Level with the Saints

November 3^rd, 2013        “Level with the Saints”      Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 6:17-26

          This morning’s gospel reading appears familiar at first as Jesus begins his lesson on blessings, commonly called the Beatitudes.  But it doesn’t take long before we realize that these are not the warm fuzzy Beatitudes we find in Matthew’s gospel.  No, these are the hard edged, often confusing, and down-right troubling Beatitudes from the gospel of Luke.

          The Beatitudes we are more familiar with, those in the gospel of Matthew, are given during the first portion of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew’s Jesus begins.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  These are the Beatitudes we know and love, and these are the words we still find on display throughout our world.  From the engraved words on a bookmark, to an artistic rendering in calligraphy, to one of those cute little desk signs; these words are everywhere.

          You will find no cute little desk signs for Luke’s version of the Beatitudes.  “Blessed are the poor.”  Not the poor in spirit, just the poor.  “Blessed are the hungry, blessed are those who weep.”  Luke pulls no punches in spiritualizing the Beatitudes, like Matthew; rather these are straight out blessings on those who are among the lowest of the low in ancient and modern society.

          Even more troubling than Luke’s blessings are the curses that follow.  “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”  Woe?  Whoa!  Words like that might cause someone to choke on their Sunday morning donut!

          These two differing versions of the Beatitudes are a great example of the two gospel writers’ differing perspectives on who Jesus was and what he came to do.  In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as the new Moses; Matthew spends a lot of time telling us how Jesus is the true Jewish Messiah in fulfillment of the ancient scriptures.  Luke has a different agenda.  Luke is busy showing us that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and the Gentiles, and that he has come to bring about the kingdom of God, a topsy-turvy place where the first will be last and the last will be first.  As a studier of the scriptures I find it amazing how the same historical sayings of Jesus can be presented in such totally different ways.  It is not very often that we consider two different accounts of something to both be true.

          Personally, I think I would rather have a cute little desk sign with Luke’s Beatitudes than with Matthew’s because they are more startling and powerful.  When we look at the text there is a lot going on here.  Rather than climbing to a mountaintop to deliver his sermon, in Luke, Jesus comes down to a level place.  That is why we refer to his version as the Sermon on the Plain.

          I think there is an awesome clue to Luke’s Beatitudes in this setting.  Jesus comes down and stands on a level place with all the people, disciples, followers, and curious onlookers alike.  Rather than being on a mountainside, where people would be spread out on different tiers, or different levels, the people in Luke’s gospel are all on the same level.  A level playing field if you will.

          When we re-examine Luke’s blessings and curses, we find that the words of Jesus also put people on a level playing field.  Blessings on the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the outcast lift all those people up in society.  Woes on the rich, the fat, the happy, and the popular push all those people down.  Low people up, high people down, and we have a level playing field.  The Sermon on the Plain!  Cool, huh?!?

          Of course, to put everyone on a level playing field doesn’t sound like such a good idea to those of us who are riding high right now.  No matter how we slice it, it hurts to hear Jesus speaking curses on the rich and the fat, which describes a lot of Americans.  Though thousands of years old, these words of Jesus ring true even in our modern culture.  Being wealthy, being well fed, being popular, and being happy and blind to the suffering of others, are all mixed blessings.  These things are temporary, they are deceptive, and they make it harder for us to see our need for God.  Jesus reminds us that when the end of all things comes, we will be stripped of these blessings. 

          Although it is a frightening thought, we know that this is true.  Death is the great leveler and as the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”  Jesus’ sermon here in Luke reminds us that in the kingdom of God we will all be on a level playing field.  And though many of us here stand to lose some, we need to remember that that is OK, that it is even a blessing.  In the kingdom of God, the last will be first and the first will be last.  Everyone gets in the door, but it can be hard on those who were first!  Hence those woes that Jesus hands out.

          This idea of a great plain, or a leveled playing field, is a great connection to the Reformed tradition of All Saints which we remember and celebrate today.  One of the marks of the Reformation, was a re-visioning of what it meant to be a saint.  We are going to go back to school now as I quote one of the best Presbyterian teachers, Donald McKim.  In his book, Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers he writes,

“The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers reacted strongly against what they believed was a mistaken view of saints by the Roman Catholic Church.  There the emphasis was on the lives of saints, their special “holiness,” and also the view that saints who have died can play a role in the lives of the living on earth.  Reformation confessions admonished that saints are not to be adored, worshiped, or invoked.  The Reformers believed that it is only the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ who intercede with God on our behalf in prayer.

Presbyterians see all Christians as “saints”, not because they are especially “holy” or “perfect” or never sin.  All Christians, while saved by the work of Jesus Christ, are still sinners in constant need of God’s forgiveness in Christ.  The church is the “communion of saints”.  One way to understand this phrase is to see it as referring to the church as the fellowship of Christians – all the “saints”.  A wider view is to have a comprehensive view of the church and to realize that the church on earth is surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” – all the saints who have died and are now in heaven.  Their lives and witness can inspire us and be powerful examples or models to help us live our Christian lives.”

          On this All Saints day of celebration, we gather to remember that when it comes to God we are all on a level playing field.  None of us is above another in terms of holiness or purity, rather all of us are saints before the Lord.  We specifically remember those who have gone ahead of us into the great cloud of witnesses this year.  Like us, all of the saints that we remember and honor today, experienced a mix of blessings and woes in their lifetimes.  Now that they have died, these saints are now truly on a level playing field and a part of the great church in heaven.  Friends that we have known and love, these saints now go before us to show us the way. 

          In this life, some of will experience great blessing, and some of us will experience great hardship and pain.  Most of us will experience both.  The words of Jesus in the gospel of Luke serve to remind us that when the kingdom of God is finally at hand, all of us will stand on the same level.  Some of us will be lifted up and some of us will be brought down, but all of us will stand as saints before the Lord, part of the great cloud of witnesses.  Thanks be to God for this great leveling, and thanks be to God for all the saints.  Amen.