![]() ![]() Since September, we have been considering all the ways G-d has blessed us and how G-d has used us to be a blessing to others. Jesus is proclaiming that the Kingdom he has come to inaugurate will leave those on the margins grateful while those who ignored the needs, profited, or exploited those on the margins will be left to reconsider their lives in light of G-d’s unfolding reign in Christ. With the the mindset of divinely appointed prosperity for a few, those who find themselves on the margins or without are receiving their just reward for their lack of faithfulness or because of the sins they or the saints before them committed. Better known today as the “prosperity gospel,” if you are only faithful enough to G-d then you will be rewarded with wealth and prosperity by our Creator. ![]() Jesus turned the idea of diving blessing upside down, flipping the notion that one’s favor with G-d could be seen in their prosperity and wealth. While Jesus is not issuing a curse upon the woe’d, he was calling them to pay attention as a new ordering of society was taking shape in his ministry. There are no theological backflips we can do to avoid the bluntness with which Jesus speaks. This is not one of those teaching moments in Jesus’ ministry where we can read something into Jesus’ words to make us feel better or to let ourselves off the hook for our (knowing or unknowing) participation in the margination of those who have been told they will receive the divine blessing. For those of us who Jesus would classify as rich (and that is the overwhelming majority of us), Jesus’ words can leave us wondering where the lives we live fit in the Kingdom Jesus came to inaugurate. Yet, for those on the receiving end of Jesus’ woes, Good News is hard to find. ![]() Relief is here for those who have traveled the rough roads of life. Jesus’ words are without a doubt Good News the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the despised. Woe, lookout to the rich, the full and satisfied, the cheerful, and the popular. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the despised. ![]() In Jesus’ listing of who will be blessed and who shall be woe’d, he leaves little room for doubt or question from his audience. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |