Epiphany 6
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook, SERIES II
for use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Comments on the Lessons
There is virtual consensus on the Jeremiah reading, which is similar in theme to Psalm 1, and which is from an earlier time than Psalm 1. It sets forth two ways of living, obedience and disobedience. Verses 9-10 complete the passage and help prepare for Lent. There is also virtual consensus on the 1 Corinthians reading which requires attention to all verses, since they are essential to the tight argument presented. There is virtual consensus on the Lucan reading, with verses 18-19 describing Jesus' healing ministry. They provide a good epiphanic linking of word and deed.
Commentary
Jeremiah 17:5-10 (C)
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (L) (RC)
In this passage we have incidental remarks from Jeremiah like those of the wisdom tradition of Israel found in the Proverbs. The larger section of verses 5-18 is wisdom material. They might be called "The Sayings of Jeremiah." While there is a resemblance between our passage and Psalm 1, both of which use the image of the tree, scholars think Jeremiah 17 is older than Psalm 1. Also, the image of the green tree was such a common one for a righteous person that we need not suspect literary dependence of the Psalmist, or of Jeremiah. This passage is more spiritual than is Psalm 1. The contrast between the two types of tree - one a shrub in the desert that shall not see any good come, and the other, the tree planted by water that does not cease to bear fruit - provides vivid images of the difference between the person who depends upon human beings and the person who trusts in God. The one is a humanist who acknowledges no divine references, no transcendental relationship, while the other is firmly rooted in trust in God. The first is ephemeral, while the second is enduring. A common theme in these wisdom sayings is permanence.
For several reasons some scholars question whether these verses are from Jeremiah. One consideration is that the form of these sayings has few, if any, parallels in the unquestioned portions of Jeremiah's writing. But even more significantly, the general outlook of this passage is contradictory of Jeremiah's experience. Jeremiah trusted in God; but while one would expect from his wisdom saying here that he prospered and produced fruit, the historical fact is that Jeremiah was hated and persecuted. His experience was more like that of the shrub in the desert that dwelt in the parched places of the wilderness. For these reasons some scholars think that this wisdom material was composed by a member of the wisdom school, which taught the orthodox doctrine of divine retribution.
As noted above, the tree imagery is a common one. The tree of life in the garden of Eden story and the "tree" on which Jesus was crucified, for instance, are powerful images from Scripture. Icons of the tree of crucifixion from the Medieval period portray that death-life polarity clearly. They show how the one tree, the cross, may combine the complexities of life and death, blessing and curse. While a student at New College, Edinburgh, I visited the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, where hangs the allegorical painting of Hans Holbein the Younger. It pictures a dry tree/green tree. Painting in the sixteenth century, Holbein in his "Allegory of the Old and New Testaments" shows a tree which divides the picture into two halves. On the left side the tree is withered; the scenes on the left are from the Old Testament, symbolizing the law, sin, death, and the mysteries of salvation and justification. But on the right side of the painting, the green tree is luxuriant, and all the scenes are from the New Testament. They represent the reversal of the Old Testament images in terms of life and salvation. Holbein's painting is a prime example of how the image of a tree may combine a diverse range of symbolization. (See Carl Jung's writings on universal symbols, including the tree.)
While some commentators think the unit is a reference to King Zedekiah, the man who trusted in human powers rather than God's Word through Jeremiah, this interpretation would make the wisdom saying lose its force as a generalization about human trust.
In verses 9-10 Jeremiah makes a general statement about the human mind with its crafty ways. This makes self-understanding and understanding of others difficult. These words remind us of Samuel Johnson's comment about the "anfractuosities of the human heart," referring to the intricate winding and bending of the human mind and soul. Recent intrigues in national and international government are vivid commentaries on this verse. We should confine this generalization in verses 9-10 about the intricacies of the human heart, and of the Lord's searching the human mind, giving to everyone according to his or her doings, to this section of polarized contrasts. Otherwise, we could end up with another version of the "Cretan liar paradox": The person who said the human mind is incurably deceitful is also deceitful in saying this!
Righteous judgments can be and are made by God, because God knows what is in the human heart. In the RSV of verse 9 the word "corrupt" would be better translated "weak" since the root Hebrew word denotes weakness or sickness rather than wickedness.
It may be that this section was placed here in Jeremiah because verses 5-8 enunciate the principle upon which the judgment predicted in verse 4 was based. Otherwise it is difficult to link verses 1-4 with 5-10.
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (C)
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 (L) (RC)
This passage is part of a larger section, verses 12-34, dealing with the significance of the resurrection. In the preceding passage, verses 1-11, Paul has restated his Gospel with facts about Jesus' death and resurrection, and appearances to various groups and persons, including Paul. Now in this passage Paul repeats vitally important evidence for the historical facts regarding Christ's saving work. While some in Corinth appear to have questioned or rejected belief in the resurrection, Paul refutes all such arguments. He says that because Christ rose from the dead, and is preached as risen, then resurrection of believers is a reality.
If there is no resurrection of the dead then it follows that:
1. Christ has not been raised
2. Our preaching is in vain
3. Your faith is in vain
4. We are even found to be misrepresenting God
5. Your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins
6. Those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished
7. Then we have hope in Christ only in this life, and so are of all people the most to be pitied
Then with a trumpet blast Paul shouts, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (v. 20) Paul seems to have met people who knew Christ as a man in his Galilean days but who lacked a saving knowledge of his death and resurrection. For them Christ was only a great prophet, and no more, who gave them hope only in his life.
Christ's resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep is an image from the harvest, when the first sheaf was brought to the temple on the first day following the Passover celebration. The first sheaf represented the entire harvest, given by God and consecrated to him. In the same fashion, the raising of Christ from the dead by God's power points to the resurrection of all those who belong to him.
It appears that some Gentile Corinthians thought that there could be no bodily resurrection of a mere mortal, although since Christ was more than a mere mortal his resurrection would not be a problem. The Corinthians were saying that although resurrection may have happened to Jesus, this would not happen to Christians who had died or would die in the future. A syllogism of their belief would go like this:
There is no resurrection for dead persons.
Jesus was a dead person.
Therefore, Jesus was not raised from the dead.
But notice that Paul's argument does not run this way. He does not start from a general principle or idea such as the resurrection of the dead, but rather he starts from the Christian experience of the Corinthians who know their sins are forgiven, and know their faith is genuine and not in vain.
Notice how Paul links the resurrection of the dead with Christ's resurrection. If one can say that the dead are not raised, then it is meaningless to speak of Christ's being raised. Our present experience can either result in hope or in despair. Paul speaks of the legitimacy of the resurrection of the dead as an expression of Christian hope, which is grounded in one's experience of the risen Christ - preaching, forgiveness of sins, and hope for the dead. There is a danger of so intellectualizing the Christian faith that it no longer has anything to do with the human fear of death and horror of ultimate extinction (having hope only in this life). To do this is to play the biggest practical joke on ourselves, for we end up with no hope for the future, and we are still in our sins. There is a pervasive notion in the modern secular world that only those things which we can experience with our five senses are real, and that any other worldly reality is false. This is a denial of the resurrection of the dead. It is ironic that movies and television shows about reincarnation, creatures from outer space, evil spirits, demons, thought transference, etc. have captured the minds of so many who flatly reject the resurrection of the dead, and the concepts of heaven and hell, as being outdated in a modern technological age. The preacher has her or his work cut out in dealing with this passage about belief in the resurrection of the dead. The issue should be met head on, as Paul does, and shown to be at the heart of the Christian faith.
Luke 6:17-26 (C) (L)
Luke 6:17, 20-26 (RC)
Our passage is part of a larger section, 6:12-49. The Twelve are chosen in verses 12-16; and verses 17-19 mark the transition from the hills, where the Twelve are chosen, to the plain, where Jesus teaches his disciples in The Sermon on the Plain found in 6:17-49. Luke records a number of Jesus' sayings which are also found in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew chapters 5-7, although Luke includes fewer than does Matthew's collection. But Luke gives sayings found elsewhere in Matthew, and verses 24-26 are unique to Luke. The so-called "sermons" are collections of memorized words of Jesus, used to instruct Christian converts. In verses 17-19 Luke gives the setting for the sermon. (see Matthew 5:1-2) Note that each Gospel distinguishes between the crowds in general and Jesus' followers. The teachings are directed primarily to the latter group, although not exclusively to them.
Jesus addresses three groups: (1) the apostles, (2) the disciples, and (3) a great multitude. Luke says Jesus came down with the apostles; which is an allusion to the giving of the law by Moses. The apostles, as Aaron accompanied Moses (Exodus 19:24), accompany Jesus, the new Moses, to the mountam where they are formed into a new Levitical ministry of the New Covenant. But in this New Covenant there is no special priestly class, so the role applies to all the disciples. This priesthood is one which the whole body of Christ shares, and arises not from Aaron, but from Melchizedek.
Collections of beatitudes and woes were not uncommon in the ancient world. In the present context, the beatitudes and woes are eschatological in nature. They in effect offer congratulations and condolences to people in the here-and-now on the basis of what will finally be in the New Age. They set new priorities and values for living here-and-now that are in direct contrast with the world's values. Notice that "poor," "hunger," "weep," and their counterparts of "rich," "full," and "laugh" are to be understood religiously, not sociologically. However, the religious meanings of the terms are often derived from an earlier sociological meaning.
The poor are called blessed and are congratulated because theirs is the kingdom of God. The poor here in Luke are equivalent to the poor in spirit of Matthew 5:3. These are the ones who count worldly goods as nothing, the voluntarily poor. While poverty at first had a sociological significance only, it took on a spiritual meaning in Israel's history. Those who were poor were more faithful to Israel's religion than were the rich, and so came to be the model of faithful worshipers. The poor, hungering ones and cast out, are those who are dissatisfied with, and rejected by, the present age. By the time of Jesus, the poor, in a Jewish context, were the type of persons who are pleasing to God because of their total dependence upon God. The widow who gave her whole living to the Temple treasury is a prime example of such a person, who in dire poverty casts herself on God's providential care. The poor are powerless, and so are totally dependent upon God. The poor religiously are also often-times poor economically. (Luke 1:45, 2:24)
In contrast to the poor are the rich who live thinking that they are self-sufficient, but who are in fact failures, for they do not trust in God. They are like the shrub in the desert of Jeremiah 17, the image of the person who trusts in human beings and not in God. The fact that the disciples had trouble, as we have trouble, seeing life from this point of view is evident from the epistle of James, which comes from the time of Luke.
Those who hunger now will be satisfied later. Hunger has both physical and spiritual meaning within Jewish tradition. While Matthew says "hunger for righteousness" (5:6) Luke intends this spiritual connotation to be self-evident. In Luke 1:51-53 the hungry are paralleled to the lowly, as opposed to the proud. Those who are unsatisfied spiritually, who long for more, are the ones to be congratulated, for they shall be satisfied in the New Age.
Those who weep now are congratulated. The Greek term for "weep" is used by Luke to express mourning and sorrow of all kinds. The injustices of structures of society cause anguish. But those who laugh now will mourn and weep in the New Age. Those who laugh now are indifferent to the needs of others.
Those who are persecuted because of their relationship to the Son of man can rejoice because they will receive a great reward in heaven. In being persecuted, they join a great company of prophets who were persecuted in the past. But those who are well-spoken of now will suffer later because they are among the false prophets who were spoken well of in the past. These blessings and woes seem to echo the Christian trials described in Acts 6-7. For example, Luke 6:23 says, "Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." In Acts we read of the apostles: "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were worthy to suffer dishonor for the name."
The type of persons praised in verses 2-23 are blessed, or happy, now because they have God now, and because in the New Age they will have support from the structures of life there. The poor and powerless have hope only in God, and so, by trusting in God alone they belong to the sphere of God's rule. Those who weep, hunger, and are persecuted will be blessed in the New Age because they will participate in God's final victory over evil in the New Age.
On the other hand, those described by woes are to be pitied because they trust in money, praise, and security here and now, but have nothing more than what they now have, no hope for the future life. They will come up short when God settles the final accounts on Judgment Day. Fulfillment in this age is its own reward or consolation, but in the New Age conditions will be reversed. The reversal of values in the Beatitudes has been compared to a hardware store in which price tags have been moved around during the previous night so that lawnmowers are two for ten dollars and nails are fifty dollars each!
Theological Reflections
The passage from Jeremiah contrasts two kinds of persons, those who trust in human beings and those who trust in God. The first is like a shrub in the desert that is fruitless, but the person who trusts in God is like a tree by water, one that does not cease to produce fruit. Paul writes to the Corinthians to refute those who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and points out the implications of denying the resurrection. He goes on to affirm that, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead as the first fruits of the dead. Here again is a contrast between the person who trusts in human power only and the person who trusts in God's power to raise the dead, both Christ and the believer. Luke records Jesus' Sermon on the Plain and the blessings and woes of those who trust in God and those who do not. Thus a common theme running through all three readings is a contrast between the person who is rooted and grounded in faith in God and therefore is blessed in the New Age, and the person who trusts in human power and wordly security and who will suffer in the New Age and so is to be pitied.
Homiletical Moves
Jeremiah 17:5-10 (C)
Jeremiah 1 7:5-8 (L) (RC)
The Shrub in the Desert and the Tree by Water
1. The person who trusts in human power is like a shrub in the desert which does not produce fruit
2. The person who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by water, which does not cease to bear fruit
3. The human heart is deceitful, but the Lord searches and knows our minds and will give to every person according to his or her ways
4. Trust in God and draw on God's strength daily through prayer and meditation, and so produce good fruit
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (C)
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 (L) (RC)
Christ Has Been Raised from the Dead!
1. If Christ is raised from the dead how can you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
2. If Christ has not been raised, (1) then our preaching is in vain, (2) your faith is in vain, (3) we misrepresent God, (4) you are still in your sins, (5) and you have hope in this life only, (6) and so are of all people most to be pitied
3. But Christ, in fact, has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen alseep
4. Trust in Christ and his death and resurrection for your salvation, knowing that your sins are forgiven, and that you have hope now and in the life to come through him
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 6:17-26 (C) (L)
Luke 6:17, 20-26 (RC)
Blessed Are Those Who Trust in God!
1. Blessed are you who are poor, who hunger, and who weep, for you put your trust in God and will be rewarded in the New Age
2. Woe to you who are rich, are full, and who laugh now, for you have gotten all your consolation here and now, and are to be pitied in the New Age.
3. Blessed are you when you are persecuted for the sake of the Son of man, and leap for joy, for your reward will be great in heaven, but woe to you when all speak well of you now
4. Put your whole trust in God in Christ, and live by the values of the New Age now, and you will enjoy God now and in the New Age to come
Hymn for Epiphany 6: Rejoice, the Lord is King
Prayer
Gracious God, who has called us to live in daily communion with you in prayer and obedience, forgive us when we have trusted in our own strength and have sought security and pleasure in this life. Forgive us when we have denied the resurrection of the dead by living as if this life would go on forever, and as if there is no life yet to come. By your Spirit enable us to draw daily on your power, and so be like a tree planted by water that never ceases to bear goodfruit. May we so trust in Christ, and in his death and resurrection, that we may know more surely that our sins are forgiven, and that we have hope for the age to come. Grant that we may live in total dependence upon you, hungering after righteousness. When we suffer persecution for the Son of man as we follow him, we know that our reward in heaven is great. Give us eyes to see beyond this life and its pleasures to the New Age in which values are reversed. Give us courage and faith to live in the New Age here and now. Amen
There is virtual consensus on the Jeremiah reading, which is similar in theme to Psalm 1, and which is from an earlier time than Psalm 1. It sets forth two ways of living, obedience and disobedience. Verses 9-10 complete the passage and help prepare for Lent. There is also virtual consensus on the 1 Corinthians reading which requires attention to all verses, since they are essential to the tight argument presented. There is virtual consensus on the Lucan reading, with verses 18-19 describing Jesus' healing ministry. They provide a good epiphanic linking of word and deed.
Commentary
Jeremiah 17:5-10 (C)
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (L) (RC)
In this passage we have incidental remarks from Jeremiah like those of the wisdom tradition of Israel found in the Proverbs. The larger section of verses 5-18 is wisdom material. They might be called "The Sayings of Jeremiah." While there is a resemblance between our passage and Psalm 1, both of which use the image of the tree, scholars think Jeremiah 17 is older than Psalm 1. Also, the image of the green tree was such a common one for a righteous person that we need not suspect literary dependence of the Psalmist, or of Jeremiah. This passage is more spiritual than is Psalm 1. The contrast between the two types of tree - one a shrub in the desert that shall not see any good come, and the other, the tree planted by water that does not cease to bear fruit - provides vivid images of the difference between the person who depends upon human beings and the person who trusts in God. The one is a humanist who acknowledges no divine references, no transcendental relationship, while the other is firmly rooted in trust in God. The first is ephemeral, while the second is enduring. A common theme in these wisdom sayings is permanence.
For several reasons some scholars question whether these verses are from Jeremiah. One consideration is that the form of these sayings has few, if any, parallels in the unquestioned portions of Jeremiah's writing. But even more significantly, the general outlook of this passage is contradictory of Jeremiah's experience. Jeremiah trusted in God; but while one would expect from his wisdom saying here that he prospered and produced fruit, the historical fact is that Jeremiah was hated and persecuted. His experience was more like that of the shrub in the desert that dwelt in the parched places of the wilderness. For these reasons some scholars think that this wisdom material was composed by a member of the wisdom school, which taught the orthodox doctrine of divine retribution.
As noted above, the tree imagery is a common one. The tree of life in the garden of Eden story and the "tree" on which Jesus was crucified, for instance, are powerful images from Scripture. Icons of the tree of crucifixion from the Medieval period portray that death-life polarity clearly. They show how the one tree, the cross, may combine the complexities of life and death, blessing and curse. While a student at New College, Edinburgh, I visited the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, where hangs the allegorical painting of Hans Holbein the Younger. It pictures a dry tree/green tree. Painting in the sixteenth century, Holbein in his "Allegory of the Old and New Testaments" shows a tree which divides the picture into two halves. On the left side the tree is withered; the scenes on the left are from the Old Testament, symbolizing the law, sin, death, and the mysteries of salvation and justification. But on the right side of the painting, the green tree is luxuriant, and all the scenes are from the New Testament. They represent the reversal of the Old Testament images in terms of life and salvation. Holbein's painting is a prime example of how the image of a tree may combine a diverse range of symbolization. (See Carl Jung's writings on universal symbols, including the tree.)
While some commentators think the unit is a reference to King Zedekiah, the man who trusted in human powers rather than God's Word through Jeremiah, this interpretation would make the wisdom saying lose its force as a generalization about human trust.
In verses 9-10 Jeremiah makes a general statement about the human mind with its crafty ways. This makes self-understanding and understanding of others difficult. These words remind us of Samuel Johnson's comment about the "anfractuosities of the human heart," referring to the intricate winding and bending of the human mind and soul. Recent intrigues in national and international government are vivid commentaries on this verse. We should confine this generalization in verses 9-10 about the intricacies of the human heart, and of the Lord's searching the human mind, giving to everyone according to his or her doings, to this section of polarized contrasts. Otherwise, we could end up with another version of the "Cretan liar paradox": The person who said the human mind is incurably deceitful is also deceitful in saying this!
Righteous judgments can be and are made by God, because God knows what is in the human heart. In the RSV of verse 9 the word "corrupt" would be better translated "weak" since the root Hebrew word denotes weakness or sickness rather than wickedness.
It may be that this section was placed here in Jeremiah because verses 5-8 enunciate the principle upon which the judgment predicted in verse 4 was based. Otherwise it is difficult to link verses 1-4 with 5-10.
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (C)
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 (L) (RC)
This passage is part of a larger section, verses 12-34, dealing with the significance of the resurrection. In the preceding passage, verses 1-11, Paul has restated his Gospel with facts about Jesus' death and resurrection, and appearances to various groups and persons, including Paul. Now in this passage Paul repeats vitally important evidence for the historical facts regarding Christ's saving work. While some in Corinth appear to have questioned or rejected belief in the resurrection, Paul refutes all such arguments. He says that because Christ rose from the dead, and is preached as risen, then resurrection of believers is a reality.
If there is no resurrection of the dead then it follows that:
1. Christ has not been raised
2. Our preaching is in vain
3. Your faith is in vain
4. We are even found to be misrepresenting God
5. Your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins
6. Those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished
7. Then we have hope in Christ only in this life, and so are of all people the most to be pitied
Then with a trumpet blast Paul shouts, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (v. 20) Paul seems to have met people who knew Christ as a man in his Galilean days but who lacked a saving knowledge of his death and resurrection. For them Christ was only a great prophet, and no more, who gave them hope only in his life.
Christ's resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep is an image from the harvest, when the first sheaf was brought to the temple on the first day following the Passover celebration. The first sheaf represented the entire harvest, given by God and consecrated to him. In the same fashion, the raising of Christ from the dead by God's power points to the resurrection of all those who belong to him.
It appears that some Gentile Corinthians thought that there could be no bodily resurrection of a mere mortal, although since Christ was more than a mere mortal his resurrection would not be a problem. The Corinthians were saying that although resurrection may have happened to Jesus, this would not happen to Christians who had died or would die in the future. A syllogism of their belief would go like this:
There is no resurrection for dead persons.
Jesus was a dead person.
Therefore, Jesus was not raised from the dead.
But notice that Paul's argument does not run this way. He does not start from a general principle or idea such as the resurrection of the dead, but rather he starts from the Christian experience of the Corinthians who know their sins are forgiven, and know their faith is genuine and not in vain.
Notice how Paul links the resurrection of the dead with Christ's resurrection. If one can say that the dead are not raised, then it is meaningless to speak of Christ's being raised. Our present experience can either result in hope or in despair. Paul speaks of the legitimacy of the resurrection of the dead as an expression of Christian hope, which is grounded in one's experience of the risen Christ - preaching, forgiveness of sins, and hope for the dead. There is a danger of so intellectualizing the Christian faith that it no longer has anything to do with the human fear of death and horror of ultimate extinction (having hope only in this life). To do this is to play the biggest practical joke on ourselves, for we end up with no hope for the future, and we are still in our sins. There is a pervasive notion in the modern secular world that only those things which we can experience with our five senses are real, and that any other worldly reality is false. This is a denial of the resurrection of the dead. It is ironic that movies and television shows about reincarnation, creatures from outer space, evil spirits, demons, thought transference, etc. have captured the minds of so many who flatly reject the resurrection of the dead, and the concepts of heaven and hell, as being outdated in a modern technological age. The preacher has her or his work cut out in dealing with this passage about belief in the resurrection of the dead. The issue should be met head on, as Paul does, and shown to be at the heart of the Christian faith.
Luke 6:17-26 (C) (L)
Luke 6:17, 20-26 (RC)
Our passage is part of a larger section, 6:12-49. The Twelve are chosen in verses 12-16; and verses 17-19 mark the transition from the hills, where the Twelve are chosen, to the plain, where Jesus teaches his disciples in The Sermon on the Plain found in 6:17-49. Luke records a number of Jesus' sayings which are also found in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew chapters 5-7, although Luke includes fewer than does Matthew's collection. But Luke gives sayings found elsewhere in Matthew, and verses 24-26 are unique to Luke. The so-called "sermons" are collections of memorized words of Jesus, used to instruct Christian converts. In verses 17-19 Luke gives the setting for the sermon. (see Matthew 5:1-2) Note that each Gospel distinguishes between the crowds in general and Jesus' followers. The teachings are directed primarily to the latter group, although not exclusively to them.
Jesus addresses three groups: (1) the apostles, (2) the disciples, and (3) a great multitude. Luke says Jesus came down with the apostles; which is an allusion to the giving of the law by Moses. The apostles, as Aaron accompanied Moses (Exodus 19:24), accompany Jesus, the new Moses, to the mountam where they are formed into a new Levitical ministry of the New Covenant. But in this New Covenant there is no special priestly class, so the role applies to all the disciples. This priesthood is one which the whole body of Christ shares, and arises not from Aaron, but from Melchizedek.
Collections of beatitudes and woes were not uncommon in the ancient world. In the present context, the beatitudes and woes are eschatological in nature. They in effect offer congratulations and condolences to people in the here-and-now on the basis of what will finally be in the New Age. They set new priorities and values for living here-and-now that are in direct contrast with the world's values. Notice that "poor," "hunger," "weep," and their counterparts of "rich," "full," and "laugh" are to be understood religiously, not sociologically. However, the religious meanings of the terms are often derived from an earlier sociological meaning.
The poor are called blessed and are congratulated because theirs is the kingdom of God. The poor here in Luke are equivalent to the poor in spirit of Matthew 5:3. These are the ones who count worldly goods as nothing, the voluntarily poor. While poverty at first had a sociological significance only, it took on a spiritual meaning in Israel's history. Those who were poor were more faithful to Israel's religion than were the rich, and so came to be the model of faithful worshipers. The poor, hungering ones and cast out, are those who are dissatisfied with, and rejected by, the present age. By the time of Jesus, the poor, in a Jewish context, were the type of persons who are pleasing to God because of their total dependence upon God. The widow who gave her whole living to the Temple treasury is a prime example of such a person, who in dire poverty casts herself on God's providential care. The poor are powerless, and so are totally dependent upon God. The poor religiously are also often-times poor economically. (Luke 1:45, 2:24)
In contrast to the poor are the rich who live thinking that they are self-sufficient, but who are in fact failures, for they do not trust in God. They are like the shrub in the desert of Jeremiah 17, the image of the person who trusts in human beings and not in God. The fact that the disciples had trouble, as we have trouble, seeing life from this point of view is evident from the epistle of James, which comes from the time of Luke.
Those who hunger now will be satisfied later. Hunger has both physical and spiritual meaning within Jewish tradition. While Matthew says "hunger for righteousness" (5:6) Luke intends this spiritual connotation to be self-evident. In Luke 1:51-53 the hungry are paralleled to the lowly, as opposed to the proud. Those who are unsatisfied spiritually, who long for more, are the ones to be congratulated, for they shall be satisfied in the New Age.
Those who weep now are congratulated. The Greek term for "weep" is used by Luke to express mourning and sorrow of all kinds. The injustices of structures of society cause anguish. But those who laugh now will mourn and weep in the New Age. Those who laugh now are indifferent to the needs of others.
Those who are persecuted because of their relationship to the Son of man can rejoice because they will receive a great reward in heaven. In being persecuted, they join a great company of prophets who were persecuted in the past. But those who are well-spoken of now will suffer later because they are among the false prophets who were spoken well of in the past. These blessings and woes seem to echo the Christian trials described in Acts 6-7. For example, Luke 6:23 says, "Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." In Acts we read of the apostles: "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were worthy to suffer dishonor for the name."
The type of persons praised in verses 2-23 are blessed, or happy, now because they have God now, and because in the New Age they will have support from the structures of life there. The poor and powerless have hope only in God, and so, by trusting in God alone they belong to the sphere of God's rule. Those who weep, hunger, and are persecuted will be blessed in the New Age because they will participate in God's final victory over evil in the New Age.
On the other hand, those described by woes are to be pitied because they trust in money, praise, and security here and now, but have nothing more than what they now have, no hope for the future life. They will come up short when God settles the final accounts on Judgment Day. Fulfillment in this age is its own reward or consolation, but in the New Age conditions will be reversed. The reversal of values in the Beatitudes has been compared to a hardware store in which price tags have been moved around during the previous night so that lawnmowers are two for ten dollars and nails are fifty dollars each!
Theological Reflections
The passage from Jeremiah contrasts two kinds of persons, those who trust in human beings and those who trust in God. The first is like a shrub in the desert that is fruitless, but the person who trusts in God is like a tree by water, one that does not cease to produce fruit. Paul writes to the Corinthians to refute those who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and points out the implications of denying the resurrection. He goes on to affirm that, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead as the first fruits of the dead. Here again is a contrast between the person who trusts in human power only and the person who trusts in God's power to raise the dead, both Christ and the believer. Luke records Jesus' Sermon on the Plain and the blessings and woes of those who trust in God and those who do not. Thus a common theme running through all three readings is a contrast between the person who is rooted and grounded in faith in God and therefore is blessed in the New Age, and the person who trusts in human power and wordly security and who will suffer in the New Age and so is to be pitied.
Homiletical Moves
Jeremiah 17:5-10 (C)
Jeremiah 1 7:5-8 (L) (RC)
The Shrub in the Desert and the Tree by Water
1. The person who trusts in human power is like a shrub in the desert which does not produce fruit
2. The person who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by water, which does not cease to bear fruit
3. The human heart is deceitful, but the Lord searches and knows our minds and will give to every person according to his or her ways
4. Trust in God and draw on God's strength daily through prayer and meditation, and so produce good fruit
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (C)
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 (L) (RC)
Christ Has Been Raised from the Dead!
1. If Christ is raised from the dead how can you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
2. If Christ has not been raised, (1) then our preaching is in vain, (2) your faith is in vain, (3) we misrepresent God, (4) you are still in your sins, (5) and you have hope in this life only, (6) and so are of all people most to be pitied
3. But Christ, in fact, has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen alseep
4. Trust in Christ and his death and resurrection for your salvation, knowing that your sins are forgiven, and that you have hope now and in the life to come through him
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 6:17-26 (C) (L)
Luke 6:17, 20-26 (RC)
Blessed Are Those Who Trust in God!
1. Blessed are you who are poor, who hunger, and who weep, for you put your trust in God and will be rewarded in the New Age
2. Woe to you who are rich, are full, and who laugh now, for you have gotten all your consolation here and now, and are to be pitied in the New Age.
3. Blessed are you when you are persecuted for the sake of the Son of man, and leap for joy, for your reward will be great in heaven, but woe to you when all speak well of you now
4. Put your whole trust in God in Christ, and live by the values of the New Age now, and you will enjoy God now and in the New Age to come
Hymn for Epiphany 6: Rejoice, the Lord is King
Prayer
Gracious God, who has called us to live in daily communion with you in prayer and obedience, forgive us when we have trusted in our own strength and have sought security and pleasure in this life. Forgive us when we have denied the resurrection of the dead by living as if this life would go on forever, and as if there is no life yet to come. By your Spirit enable us to draw daily on your power, and so be like a tree planted by water that never ceases to bear goodfruit. May we so trust in Christ, and in his death and resurrection, that we may know more surely that our sins are forgiven, and that we have hope for the age to come. Grant that we may live in total dependence upon you, hungering after righteousness. When we suffer persecution for the Son of man as we follow him, we know that our reward in heaven is great. Give us eyes to see beyond this life and its pleasures to the New Age in which values are reversed. Give us courage and faith to live in the New Age here and now. Amen
