“Blessings And Curses, Joys and Woes” February 16, 2025
“Blessings And Curses, Joys and Woes” (1)
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
When I was in high school, I took a job at a gas station fairly close to our house. Now, this was in the day when we still pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield, and checked the oil and tire pressure if needed. For me, this was a bit of a dream job, especially after Dave, the owner, let me do some mechanicking in addition to just pumping gas. I learned a lot on that job and not just about cars either. You see, Dave’s brother was a member of the local police department and we did quite a bit of work on their patrol cars. So, it came as no surprise that this little gas station became a favorite hangout for members of the force in Ontario, Ohio. You know, some of them tended to get on my nerves a bit but by and large, they were a good bunch of guys. And they had stories- hoo boy did they have stories. Our conversations were just the kind of thing that a 17 year old boy couldn’t get enough of. There was a lot of palavering and the usual “good old boy” kind of talk that you might expect with a bunch of cops. There is one conversation that I never forgot, though. Things were kind of slow so I found myself chatting with one of the deputies, and the topic was crime and punishment. That’s when he told me, “You know, It’s not the severity of the punishment that deters crime, it’s the surety of it. If they think they can get away with it, they won’t really care how stiff the fine might be – they’re gonna try it anyway. But if they know for certain that they are going to get caught, even if the fine is something like 20 bucks, they won’t do it.”
It’s funny, that even though this was no great pearl of wisdom, for some (2) reason, I never forgot it.
In our gospel message today, Luke tells us the story of Jesus preaching his favorite sermon. If it sounded familiar to you, that’s because Luke’s description of the Sermon on the Plain Is strikingly similar to what we have come to know of as the Sermon on the Mount, or the Beatitudes. I found it interesting that most translations have printed a subtitle for this passage that reads, “blessings and woes” which pretty much sums it up, don’t you think? I have a feeling that this is a sermon Jesus preached often. They tell me that the biggest advantage of being a circuit preacher is that you can preach the same sermon for six months because you are speaking at a different church each week. Now, I’m not accusing Jesus of being a slacker- heaven knows that he had plenty else to say and teach. It was the apostle John that wrote,(chp21) “And I suppose that if all the other events in Jesus’ life were written, the whole world could hardly contain the books!” A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but you get the idea. Let’s just say that it is safe to assume that this set of ideas and teachings were some that Jesus favored and preached often. And let’s just say that the sermon on the mount and the sermon on the plain have always baffled us somewhat. I mean, the first time I read through them as a young man, I thought it was just a bunch of doublespeak.” “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” followed by, 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.”
21 And how about: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” Along with: 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” See what I mean? It’s downright confusing.
I found myself wondering if maybe a lot of the more subtle points had (3)
been lost in the translation, or that maybe Luke took some serious liberties when he wrote this. The fact that the other gospels tell it the same way shoots that theory in the head, but I still stayed a little confused. However, I finally realized that my conundrum was born from the fact that through all these blessings and woes and good stuff and bad stuff that can happen to us, I was trying to make sense of it all in the context of crime and punishment. I guess that’s what caused me to think of my conversation years ago about severity and surety of punishment, but I believe that was a mistake on my part.
Margie and I sing in a jazz choir here in McMinnville. Quite some time ago we found ourselves with nowhere to rehearse. I asked if folks would be willing to rehearse in a church because I happen to know of one in Amity. It has great acoustics and the piano is in tune, I told them, So that’s what we did. At our first rehearsal Dana, the director, brought his son Anthony to play the drums. As he was setting up here on the chancellery, he made me laugh when he looked over and said, “now, I’m not going to get struck dead by a bolt of lightning or something, am I?” I assured him that no such thing would happen to him, but it brings up a point: we have been conditioned to believe that God does little more than wait around for us to do something wrong so that he can punish us. I’m thinking of the old country western song. “God’s gonna get you for that,” and it’s clear that fear and guilt have always been useful motivators for organized religion. Well, things were no different at the time that Jesus was preaching his sermon about blessings and woes. So what gives? Why didn’t Jesus pound his fist and rant and rave about how God is to be feared?
(4)
What happened to that old time religion where every misstep and goof up was met with judgment and punishment of some kind? What happened to a God always believed to be the “surety of punishment” in this equation? Well, these words from the sermon on the plain, and, likewise, the beatitudes might just shed a little light on things.
You see, this sermon that Jesus preached so often was not a set of rules; it was not a series of “thou shalt not’s” in rapid succession. No, these were words of guidance, These were words of wisdom- these were words of love.
I’d like to share with you a piece written by Steve garness Holmes who, would you believe it, was the senior pastor at Missoula united Methodist church In Missoula, Montana. He has since retired from active preaching but amongst other things, he writes a column called “unfolding “light, which is excellent, by the way. I would encourage you to search it out if you can. Rev Holmes writes
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled. …
Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry. —Luke 6.21, 25
What do you want? What are you most hungry for?
Food for yourself, comfort, a good life?
Now perhaps you have them. (5)
But later you will find the real Want we’re given,
the Hunger in our souls, the Desire of God:
not just for us, but for all the world:
the poor, the stranger, the others,
the next seven generations— every living creature.
If you’re satisfied now—full enough for your family,
a good pension—
then later you will feel the ache of that deeper hunger.
If you are hungry now, hungry for everyone,
not just yourself and your kind, you know the desire of God,
the passion of God, the presence of God; and it will fill you.
Blessed are you.
Amen & Shalom
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