[Jesus said:] “But 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." (Luke 6:24-25)
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." (Luke 6:24-25)
I suppose our reaction to these words of Jesus tell us something about ourselves, before anything else. And if we find ourselves surprised that anybody could possibly have a different reaction than our own, it will show us something, too, when hear these words of Jesus, as many of us did this past Sunday in worship.
If, for example, my immediate reaction is to squirm uncomfortably, to bristle indignantly, or to dismiss these words as Marxist or socialist propaganda, well, it might be because I find myself in the crosshairs of Jesus' words here. If I get defensive when Jesus declares "woe" for the well-heeled and well-fed, it may well be a sign that I know I'm likely to be viewed as in the categories of "rich" and "full" and don't want to see any possible negative side to those. (You might know, too, the anecdote of conservative Southern Baptist academic and preacher Russell Moore, who has remarked on a number of occasions that people have come up to him after sermons criticizing him for saying things like "Blessed are the poor" and wondering what crazy leftist ideologues he had allowed to influence him, only for him to response that he was literally just quoting Jesus here in the Sermon on the Plain.) That is to say, if we get upset over these words of Jesus, it may be saying more about us and our own insecurities with how much abundance we have and how willing we are to hear Jesus' call to share it. If I hear Jesus' "Woe to you who are rich" as bad news, it's likely a sign I am more interested in keeping my money and parting company with Jesus than in following him even if it means letting go of some of my possessions.
On the other hand--and this is the thing that flat-out shocks some Respectable Religious Folks--there are those who hear Jesus' words here as a message of relief and comfort. It's not schadenfreude--it's not that they hear "Woe to you who are rich" and are salivating at the prospect of seeing someone else suffer. But it's the notion that God won't let the current arrangement of things, in which some have opulence and excess while others can't feed their children, stay as the status quo forever. It's the word from Jesus here that those who are so insulated with luxury and comfort that they can no longer feel any empathy for their hungry neighbors will at some point be shaken up and made to feel something for others. It's the idea that a world in which some can pile up endless wealth--more than they could possibly spend in ten lifetimes--while others must choose whether to buy food for the household or keep the lights on, is not God's arrangement of things, but in fact that God will at the last make sure that every hungry mouth gets fed and every broken heart is comforted.
It is possible to hear good news from the woes, in other words. Even if it seems strange to our ears (which might be because we have never had to worry about where our next meal comes from), there are many who hear Jesus' words, including the words of woe, and feel like at least they have been seen. There are many who hear Jesus' words as a promise that "The way it is now is not the way it will always be." Ultimately, God's ordering of things will not settle for leaving some overstuffed with supersized feasts while others are scrounging for scraps. Jesus is simply training our eyes to see from the perspective of God's Reign, rather than what the Dow Jones numbers indicate.
So, what do we do if we find ourselves squirmy and uncomfortable over Jesus' words here? Well, for starters, let's agree that we don't get to cut them out of our Bibles or pretend they aren't there, just because they make us antsy. Second, maybe the question to ask is, "If Jesus did ask me to share more of my abundance for the sake of those who don't have enough, would I be willing?" If I notice that makes me want to dig in my heels and demand, "It's all mine--nobody else can have it, and nobody else can tell me to share with someone else!" then it may well be a sign that I am more attached to my stuff and my bank balance than I am to Jesus. If I hear his words and wonder where the line is between how much I can live on and how much I can share with others, that may be a sign that at least I'm taking Jesus seriously and want to live in line with his priorities. But at the very least, hearing Jesus' words of woe will likely shake me up and compel me to see the people around me who are absolutely desperate these days to provide for their families, including those who are working as much as they can and still can't make ends meet but wonder if there will be enough to feed their children.
But basically, there's no way to hear Jesus' words and be left unchanged. Jesus will reshape how we see the world. He will give hope to those who are on the verge of despair that things will ever change for the better. And he will spur those of us who are stuck in numbness and apathy into compassion again, or even for the first time. Today, our calling is to let Jesus do with us what he will, and to allow him to change our vision of the world with the perspective of the eternal.
Lord Jesus, change our vision as you see fit, so that we will long for your Reign in which all get to eat, and no one is left numb in apathy.
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