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Gospel: Luke 6: 20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel is considered to be Christ’s first public sermon, commonly known as the Beatitudes. Although it is found in both Matthew and Luke’s Gospel, there is one key difference.
In Matthew’s version, Jesus is said to have preached from a high mountain, giving the impression that he’s anchored somewhere between heaven and earth, preaching “down” to his disciples.
As a result, the listener is forced to turn their ear upward, making the Beatitudes feel like lofty ideals, which we can only aspire to live.
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Luke, however, describes Jesus giving the same sermon “on a level stretch of ground,” while placing the Lord slightly below the disciples feet as he must raise his eyes toward them.
Here the Beatitudes are not seen as lofty ideals delivered on a mountaintop; rather, they serve as the very foundation of Christianity.
“Blessed are you who are poor… who are hungry… who are weeping,” Jesus says. This does not mean that we must be in these stressful conditions, but we are responsible for caring for those who are.
Thus, Luke’s version is directed towards the here and now.
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When I think of Jesus preaching, where do I imagine him standing, high on a mountaintop or down on the plain? Is religion a mere set of ideals, or the very foundation for how we live our lives?
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In his final sermon, Jesus reinforces the teachings we hear in today’s Gospel with the assurance, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”
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Image credits: (1) Amazon (2) Our Rabbi Jesus (3) Southview Baptist Church