Sixth Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle C
Object:
Theme For The Day
What the world considers a blessing just may turn out to be a curse -- and vice-versa.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 17:5-10
The Consequences Of Trusting In Mere Mortals
This passage comes from a collection of psalms embedded within this prophetic book. Verses 5-8 bear strong similarities to Psalm 1, and verses 9-10 resemble Psalm 26:1-3. This poetry appeals to God's justice, beginning with an affirmation that those who trust in "mere mortals" are "cursed" (v. 5). Jeremiah then details the outcome of this divine curse: They shall become like a withered plant in the desert (v. 6). This is a consequences-based ethic: do wrong, and you will inevitably suffer. An ethics of consequences is a fruitful preaching strategy: Often, those who turn a deaf ear to appeals to behave ethically because "it's the right thing to do" will sit up and take notice when they can understand how their lives will become unhappy as a result. In verses 7 and 8, the prophet next lays out the benefits of trusting in the Lord: a fruitful life, verdant and lush, well-watered by God's grace. In the best tradition of wisdom-writers, verses 9 and 10 are a philosophical rumination on the fickle ways of the human heart.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
The Resurrection Of The Dead
(See the New Testament Lesson for Easter Day.) Picking up where last week's Epistle Lesson left off, we move from Paul's expression of the historical truth of Christ's resurrection to an exploration of its consequences. Evidently there are some opponents of Paul's who are claiming "there is no resurrection of the dead" (v. 12). By "resurrection of the dead," Paul is referring to the promise of resurrection at the last day, rather than Christ's own resurrection. Yet he quickly makes it clear that, for him, the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead are necessarily bound together. Neither can be true without the other. What is the point, he asks in verse 19, of confessing Christ's resurrection but then believing there is no life after this one? Such misguided people are only "to be pitied" (v. 20). It is one thing to debate fine points of theology. Yet, there comes a point when matters of doctrine must be accepted into the heart, confessed as articles of faith.
The Gospel
Luke 6:17-26
Blessings And Woes
This passage begins Jesus' larger discourse in Luke, known as "the Sermon on the Plain." Verses 17-19 form the introduction for this discourse, explaining that Jesus is addressing a large number of people, and noting that healings were as much a part of his ministry as was teaching. He is a figure of compelling spiritual power: "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him ..." (v. 19a). The blessings and woes in verses 20-26 mirror the better-known Beatitudes of Matthew 5 in some respects, although to each blessing Luke adds a corresponding "woe." The result is that these Lukan Beatitudes are more complex, even troubling, compared to Matthew's more comforting version. As in the Magnificat of Mary (Luke 1:46-46), Luke delights in reversals. Not only will the poor one day become rich, but the rich will become poor. Not only will the hungry be fed, but the complacently satisfied will learn what hunger means. In Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus is a more confrontational figure, following in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets who speak truth to power.
Preaching Possibilities
You can open almost any newspaper, any day of the week, and read a story that goes something like this. The lottery jackpot -- be it a single-state lottery, or the multi-state Powerball -- is up to many millions of dollars. No one won it this week ... or someone did win it, but hasn't yet come forward ... or someone won the prize, and here's who it is. If a winner is revealed, it's most often an ordinary person, someone who has worked hard to earn a living, but who will never have to work a day in his or her life again.
It's fantasy that drives the lottery -- the fantasy of instant wealth. Those states that have lotteries -- and most of them now do -- count, each week, on the fact that a large number of the state's residents share the same fantasy.
Even those who don't play the lottery may have had similar daydreams. Maybe it was a fantasy of a surprise inheritance, or of Ed McMahon showing up at the door with a check from Publishers Clearing House, or even striking oil in the backyard. The fantasy takes many forms.
Most of us consider wealth a blessing. In today's New Testament Lesson, though, Jesus expresses a very different view: "Blessed are you who are poor," he tells the crowd, "for yours is the kingdom of God." Then, a little later, he has a few choice words for the wealthy: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." This is Luke's version of the Beatitudes.
It's different from the more familiar version of Matthew. To begin with, it takes place in a different location. In Matthew, it's "the Sermon on the Mount," and in Luke it's "the Sermon on the Plain." Yet the biggest difference between Luke's version and Matthew's is that Luke includes statements of woe. Not only is Jesus blessing certain people in Luke's version; he also curses others. Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, and those who weep. He preaches woe to the rich, the satisfied, and those who laugh.
It's no wonder most folks prefer Matthew's version. Luke's raises troubling questions:
• Is it wrong to be rich?
• Is it a sin to be successful?
• What's Jesus got against laughter?
A cynic might criticize Jesus for playing to the crowd's baser instincts. If this is a gathering of common folk, of the poor and the nearly poor, what better way to curry favor than to blast the rich? Jesus is doing more, though, than just telling the mob what they want to hear. He's imparting a great spiritual truth. It has to do with the nature of blessings.
In times of trouble, a well-meaning friend may provide this counsel: "Just count your blessings. Look on the bright side. Concentrate on the good things in life; look away from the bad."
The world is always eager to count blessings. How blessed we are with the fine house we live in, the classy car we drive, the high-tech gadgets we play with -- and what a good-looking bunch our family is!
Even those who have little count what blessings they have. A fashion trend among inner-city teenagers in recent years has been to wear their clothes with the price tags still attached. That way, the whole world will be able to count their blessings. "Counting blessings" is really what the lottery players are doing -- a great many of them, as they fantasize, are counting their blessings before they hatch.
The world has its own set of beatitudes, in contrast to Jesus' list:
Blessed are the rich;
the famous;
those who have big houses on the beach.
Blessed are those with perfect children;
who move and shake even the movers and shakers;
who have their photo on the cover of People magazine.
Blessed are those who know what they want -- and take it!
As Luke tells it, Jesus has no time for any of this. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns the world's values upside-down. He blesses those whom the world calls accursed; and he preaches woe upon those whom the world admires. Those Beatitudes of his are revolutionary stuff!
Although Jesus' words may pinch at times, in our deepest moments of clarity and insight we realize he's absolutely right. "Money can't buy happiness," as the old proverb contends. Good health can't buy happiness, either; all of us know people who've never spent a day in the hospital, yet who seem not to have an ounce of self-esteem. Harmonious family life, a meaningful job, creature comforts, leisure time to pursue hobbies -- none of these guarantee happiness. We can have all of them, and still feel empty inside.
When Luke reports Jesus saying, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation," it's a very unusual Greek word he uses for "consolation." It's a commercial term, that means, literally, "having received what is due." It's the rubber-stamp impression at the bottom of an invoice: "Paid in full." The self-satisfied high-rollers, in other words, are paid in full. They have been given much -- but they won't be given much more.
It's kind of like that beer commercial on television -- the one with a group of men sitting around a campfire, doing the male-bonding thing. Their canoes are pulled up on the beach, their tents are pitched, their dinner is cooked -- and there's a gorgeous sunset on the horizon. "It doesn't get any better than this," one of them remarks to his comrades.
How sad. Make no mistake, it's good where they are. It's very good. There's food and fire and friendship -- and yes (as some may be glad to hear) even beer. Yet, if it truly doesn't get any better than that, if there's nothing more to life, then "Woe to them, for they have received their consolation!" Oscar Wilde once said, "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants; the other is getting it."
The wonder of God's power to bless is that it happens regardless of our circumstances. It was Helen Keller, the blind deaf-mute who triumphed over her disabilities, who said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." God's way of blessing us, sometimes, is not to remove the cause of our complaint, but to give us power to prevail over it. It's like the remark of the philosopher Emerson, "It is the wounded oyster that mends its shell with pearl."
Who's to say what's a blessing and what's a curse, in the great scheme of things? From our perspective, what looks like the greatest of calamities may in reality be our salvation.
When Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor ... the hungry ... and those who weep," he is bearing witness to the truth that God is in charge of creation -- and that God isn't finished with us yet. God will bless us, if we have faith. One day, God may bless us with what we want; or, just as likely, God may bless us through what we don't want.
It's not so much counting our blessings that's important, as it is "the blessing that counts" -- God's blessing, that sojourns with us through wealth and poverty, health and sickness, laughter and tears.
Prayer For The Day
Lord, we give you thanks for blessings --
both those things we know to be blessings,
and those things we loathe and fear,
that turn out to be blessings in disguise.
Help us to trust you more fully than we do.
Help us live in faith,
knowing that -- both in this life and the next --
you are watching over us,
providing for us,
caring for us. Amen.
To Illustrate
There is a story about a man who had a hard life. When he was seven years old, his family was evicted from their home; when he was nine, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He'd always wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn't good enough. He went into business instead, and at age 23, became a partner in a small store. Three years later, his partner died, leaving a huge debt that took him years to repay.
At 28, he asked the woman he'd been courting for years to marry him. She said, "No." At 37, on his first try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he was voted out. At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate. At 49, he ran for the Senate again and lost. At 51, he was elected president of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln. Some people get all the breaks, don't you think?
***
There's an old parable from the Jewish tradition of a wealthy farmer who was visited by the prophet Elijah. (In Judaism, Elijah is something like the Holy Spirit; he can drop in and visit any time -- which is why, at the Seder meal, a seat is always left empty for him.) On this particular visit, Elijah is accompanied by a young rabbi who wants to see how the prophet metes out justice.
When the two arrive at the farm, disguised as two poor and weary travelers, the farmer banishes them to the barn with only bread and water for supper. He has no time for visitors, he says he has to dig a well the next day.
After a cold and sleepless night, Elijah arises before dawn. He goes out from the barn and digs the farmer's well. "Why did you do that?" the young man asks him later. "Our host is cruel and heartless; he neglects the sacred laws of hospitality. Yet you have blessed him by digging his well!"
"It is true that I have dug his well," Elijah admits. "And the place where I have dug it will yield sweet water for many generations. Yet, the farmer was planning to dig the well in another place; a few feet below the ground in that place lies a secret treasure. Because I have dug his well, that treasure will go undiscovered for 100 years, long after our host has gone to his grave. What seems like a blessing is not always a blessing."
The rich farmer has received his consolation. The debt owed him has been paid in full, and then some. Yet once it is paid, that's all there is. Beyond his present wealth, there is no future blessing.
***
Peter Gomes, Dean of the Chapel at Harvard University, has something worthwhile to say about what our culture loves and fears. Comparing our culture to that of the Victorians 100 years ago, Gomes writes:
The Victorians, we are told, loved death and feared sex, and hence they embraced a culture of death and mourning, and constructed strong taboos against sex. We, on the other hand, love sex and fear death, and our taboos are of a different sort. We delight in sexuality, we pander to the sensual, and we have made Calvin Klein a very wealthy man. Death is not something we want to understand or to know; death is somehow unfair, and in this country it is culturally unconstitutional, violating our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, when death intrudes, particularly among the young, we respond in terror, anger and fear.
-- Peter Gomes, The Good Book (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1996), p. 212
It is those who deny death -- who convince themselves, irrationally, that a life of perpetual laughter is possible -- it is on these people whom Jesus pronounces woe. For one day, grief and mourning will come even to them and because they have denied it so long, because they have pushed life's ordinary sadness away with all manner of trivial pleasures, they will be utterly unprepared to deal with it.
***
Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Luke 6:24-26, in The Message, is worth sharing:
But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you'll ever get.
And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games.
There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it.
There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests. Look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
What the world considers a blessing just may turn out to be a curse -- and vice-versa.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 17:5-10
The Consequences Of Trusting In Mere Mortals
This passage comes from a collection of psalms embedded within this prophetic book. Verses 5-8 bear strong similarities to Psalm 1, and verses 9-10 resemble Psalm 26:1-3. This poetry appeals to God's justice, beginning with an affirmation that those who trust in "mere mortals" are "cursed" (v. 5). Jeremiah then details the outcome of this divine curse: They shall become like a withered plant in the desert (v. 6). This is a consequences-based ethic: do wrong, and you will inevitably suffer. An ethics of consequences is a fruitful preaching strategy: Often, those who turn a deaf ear to appeals to behave ethically because "it's the right thing to do" will sit up and take notice when they can understand how their lives will become unhappy as a result. In verses 7 and 8, the prophet next lays out the benefits of trusting in the Lord: a fruitful life, verdant and lush, well-watered by God's grace. In the best tradition of wisdom-writers, verses 9 and 10 are a philosophical rumination on the fickle ways of the human heart.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
The Resurrection Of The Dead
(See the New Testament Lesson for Easter Day.) Picking up where last week's Epistle Lesson left off, we move from Paul's expression of the historical truth of Christ's resurrection to an exploration of its consequences. Evidently there are some opponents of Paul's who are claiming "there is no resurrection of the dead" (v. 12). By "resurrection of the dead," Paul is referring to the promise of resurrection at the last day, rather than Christ's own resurrection. Yet he quickly makes it clear that, for him, the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead are necessarily bound together. Neither can be true without the other. What is the point, he asks in verse 19, of confessing Christ's resurrection but then believing there is no life after this one? Such misguided people are only "to be pitied" (v. 20). It is one thing to debate fine points of theology. Yet, there comes a point when matters of doctrine must be accepted into the heart, confessed as articles of faith.
The Gospel
Luke 6:17-26
Blessings And Woes
This passage begins Jesus' larger discourse in Luke, known as "the Sermon on the Plain." Verses 17-19 form the introduction for this discourse, explaining that Jesus is addressing a large number of people, and noting that healings were as much a part of his ministry as was teaching. He is a figure of compelling spiritual power: "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him ..." (v. 19a). The blessings and woes in verses 20-26 mirror the better-known Beatitudes of Matthew 5 in some respects, although to each blessing Luke adds a corresponding "woe." The result is that these Lukan Beatitudes are more complex, even troubling, compared to Matthew's more comforting version. As in the Magnificat of Mary (Luke 1:46-46), Luke delights in reversals. Not only will the poor one day become rich, but the rich will become poor. Not only will the hungry be fed, but the complacently satisfied will learn what hunger means. In Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus is a more confrontational figure, following in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets who speak truth to power.
Preaching Possibilities
You can open almost any newspaper, any day of the week, and read a story that goes something like this. The lottery jackpot -- be it a single-state lottery, or the multi-state Powerball -- is up to many millions of dollars. No one won it this week ... or someone did win it, but hasn't yet come forward ... or someone won the prize, and here's who it is. If a winner is revealed, it's most often an ordinary person, someone who has worked hard to earn a living, but who will never have to work a day in his or her life again.
It's fantasy that drives the lottery -- the fantasy of instant wealth. Those states that have lotteries -- and most of them now do -- count, each week, on the fact that a large number of the state's residents share the same fantasy.
Even those who don't play the lottery may have had similar daydreams. Maybe it was a fantasy of a surprise inheritance, or of Ed McMahon showing up at the door with a check from Publishers Clearing House, or even striking oil in the backyard. The fantasy takes many forms.
Most of us consider wealth a blessing. In today's New Testament Lesson, though, Jesus expresses a very different view: "Blessed are you who are poor," he tells the crowd, "for yours is the kingdom of God." Then, a little later, he has a few choice words for the wealthy: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." This is Luke's version of the Beatitudes.
It's different from the more familiar version of Matthew. To begin with, it takes place in a different location. In Matthew, it's "the Sermon on the Mount," and in Luke it's "the Sermon on the Plain." Yet the biggest difference between Luke's version and Matthew's is that Luke includes statements of woe. Not only is Jesus blessing certain people in Luke's version; he also curses others. Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, and those who weep. He preaches woe to the rich, the satisfied, and those who laugh.
It's no wonder most folks prefer Matthew's version. Luke's raises troubling questions:
• Is it wrong to be rich?
• Is it a sin to be successful?
• What's Jesus got against laughter?
A cynic might criticize Jesus for playing to the crowd's baser instincts. If this is a gathering of common folk, of the poor and the nearly poor, what better way to curry favor than to blast the rich? Jesus is doing more, though, than just telling the mob what they want to hear. He's imparting a great spiritual truth. It has to do with the nature of blessings.
In times of trouble, a well-meaning friend may provide this counsel: "Just count your blessings. Look on the bright side. Concentrate on the good things in life; look away from the bad."
The world is always eager to count blessings. How blessed we are with the fine house we live in, the classy car we drive, the high-tech gadgets we play with -- and what a good-looking bunch our family is!
Even those who have little count what blessings they have. A fashion trend among inner-city teenagers in recent years has been to wear their clothes with the price tags still attached. That way, the whole world will be able to count their blessings. "Counting blessings" is really what the lottery players are doing -- a great many of them, as they fantasize, are counting their blessings before they hatch.
The world has its own set of beatitudes, in contrast to Jesus' list:
Blessed are the rich;
the famous;
those who have big houses on the beach.
Blessed are those with perfect children;
who move and shake even the movers and shakers;
who have their photo on the cover of People magazine.
Blessed are those who know what they want -- and take it!
As Luke tells it, Jesus has no time for any of this. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns the world's values upside-down. He blesses those whom the world calls accursed; and he preaches woe upon those whom the world admires. Those Beatitudes of his are revolutionary stuff!
Although Jesus' words may pinch at times, in our deepest moments of clarity and insight we realize he's absolutely right. "Money can't buy happiness," as the old proverb contends. Good health can't buy happiness, either; all of us know people who've never spent a day in the hospital, yet who seem not to have an ounce of self-esteem. Harmonious family life, a meaningful job, creature comforts, leisure time to pursue hobbies -- none of these guarantee happiness. We can have all of them, and still feel empty inside.
When Luke reports Jesus saying, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation," it's a very unusual Greek word he uses for "consolation." It's a commercial term, that means, literally, "having received what is due." It's the rubber-stamp impression at the bottom of an invoice: "Paid in full." The self-satisfied high-rollers, in other words, are paid in full. They have been given much -- but they won't be given much more.
It's kind of like that beer commercial on television -- the one with a group of men sitting around a campfire, doing the male-bonding thing. Their canoes are pulled up on the beach, their tents are pitched, their dinner is cooked -- and there's a gorgeous sunset on the horizon. "It doesn't get any better than this," one of them remarks to his comrades.
How sad. Make no mistake, it's good where they are. It's very good. There's food and fire and friendship -- and yes (as some may be glad to hear) even beer. Yet, if it truly doesn't get any better than that, if there's nothing more to life, then "Woe to them, for they have received their consolation!" Oscar Wilde once said, "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants; the other is getting it."
The wonder of God's power to bless is that it happens regardless of our circumstances. It was Helen Keller, the blind deaf-mute who triumphed over her disabilities, who said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." God's way of blessing us, sometimes, is not to remove the cause of our complaint, but to give us power to prevail over it. It's like the remark of the philosopher Emerson, "It is the wounded oyster that mends its shell with pearl."
Who's to say what's a blessing and what's a curse, in the great scheme of things? From our perspective, what looks like the greatest of calamities may in reality be our salvation.
When Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor ... the hungry ... and those who weep," he is bearing witness to the truth that God is in charge of creation -- and that God isn't finished with us yet. God will bless us, if we have faith. One day, God may bless us with what we want; or, just as likely, God may bless us through what we don't want.
It's not so much counting our blessings that's important, as it is "the blessing that counts" -- God's blessing, that sojourns with us through wealth and poverty, health and sickness, laughter and tears.
Prayer For The Day
Lord, we give you thanks for blessings --
both those things we know to be blessings,
and those things we loathe and fear,
that turn out to be blessings in disguise.
Help us to trust you more fully than we do.
Help us live in faith,
knowing that -- both in this life and the next --
you are watching over us,
providing for us,
caring for us. Amen.
To Illustrate
There is a story about a man who had a hard life. When he was seven years old, his family was evicted from their home; when he was nine, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He'd always wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn't good enough. He went into business instead, and at age 23, became a partner in a small store. Three years later, his partner died, leaving a huge debt that took him years to repay.
At 28, he asked the woman he'd been courting for years to marry him. She said, "No." At 37, on his first try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he was voted out. At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate. At 49, he ran for the Senate again and lost. At 51, he was elected president of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln. Some people get all the breaks, don't you think?
***
There's an old parable from the Jewish tradition of a wealthy farmer who was visited by the prophet Elijah. (In Judaism, Elijah is something like the Holy Spirit; he can drop in and visit any time -- which is why, at the Seder meal, a seat is always left empty for him.) On this particular visit, Elijah is accompanied by a young rabbi who wants to see how the prophet metes out justice.
When the two arrive at the farm, disguised as two poor and weary travelers, the farmer banishes them to the barn with only bread and water for supper. He has no time for visitors, he says he has to dig a well the next day.
After a cold and sleepless night, Elijah arises before dawn. He goes out from the barn and digs the farmer's well. "Why did you do that?" the young man asks him later. "Our host is cruel and heartless; he neglects the sacred laws of hospitality. Yet you have blessed him by digging his well!"
"It is true that I have dug his well," Elijah admits. "And the place where I have dug it will yield sweet water for many generations. Yet, the farmer was planning to dig the well in another place; a few feet below the ground in that place lies a secret treasure. Because I have dug his well, that treasure will go undiscovered for 100 years, long after our host has gone to his grave. What seems like a blessing is not always a blessing."
The rich farmer has received his consolation. The debt owed him has been paid in full, and then some. Yet once it is paid, that's all there is. Beyond his present wealth, there is no future blessing.
***
Peter Gomes, Dean of the Chapel at Harvard University, has something worthwhile to say about what our culture loves and fears. Comparing our culture to that of the Victorians 100 years ago, Gomes writes:
The Victorians, we are told, loved death and feared sex, and hence they embraced a culture of death and mourning, and constructed strong taboos against sex. We, on the other hand, love sex and fear death, and our taboos are of a different sort. We delight in sexuality, we pander to the sensual, and we have made Calvin Klein a very wealthy man. Death is not something we want to understand or to know; death is somehow unfair, and in this country it is culturally unconstitutional, violating our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, when death intrudes, particularly among the young, we respond in terror, anger and fear.
-- Peter Gomes, The Good Book (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1996), p. 212
It is those who deny death -- who convince themselves, irrationally, that a life of perpetual laughter is possible -- it is on these people whom Jesus pronounces woe. For one day, grief and mourning will come even to them and because they have denied it so long, because they have pushed life's ordinary sadness away with all manner of trivial pleasures, they will be utterly unprepared to deal with it.
***
Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Luke 6:24-26, in The Message, is worth sharing:
But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you'll ever get.
And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games.
There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it.
There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests. Look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
