“All Saints Day Observance”

(Luke 6:20-31)

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

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.

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt.  Give to everyone who begs from you, and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

            We are used to hearing the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew, so you probably noticed that the Gospel-writer Luke’s list is somewhat different.  The text you just heard is called, rather than Beatitudes, the Blessings and the Woes.  It is believed that these are from an older tradition than the ones we are more familiar with in Matthew.  Some even think that Matthew, in his Gospel, had intentionally softened the impact of Luke’s blessings and woes. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” which is wonderful news for all people.  But Luke has the very focused, “Blessed are the poor”—period. 

Then, whereas Luke’s version has the blessing for those who hunger, Matthew says, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  This is also wonderful news for all of us.  So, you can see that Matthew’s version of the blessings is a bit more inclusive, maybe more grace-filled, and they certainly seem to resonate more easily with most of us in our life’s journeys. 

But, let’s be clear, when Jesus tells us in Luke, “Blessed are the poor,” he means it.  There is no doubt here that God is prejudiced–prejudiced on the side of the poor, the hungry, and those who are weeping.  And, as you might imagine, this was undoubtedly scandalous back in the day, scandalous for those hearers who had been able to accumulate a few possessions and had managed to do OK, feeding and housing themselves and their families. 

It was scandalous because what you just heard in the blessings and woes flies in the face of the conventions of the day which had the religious folks honoring only those who were successful.  What we have here this morning is the “edgy Jesus” who tells it absolutely the way it is. 

I just read a devotion recently which was entitled, “Jesus can be a little much.”

The author talks about how we Christians have really grabbed onto the passages about gentle Jesus, meek and mild, and we’ve sort of averted our eyes from the assertive Jesus who really lays it on the line.  Like today’s text, for example.  Jesus minces no words.  God plays favorites: loving especially, the poor, the hungry and those who are weeping.

We have had several of these types of readings lately, and this is another one that requires us to look hard at our own lives and ways, knowing that there is much for which we must ask God’s forgiveness.  That’s just the way it is.  What we hear in this text IS the gold standard for which every disciple, including us, must strive.  It is telling the truth about God and about ourselves.

It is not saying that we must strive to be poor, but, rather, we must strive to live with the knowledge that God, without exception, looks after those who are hungry, poor and sorrowful, first and foremost.  This text turns everything upside down that seems to be just common sense for us. 

Further, we are told to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us and pray for those who mistreat us.  That is difficult stuff AND it IS counterintuitive.  It’s not what we naturally are inclined to do (love our enemies?  I don’t know about that).  And then we hear what may make a little more sense to us, the Golden Rule, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”  OK.  That’s more like it, you may think.  That’s the kind of the thing that I can wrap my arms around.  Treat folks how I would want to be treated, were I in their shoes.  Got it!  I might be able to do that…. 

Again, this whole section is the gold standard for how disciples are to act.  If you ever have an ethical question; if you ever wonder about how to proceed in some situations in your life; if you ever are anxious about someone in your life, try coming to this whole text for guidance.  It will help.  It will show you how to pray, for sure, and it will illuminate your approach to any situation.  It will tell you who God considers first, and THAT is who we need to consider first. 

We cannot get away with not taking care of the poor and hungry because they don’t show any gratitude.  Jesus does not say blessed are those who are hungry–but only when they show gratitude for our help.  He doesn’t say, blessed are the poor but only when those poor people are out trying to find a job.  What does he say?  Blessed are the poor, the hungry and those who are weeping. 

Further, what he says is “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  And woe to you who are full now, for you WILL be hungry.  And woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Finally, woe to you when all speak well of you, for that’s what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”  Wow!  The blessings are not for us, by and large.  The woes actually ARE for us.  The woes are to be taken seriously by us—ALL the time.

So, one may wonder, why read this scripture on this day?  Well, we are observing All Saints Day.  Now, through the centuries, folks venerated the saints on November first, of course, but in these last few decades we have taken to celebrating those among us who have gone to be with God over the past year.  We celebrate them because they are ours.  They are like us, and we will, each of us, one day, God willing, have our own names called on a day such as this.

We know that none of these people whose names we have read was perfect, as none of us is, and yet we honor them, and they give us an opportunity to talk about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  It gives us a chance to reflect on this passage of scripture as we fashion our own lives for today and for the future. 

And so, I want to add a couple of names into our conversation, people who have died, who, though far from perfect, have elevated the conversation about making a difference in a world filled with poor, hungry and weeping folks, a troubled and divided world.

The first one is a woman we have honored since her death on Oct. 1st, Jane Goodall.  Dr. Goodall, through her life, has been on the frontlines in primate research, and she has been an activist in the desperate need to save our planet in the midst of climate change.  Losing her wise voice has left a vacuum in the world as we know it.  As an aside, there will be a live stream of a memorial service honoring her on November 12^th at 11 AM.  Her name can be added as we remember the saints who have died.

The other person that I want to speak about today is one of our own saints.  Bob Lee lived his whole life here, dying some 13 years ago.  His parents owned a farm, and he was raised with the “kids” who grew up on Oak Hill.  Though Bob went to college, I think, in Akron, and probably worked out in the world for a while, he and his dear wife, Jean, returned to Peninsula, built a home on the farm, and he turned the land into a Christmas tree farm.  They had 2 children, Bill who still lives in Colorado and Elaine who always lived with her folks.  Elaine died a couple of years ago.

When I came to Peninsula in 1980, Bob was a strong member of this church, helping to usher it through some pretty hard times.  Bob and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but we were able to listen to each other.  He understood that I was young and inexperienced when I began this work, and we were patient with each other.

Bob was a storyteller and an avid reader of the Bible.  He could have been a preacher because he was one who could hear the wisdom coming out of scripture and share it in a folksy kind of way.  I think in his younger days he may have been a bit rigid in his thinking, but, as many of us do, he outgrew that and was a wonderful, beloved member of this church family.

I am talking about Bob today because our Memorial Garden was his idea.  He had seen a few of them and had done the research and understood the importance of having this space available for the ashes of loved ones.  He and I visited a few, asked questions, and we began to formulate a plan.  As many things go in churches, when we first floated the idea, we didn’t get much support, but there were a few folks who realized its importance.  Had I been a more skillful leader in those days, I may have been able to get the plan on its feet, but we spun our wheels for several years. 

Meanwhile I was moved to Wellington, and a few folks made the Memorial Garden happen.  I believe that Jim Spencer and John Puchalski took the lead on it.  Phil and Betty Criss have done an amazing job over the years maintaining the garden, keeping the vision before us.  Jack and Lois and Dante have faithfully done the watering this year.

Bob Lee spoke often about how he hoped our church would stay alive even after he was gone.  So, for today, we are alive as we honor those who have gone before us and as we continue to give voice and hands to Jesus’ vision for his church….  Here are the names of those whose remains are in our Memorial Garden: Bob and Jean Lee, Dr. Ripple and Wanda, Jan and Jim Spencer, Don Looker.

Let’s take a moment to quietly remember those in each of our lives who have been mentors, teachers, friends, family members and role models for how to live a Christian life….