Pastor Tom Johnson, February 13, 2022
Jesus describes two states—one is a state of blessing and the other a state of woe. A state of blessing is God’s goodness directed toward us. We are on a trajectory toward experiencing greater goodness from God. A state of woe means we are on a trajectory toward loss of whatever we value toward experiencing greater loss. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are those who hunger. Blessed are those who weep. Blessed are you when others hate you, exclude and revile you, and spurn your name because of the name of Jesus. Woe to the rich. Woe to those whose stomachs are full. Woe to those who laugh. Woe to those who are well-spoken of and celebrities. Jesus calls those we pity blessed and those we admire foredoomed. The reason Jesus’ words are so difficult to understand is that his words have the power to turn the perception of our world upside down. It’s the reverse of how the world around us sees things.
Five years ago, rapper Kendrick Lamar and Irish band U2 collaborated on a song called American Soul. It begins with these words:
Blessed are the arrogant
For there’s the kingdom of their own company
Blessed are the superstars
For the magnificence in their light
We understand better our own insignificance
Blessed are the filthy rich
For you can only truly own what you give away
Like your pain.
Blessed are the bullies
For one day they will have to stand up to themselves
Blessed are the liars
For the truth can be awkward.
These words have a similar effect that Jesus’ words have on us—to question our own reality. Jesus comforts the disturbed. Jesus disturbs the comfortable. Jesus says that the challenges we face now will with him result in great blessing. Those who appear to be happy on the outside might actually be miserable, lonely, and bankrupt on the inside. Jesus’ words and example are just as powerful today as they were when he first spoke them. It’s a cliche to say “You can’t buy happiness.” But when we look at our own behavior, our attitudes, and the things we value, we often live as if our worldly pursuits will one day deliver us the happiness we long for.
One of the worst things that can happen is for us to get all we want—the money and possessions we think will make us happy—to work hard all those years—to neglect the world and people as they pass us by and not appreciate all the beauty and relationships that surround us. What we think we want or need may not be God’s best for us. Woe to us—Lord, have mercy—if we are so obsessed with earning the almighty dollar, filling our stomachs, laughing at things that are a mile wide and an inch deep, trying to impress people, and make friends at all costs. We are setting ourselves up for a life of superficial and meaningless living. One day we may wake up and realize just how impoverished and poor we truly are. We should not misunderstand the word woe. It literally is oy and is the sound of a gut punch. Jesus is saying “woe” out of compassion, not judgment. He is grieving our misplaced values and priorities—that we would sell ourselves out so easily and so cheaply. This is the very definition of false idols in our lives—when we give ourselves over to someone or something so completely—that we believe the empty promises and lies so much—that we live in a state of delusion and deception. We are held captive and slaves to whatever we are putting all our energy and time into. Our misplaced priorities keep us away from all the blessings God wants to shower on us. If this is the state of our being, than woe to us, indeed.
But how blessed we are! What the world, the devil, and our sin meant for evil, God means for good. God is teaching us and molding us into the people of God he wants us to be through all the challenges, setbacks, and suffering we experience. It is through our poverty of body and soul that we learn contentment. God wants us to look to him to provide for us. He tells us to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to [us] as well” (Matt 6:33). It will not remain hidden forever that we who appear to be poor are extraordinarily rich in the Kingdom of God. Those around us will wonder how we can still have joy even when life throws us its worst.
How blessed we are! We hunger and thirst for the things of God. “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps 42:1). God tells the ancient people of Israel, “He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut 8:3). And so we come here this morning hungry for loving community, famished for a word of encouragement, craving bread and wine, and longing for the Body and Blood of Jesus at this table. We will be filled indeed. Our cups run over with the blessings of Christ.
How blessed we are! What a blessing to feel godly sorrow for our sin and to receive complete forgiveness. What a blessing to know that God sees our grief, our losses, and our deepest emotional wounds. He promises to give us peace that surpasses understanding and will one day wipe every tear from our eyes. How blessed we are! What a blessing to know that God unconditionally loves us, accepts us, and even likes us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in his likeness. In his name, by the water and the Word, we are remade in the image of Christ in Holy Baptism. Scripture says “you you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). Jesus has made us the blessed ones. By his poverty, his hunger, his sorrow, his suffering, and his death on the cross he has made us rich in forgiveness, life, and salvation. And by his resurrection, he has opened to us all the riches of heaven. Rejoice and be glad! For yours is the Kingdom of God!
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