residents). These residents do not have regular access to fresh, healthy and affordable foods.
So, Brown worked with others to plant the kingdom of God. He turned to seeds, in addition to scripture, and started a garden on a 1,500-square-foot plot of land in front of the church. Today, that garden grows everything from summer squash to kale, and yields 1,100 pounds of produce — all to feed the community that meets weekly to worship.
Brown was so amazed that he began to partner with black farmers in the area to bring pop-up markets to the church after Sunday service. He said, “We saw attendance bump up in our worship, we saw a great energy … and it went so [well] here, that I wondered what would happen if we could spread it through other churches and create a network of churches that do the same thing?”
In 2015, Brown launched The Black Church Food Security Network — a grassroots initiative to address injustices and disparities that plague black Americans.
Brown’s ministry is a glimpse of the kingdom of God which has brought together different faith traditions, different parts of the city, and even people of different races to serve sisters and brothers in need.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
You and I are here today because God’s love in Jesus Christ and the costly grace of the cross have captivated us in some small or big way and we desire to follow him.
How is Jesus calling you to plant your faith a little deeper in the kingdom of God?
What part of this community is the Holy Spirit opening up your eyes to see in a new way?
Where is God calling you and me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom not just in word, but with our hearts and hands?
May Jesus’ teachings continue to give us the courage to plant the seeds of God’s faithfulness so that all may be planted in the kingdom of God.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works, Volume 4: Discipleship” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), p. 61.
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