Joy
to the Poor; Woe to the Rich?
February
10-11, 2007
Fr.
George Smiga
Luke
6:17, 20-26
Almost
everyone can find something with which to disagree in today's
gospel. Jesus says that the poor and the hungry are blessed,
and those who weep and have others hate them should leap for
joy. Then he says that the rich and the full are cursed, and
woe to those who laugh and have everyone's respect.
You
can immediately hear the objections begin. The poor and the
hungry are the first to speak: “What do you mean, we're blessed?
We're not happy at all! We're poor! We're hungry! We've lost
those who we love in death! People hate us!” Then the rich
and the full join in, “What do you mean we are cursed? We
are doing fine! We're rich! We're full! We laugh! People love
us!”
What
are we to make of this contradictory scripture? Could it be
that Christ is telling us that poverty and hunger and bereavement
are good things? Are we to think that these things are gifts,
perhaps blessings in disguise? I don't think so. Because if
these were good things, why do we spend so much of our time
trying to eliminate them? Why do we see our role as Christians
to fight against hunger and poverty and to console those who
weep? Could it be that Christ is telling us that wealth and
happiness are somehow bad things? Things we should try to
avoid? I don't think so. We believe that the goods of this
earth are a part of God's blessing to us. We believe that
laughter, joy, and friendship are some of the most important
aspects of life. So in what sense can we understand Jesus'
words that the poor are blessed and the rich are cursed?
The
answer to that question begins when we ask ourselves, “What
did Jesus think was the most important thing in life? What
did he value above everything else?” The answer to that question
is quite clear, because Jesus was a good Jew of the first
century. When asked what was most important in life, he turned
at once to the Torah. From the Torah he gave us the great
commandment: we should love the Lord our God with all our
heart and all our mind and all our soul and all our strength.
This is what life was all about for Christ. This is the greatest
blessing, to know that we have been called into a relationship
with God, and that in that relationship we are God's beloved
daughters and sons. It is in light of this greatest gift that
we can understand why the poor are blessed and the rich are
cursed.
The
poor, the hungry, those who are bereaved, know the importance
of their relationship with God. They have no where else to
turn. When we are in trouble, we immediately think, “God can
help me. I should pray.” When our children are in danger,
when we realize that our life is threatened because of addiction,
when we are diagnosed with cancer, we quickly turn to God.
When we are in need, it is easy to place our trust in the
God who can save us. And that is a blessing.
Things
are somewhat different for those who are rich and full. When
things are going well for us, we do not immediately turn to
God. We certainly would not deny that we believe in God. We
might come to church when it is convenient or to give good
example to our children. We might even say a prayer now and
then, if there was time. But by and large when things are
going well, we take satisfaction in our good health, in the
success of our plans, and in the way that we have the respect
of our peers. We congratulate ourselves on how well we are
doing. That is a curse. It is a curse because despite all
the things that we have, we are missing the greatest gift—our
relationship with the God who loves us. If we are unaware
of our union with the God who saves us, we do not have the
fullness of life.
The
poor are blessed because they know what is most important.
The rich are cursed because they imagine that they are doing
well enough on their own. Taken from this perspective, today's
gospel is primarily directed to us who are rich and full.
Those here this morning who are struggling and in need already
know what it is important. But those of us who are rich and
full might miss what is most important, and that would be
a tremendous loss. The gospel today reminds us that when things
are going well, we will not find true happiness until we see
all the things that we have as gifts from God entrusted to
us for our benefit and for the benefit of others. We will
not be completely blessed until we realize that we have been
called to live in a relationship with God who is our creator
and our savior. True happiness is to live each day and as
many minutes of each day aware of the mystery that God has
called us into a relationship as God's own daughters and sons.
Jesus tells us that this is the most important thing in life.
This is life's greatest blessing. Woe to us, if we miss it.
|
