Not everyone standing there listening to Jesus was a disciple. Some came for healing of physical and mental illnesses.  The crowd pressed in, wanting something from Jesus. “Everyone was trying to touch Jesus” because healing power flowed through Jesus. Some came to hear a good storyteller or maybe see a miracle.  With our TV’s, cellphones and books it is hard to imagine walking for miles to hear a well told story about a prodigal son, a good Samaritan, or the rich man who ignored Lazarus. In those days, entertainment was sparse. Today, the average American spends 3-5 hours a day on their phone. That is 45-76 days/year.  Wednesday night, Chaz Uffleman, United Methodist, Tennessee Political organizer, and Inclusion advocate told our WNAB group to engage in resistance, but also to “put down your phone, you are not a US Senator, you do not need to know instantaneously what President Trump is doing. Take some time to call or text a friend who might need some support.” 

It was a mixed crowd. Not everyone was a disciple, some came for the story, the celebrity, or the show.. Luke might be asking us to consider if we are disciples or just listening? Are we hearers of or doers of God’s Word (James 1).  Luke notes “Jesus looked up at his disciples”  calling us beyond hearing into engagement.  

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate, exclude, insult and reject you. “Rejoice in that day.  Leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”

Martin Luther King said that the arch of the universe bends towards justice. In Luke 6, Jesus speaks of heaven as a coming eschatological day of reckoning, wherein God’s judges the world. Doesn’t Heaven sound like a day of DEI, wherein the poor will be rich, the hungry well fed, and weeping comforted: a day when the hated will be loved, the excluded included, the insulted uplifted, and the rejected accepted? A day when all the lost children come home.  The Christian vision of heaven is one of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  

To those in the crowd who are hungry, poor, excluded, disenfranchised and rejected Jesus paints a picture of hope. One day we will celebrate as our youth choir and the heavenly hosts sing:  

For everyone born, a place at the table, for everyone born, clean water and bread, a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing, for everyone born, a star overhead, and God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace: Yes, God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy! (Shirley Erena Murray) 

That is good news for poor and excluded people. But what about those “woes”? Most of  us are rich, well fed, and can find things to laugh about. Most of us enjoy hearing people say good things about us! How do we deal with the woes?  I think there are a couple of takeaways from the woes.  

1. God is deeply concerned with how people are treated right now on earth. Looking us in the eye, Jesus reminds us that God cares deeply about all people, especially those who are sick, poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted, and rejected.  Jesus warns us that the rich, the well-fed, the mockers and the well-spoken of are due a wake up call from God.    

2. God cares about systemic justice for the poor, hungry and excluded. Luke 16 tells us of the poor beggar Lazarus and the indifferent rich person. Matthew 25 speaks of the Lord “settling accounts.” Matthew 12 warns “on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter, for by your words (and deeds) you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  2 Corinthians 5 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done …good or bad.”  If we believe God only cares about theology and not how we treat people, we have grossly misunderstood the Gospel, the Ten Commandments, the Greatest Commandment, and the Golden Rule. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells that in the next life, many will say something like “Lord, Lord, Lord Jesus, we loved doing stuff in your name, what a blessing” but Jesus will reply “who are you people”?   

I imagine, some of the crowd who were excluded due to an illness, poor, or came for healing felt a sense of vindication when they heard Jesus’ pile woes upon the rich, the well-feed, the mockers, and well spoken of.  As a child, who was reading at a first grade level in fourth grade, bullied by my teacher and a few classmates, I know we can feel a red hot inner rage. Such anger can move us right past justice, equity and inclusion into retribution, revenge, and exclusion.  The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary on Luke declares “There is no place in the Christian ethic for vengeance or retaliation” Doctor King warns about drinking from the cup of bitterness and revenge. 

Jesus already making eye contact with us who call ourselves “disciples” adds “But I say to you who are listening”: Love your enemies, do good to the haters, bless the curse-rs,  pray for the mistreaters, turn away from the face slappers, do not judge, do not condemn, and forgive. Be generous, love mercy, do good, and forgive freely and expect nothing in return and then your reward will be great: you will be children of the Most High, for God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as God is merciful.

But mercy is not the way of the world, is it?  Mercy may not feel satisfying if we have never known mercy.  It can feel good to mock your enemies or to watch those who once excluded you being turned to the side. But parents know the pain when their children refuse to rejoice or weep together. A crooked smile may creep onto our faces when someone gets what is coming to them, but such “schadenfreude” never turns into enduring joy. Be generous, love mercy, forgive, and do good and you will be children of the Most High. Be merciful, just as God is merciful.

Before rheumatoid arthritis, I ran 3 days a week at 6am with a group of friends. We ran the first mile as a pack but then the gazelles flew away,  the zebras galloped ahead and I remained with the water buffaloes. Most of us went to the same church and sort of “watched over one another in love”. When we had our first child, I dropped out of the group until one Saturday morning I was bluntly awakened by seven smelly running friends standing at my bedside singing “Good Morning to You” with all they had. As they ran by our house, Connie saw them and waved them in!  Needless to say, I rejoined my accountability group the next Monday. 

One morning a new guy joined our herd.  This guest was far too chatty for 6am and breached our unwritten rules spouting off about the latest headlines and even ranting about lawyers getting the guilty out of crimes.  I was happy that the  guest was a gazelle that raced ahead. The only other water buffalo that morning was Bill, an attorney by trade and one of finest leaders in our church.  Usually unflappable Bill was hot. I listened. In a minute Bill asked for pastoral confidence and said “you know what makes me so mad is that guy did not talk bad about attorneys at 3am last spring, when he called me to get his son out of jail in Knoxville.” 

 It’s funny how Justice feels very different when we love the accused. Instead of calling for them to pay for their mistakes and misdeeds, we long for them to be whole. We pray they find peace, grace, mercy, second or 23rd chances. We want them to have enough, to be included, to be loved, to be welcomed, to be accepted, and seated at God’s table.  Jesus speaks of a day of divine justice, a day when unity, equity, and inclusion even the scales, how does that square with grace? What do we do with the “woes”?  Perhaps, we look the Almighty in the eye, face to face, as 1 Corinthians 13 describes it and “we know fully as we are fully known.”  We are not just known by God, but we fully know ourselves. Maybe we come to know when we feasted while others went hungry, where we piled up treasures while others did not have enough, where we sat in exclusive seats while others were excluded. Maybe it is in that moment of knowing, when we awake to God’s boundless love for us and for all people, when we move from hearing about love to living it out, that “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap”, maybe that is when the measure we give will becomes the measure we get back. Maybe as we meet God and look Love in the eye, there is only room for faith, hope and love to remain. 

Until that day, when all things are made right and made known, let us work so that everyone who is born finds their place at the table, where every one has enough, where everyone is accepted, where justice and joy roll down like the mighty waters, where mercy heals us all, and no one every weeps alone. Amen.