Luke 6:17-26
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Matthew 4:4
Food for the Soul
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
I am amazed when I read and reread these verses, and always think there is something I am missing from what Jesus is teaching us in His Sermon on the Plain...For on earth, generally not very many of us want to be poor, hungry, or to be weeping...Nor do we want to be hated, excluded, insulted, because we follow our Teacher...It does not seem quite right when we are taught to think that we are blessed when we have the things of being poor, hungry, and weeping in our lives...It does not seem to be a natural thing for this world to want to be poor, hungry, or weeping and then thinking of ourselves as blessed...But Jesus is from Another World, so it makes sense to me -knowing that He is from above and is the Son of Man, that He is talking about His world and is not here talking about man's natural instincts on earth...
From His point of view being poor, hungry, and weeping is better than being rich, well fed, and laughing while on earth...Maybe Jesus is also telling us not to avoid the tougher things in life...In avoiding and looking down on the things like being poor, hungry, and weeping in our lives and seeking only comfort at all costs -costs us much more...If we try to avoid every suffering that comes up -have we learned what He wants us to learn?...We may never know the strength of our faith, or what makes up our inner self...Jesus tells us there is much more to life than just being comfortable...The experiences of being poor, hungry, weeping and following Jesus are a part of our lives (and this world) and help sculpt us and help make us who we are...They seem to help build faith...Life maybe as simple as to take it one day at a time (no matter our circumstances), and enjoying that moment in faith with God and His Son, regardless if we are poor, hungry, or weeping...There is something to be learned in suffering and in some sufferings as He mentions there are blessings...And perhaps we have better relationships with others after being through some tough experiences in life...These past trials may make us see things better, and better see the beauty of life...Maybe we grow more toward God, when we are faced with trials, and the way we react to those trials and troubles...
If we are always focused on trying to get rich, trying to eat the most affluent of things, and in not crying -we may miss things...Searching for these things turn us and our thoughts more toward our self...The things are more inward...And if we are always looking and searching for the things that are inward and only for ourselves, we are never looking up...And up is where He is...We may very well miss life, and what it is about...By searching and being focused on the right things, we get more faith out of life...We need basic things in life like our daily bread...We need hope and faith constantly when we are poor, hungry, and weeping -to get these needs...We get more hope...We maybe have more faith...Having more hope and faith we are better focused and centered on the LORD -and maybe we understand better this Sermon...
There is more to life than being rich, always being well fed, and always laughing...Always pushing to get wealthy, eating and drinking the most affluent of foods and beverages, and always laughing are not mentioned as ways to be blessed, according to our LORD...These things can take up much time in our lives...These things maybe obstacles for us on this earth...The heart and our soul is not fed by money, or food, or laughter...It is fed by the word of God and His Son...These are the real treasures of His World -being with the Father, and His Son...They are in heaven...They are in this Other World which He is always teaching about...And the great reward of life is getting to heaven -and being with Them...
There can be blessings in some sufferings...Jesus suffering on the Cross is our blessing...