"Radical Words for a Radically New Way of Life"

Jesus was a revolutionary. If you don't believe me just read the Gospels. Remember how Jesus began His ministry. He walked into the synagogue in His hometown and claimed to be the Messiah, God’s chosen servant who would change the world. Then He told the Jews that the Messiah was not for them only but for all people. His first sermon was so radical that the hearers were ready to throw Him off a cliff.

Then, like anyone leading a revolution, Jesus gathered followers. He started in Capernaum and traveled throughout Judea preaching in the synagogues. The Bible said that He proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom, so I imagine His sermons were similar to the one in Nazareth. He was spreading His radical teaching and ideas. As He healed people many more were attracted to Him.

When we meet Jesus in our lesson for today He has just chosen His 12 disciples. After picking the 12, Jesus descended the mountain: This revolutionary preacher and his 12 lieutenants. And as they came down to the plain the people flocked to them. They came to hear him. They came to be healed from diseases. They came to be liberated of demons. The crowds were reaching for Jesus; hoping to just touch the hem of His robe. For the power of God Almighty was going out from Jesus!

Then Jesus spoke. "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven." Jesus is saying blessed are you that ain't got no money. You are blessed because you have the kingdom of heaven. You may not have much, but the kingdom is yours. What about the rich? Well they are not blessed; in fact they are cursed. Why? Beause they already got stuff.

Then Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled." Blessed are those whose stomachs are empty and aching. At the moment they are feeling the pain of hunger, He is telling them they are blessed. They are blessed because they will be filled. They are blessed because they will have food. And all of us who had big breakfasts this morning ask our selves, "Well what about those who aren't hungry?" It says they will hunger.

Jesus added, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." If someone is weeping, we imagine they have experienced a great loss. Perhaps a loved one has died, or they have lost their livelihood or have been violated in some way. How is such a one blessed? They are blessed because their weeping will stop and they will have reason to be joyful again. How can this be? Who will give them reason to laugh? Apparently, God will wipe their tears away and give them a reason to rejoice. Again what about those who aren't weeping? Well "Woe unto you, for you will mourn and weep."

What kind of radical talk is this? Up with the poor and miserable and down with the rich and happy. It sounds like slogans used by communist revolutionaries. Believe it or not some have used these words that way too. But what Jesus is presenting us with are two alternative paths. One path leads to life and the other leads to death. There is no middle way, no sitting on the fence. We either choose to walk in the one or the other. If you fail to walk on the way that leads to life, you automatically are on the way that leads to death. This kind of talk makes us feel very uncomfortable. We do not like this “either—or” talk, this “black and white” view of the world. With these words Jesus intends us to squirm a little and think about our position.

Let's take a closer look at the part of this lesson that makes us most uncomfortable, the woes: "Woe to the rich and woe to those who aren't hungry." Should we who have things in this world be punished for our good fortune? Having money to spare or having enough to eat is not a crime against God. But failing to share our leftovers is a crime. And all of us are guilty of this. If we want to walk on the way that leads to life we all need to examine our actions.

It doesn’t get easier: "Woe to these who laugh." Is it our fault that we don't have something to cry about? Should we also be punished for that? Perhaps we have nothing to weep about because we ignore the suffering around us. If we were truly aware of the pain around us we would be weeping. Jesus had a radical message that made people uncomfortable. If He came to speak in our church, perhaps His words would also upset us so much that we wish we could throw Him off the Bloor viaduct or some other high bridge or building.

When you take a close look at this passage from Luke you see that Jesus was a radical. But what distinguishes Him from all other radicals is that he not only talked the walk but He walked the talk. He not only offered a revolutionary way of seeing the world but He did what He preached—and in a big way! For He is the Creator of the world, to whom all things belong and to whom all people owe their allegiance. Yet, He became a servant to all. In order to make us rich, He became poor. In order that we may find comfort and have joy, He suffered and wept bitterly. In order that we may be welcomed at His Father’s table in heaven, He became an outcast and was rejected. In order that we may have life, He chose death. Imagine the Creator suffering for His creatures who love to disobey and rebel! Jesus is not only talk. He does the walk.

Sometimes I hear people say that Jesus’ expectations are unrealistic. They might even add that although what He did sounds very moving, it doesn’t make sense in real life. The answer is, “Yes, Jesus’ words do not make sense to us because we are part of the problem.” We are trapped in the box of sin and cannot think outside the box. Sin has cut us off from God and that is why we find it difficult to imagine anything else beside the box, and for that matter, God.

Jesus, on the other hand, came into our world from outside the box. That is why we hear Him speak radical words about things we have never heard, of things too wonderful for us to believe: That we have a heavenly Father who loves us and takes care of all our needs. These words make perfect sense to those who know reality. But to us trapped in our little box, these ideas are radical. We just cannot understand how the poor, the hungry and crying can ever be blessed.

But to us who hear these words and believe them, these are words that bless us. They make us what they say. These words also move us deeply and have the power to change how we act, so that we are not only hearers of God’s gracious, radical words, but we find these words making us doers of radical things.

Let me share with you a story I heard of a woman who lived in South Carolina, where I grew up. This woman said that her house was Jesus' house, and He just let her stay in it. It had been her husband's house but he left her for another woman and she got it in the divorce. There was an apartment upstairs in that house. Whenever someone needed a place to stay it was theirs’. One day her estranged husband got cancer and was dying. His girlfriend left him and he was dying and alone. Even though he had hurt her, this woman took him in. She took care of him until he died. I think her actions were a beautiful act of mercy. Through her actions she was saying blessed are the poor, the sick, those who have wasted their lives. Most would have cursed that man, but because Jesus had opened her eyes to His blessings she blessed the old man. People in that little North Carolina town say she's crazy. I think she is just a radical, like her Jesus.

As you follow Jesus you will find yourself blessing the poor, the hungry and the distraught and people will hate you for it. They will call you names and if they can't say something true about you they will even make up lies about you. They may even find other ways to attack and persecute you. But if you decide not to follow this revolutionary Jesus, people will praise you. They will call you a clear thinker and level headed. And they will say nice things about you. But Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!" And he said, "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."

As you choose the way of life you will find yourself blessed even though you are poor, hungry and weeping, because your heart is filled with hope in the eternal riches God has promised: His glorious kingdom: that is everything that is, that can be and ever will be—all that is yours. Beside that God has given you His true, unconditional love, His very own heart, so that you may truly enjoy peace and happiness forevermore. So be wise in choosing the way of life for Jesus has radical words for you that have the power to bless you most radically. Amen

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