Blessed are the Hurting
Rev Dr Mark Porizky
2/11/07
Luke 6:17-26
I
don't know about you, but I have always been amused by oxymorons. For those of
you who have never heard that term, an oxymoron is a combination of
contradictory words, that, if you stop and think about them, are actually pretty
oddly placed and really shouldn't be together. Let me offer a few examples:
Freezer
burn, ill health, found missing, good grief, passive aggression, pretty ugly,
rock opera, vaguely aware, taped live, working vacation, holy war, almost
exactly, sanitary landfill, act naturally, clean dirt, death benefits, same
difference, second best, free with purchase, and, of course, short sermon
Luke 6:17-26
And
he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his
disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the
seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their
diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all
the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them
all.
And
he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
"Blessed
are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that
weep now, for you shall laugh.
"Blessed
are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast
out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and
leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers
did to the prophets.
"But
woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.
"Woe
to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. "Woe to you that laugh now,
for you shall mourn and weep.
"Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Alexander
M. Sanders, Jr., is the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. When
his daughter Zoe graduated from the
Sanders
came home from work one day to find his home — and especially his young
daughter — in a state of turmoil. Zoe’s pet turtle had died, and she was
crying as if her heart would break. Zoe’s mother had been dealing with the
situation all day and declared that it was now Dad’s turn to try and make
things better.
Although
he was successful both as a lawyer and a politician, who confidently faced all
kinds of complex issues and problems every day, this seemed out of his league.
The mysteries of life and death are difficult, if not impossible for the mature
mind to fathom. The task of explaining them to a three-year-old was completely
beyond either his confidence or experience. But he tried.
First,
he told Zoe that they could go to the pet store and buy another one just like
the one who had died. Even at three years old, Zoe was smart enough to know that
a turtle is not a toy. There’s really no such thing as getting another one
just like the one who died. And so Zoe’s tears continued. Desperate to quiet
his little girl’s tears, he said, ‘I tell you what, we’ll have a funeral
for the turtle.’ Being three years old, she didn’t know what a funeral was.
Scrambling to come up with an explanation — as well as something that would
get her mind off the turtle’s demise, he said, ‘A funeral is like a birthday
party. We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the
children in the neighborhood will come over to our house to play. All because
the turtle died.’
Well,
the prospect of a turtle funeral did the trick. Instantly, Zoe was her happy,
smiling self. The turtle’s death was no longer cause for tears, but reason to
rejoice,
So,
with visions of cake and ice cream in their heads the two beamed down on the
deceased turtle lying at their feet. As they did, the turtle began to move. And
a few seconds later, he was crawling away as lively as — well, as lively as a
turtle, but an undeniably LIVE turtle.
Then
an even stranger thing happened. Sanders — a politician and a lawyer — was
speechless. Zoe had no such problem. After considering her options, she looked
up at her father with her big beautiful eyes and — with all the innocence of
her tender years — she said quietly, ‘Daddy, Let’s kill it.’”
Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
Zoe’s solution may have been a little off center, but her conclusion was right on. She understood from her father that he was going to make everything all right; that her mourning would be turned to joy; that a celebration of laughter would make her forget her tears. Jesus is telling us the same thing: Our God is going to make everything all right and restore our fortunes; our mourning will be turned to joy, and a celebration of laughter, greater than anything we could ever imagine, will make us forget all the sorrows we have experienced.
The
message of the beatitudes is the message that the
The
message Jesus preaches in what we often call the beatitudes is that heaven will
more than make up for any wrongs we have had to endure here. Are you poor? You
will inherit the
I
have to confess that for years I misunderstood and misinterpreted the
beatitudes. I saw them as imperatives, that is, commandments — attitudes of
the heart that Christians should acquire. I preached that we should be poor in
spirit, hungry for righteousness, mournful over our sin, etc. But I was reminded
at a conference last week that the beatitudes are not imperatives, they are
indicatives, not imperatives, but indicatives.
I
always heard, blessed are those who mourn as an imperative, meaning we should
mourn. Wrong.
Blessed are those who mourn is an indicative, a suggestion that those who
mourn will ironically, perhaps even oxymoronically, be blessed
The
beatitudes are not new rules of morality that Jesus is commanding us to follow.
These are simple statements of how life sometimes is. Living in this world we
are sometimes poor, if not materially, we are poor in spirit — humiliated,
shamed, rejected, downcast. We are often hungry, if not for food, for reality,
for the reign of justice and righteousness. We often weep, over our own
condition and the condition of our families, as well as the rest of the human
race.
But Scripture lets us know that such difficulty is not the end of the story. For each of us there is a new day coming.
If
we could put in terms of things we face today, we might say: “Blessed are
those of you who are unemployed or facing a financial crisis. Blessed are you
with marital difficulties. Blessed are those of you facing betrayal or living
with divorce. Blessed are those of you who are having difficulty with your
children. Blessed are those of you who live with someone who constantly puts you
down and gives you grief. Blessed are those of you who think that you just
can’t take it anymore. There is a new day coming A day of release. A day of
reward. A day of dancing and joy. A day when you are loved more than you have
ever been loved before. A day when inferiority and insecurity will vanish like a
bad dream that cannot be remembered. A day when you are fully provided for. A
day when ultimate meaning and purpose help you to see everything from God’s
perspective. A day when injustice and unfairness has ended and you take your
rightful place in the kingdom of joy that God has prepared for you.
This
reality that life is often painful, but we can hope in the future, this is why
the Book of Revelation was written. To
those who are hurting, imagine the hope that these words carry from the 21st
Chapter of Revelation: “Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away. I saw the
Will
Willimon, one of my favorite writers wrote about how Christians today live
between two different ages, the age of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the coming
age. He wrote, “The church is on
the long haul, living in that difficult time between one advent and the next.”
That is, we live between the first advent of Christ — his birth into the
world, and the second advent — his return to earth. The point is that in spite
of the way things may look, God has forever changed the configuration of the
world. He has turned the world upside down, and those who are presently first
will be last. Those who have suffered will rejoice.”
In the end,
the Bible says, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you
who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for
you since the creation of the world’” (Matthew 25:34).
In
our culture we say, “Blessed are the millionaires, better yet, the
billionaires. Blessed are the famous, the beautiful, the brilliant. Blessed are
the American Idols, the Brad Pitt’s, the Donald.” The truth is that they
could be blessed, but often their success in the present world order blinds them
to their need of God and the necessity of relying on Jesus Christ. They could be
blessed if they would allow the
Now
please understand. The condition of
being poor, sorrowful, hungry or hated are not conditions that are good or
laudable in themselves. There have been plenty of people through the years who
were poor, but who were more ungodly than many wealthy folk. There are many who
have been hungry, but who have lived sinful and selfish lives. There are those
who were in mourning who became bitter and resentful, and thereby missed being
blessed. There are those who were hated who hated back and took vengeance in
their own hands. They too missed the blessing, because the blessing is only
found in a relationship with Jesus. The blessing is found in trusting the
realities of another kingdom — in the favor of our God and his complete
provision.
Blessed
are those who are poor and live in a relationship with God, and look to him for
their supply. Blessed are those who are hungry, who do not live by bread alone.
Blessed are those who are in mourning, who go to God for their comfort. Blessed
are those who are persecuted, who leave justice to God and continue to live in
love. These are blessed, and these alone.
Making
sacrifices or making yourself miserable is not a spiritual quality. We do not
seek to be poor, hungry or in mourning. Paul says, “If I gave everything I
have to poor people, and if I were burned alive for preaching the Gospel but
didn’t love others, it would be of no value whatever” (1 Corinthians 13:3,
LB).
But
those who are hurting, yet can hold on to love, ah, these people, and you know
one or two of them, I’m sure, these people are blessed, and are God’s
blessing to us as well.
Victoria
Ruvolo, 45, of
Amazingly,
Ruvolo survived, although she spent 10 hours in an operating room while doctors
repaired her face. When she finally went home, she brought a tracheotomy tube
and endured months of painful rehabilitation.
On
"Despite
all the fear and the pain, I have learned from this horrific experience, and I
have much to be thankful for…. Each day when I wake up, I thank God simply
because I'm alive. I sincerely hope you have also learned from this awful
experience, Ryan. There is no room for vengeance in my life, and I do not
believe a long, hard prison term would do you, me, or society any good."
Cushing,
who wept and expressed remorse for his action, was sentenced to six months in
jail. He could have gotten a 25-year prison sentence if Ruvolo, his victim, had
not intervened.
Ruvolo
added:
"I
truly hope that by demonstrating compassion and leniency I have encouraged you
to seek an honorable life. If my generosity will help you mature into a
responsible, honest man whose graciousness is a source of pride to your loved
ones and your community, then I will be truly gratified, and my suffering will
not have been in vain…. Ryan, prove me right."
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Those
who truly understand this, oh, my, they are blessed.
They have a relationship with Jesus that carries them through, gives them
strength and helps them to see that this world, all of its blessing and hurtings,
this world is not our final hope.
Will you pray with me now?
St.
Andrew Presbyterian Church,
Web Site: WWW.SAPC-CT.ORG
Office Email: OFFICE@SAPC-CT.ORG
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