Luke 6: 20-31 is known as “The Sermon on the Plain” and is parallel to Matthew Chapters 5 to 7, which are known as “The Sermon on the Mount”. It is known as ‘The Sermon on the Plain’ because Luke writes in Luke 6:17 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place”. …

There are four blessings in this passage, rather than the eight blessings in Matthew’s Gospel, and ‘woes’ follow quickly and starkly after the blessings. Whereas in Matthew’s Gospel the ‘woes’ are much more gently couched and hidden in the longer text.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ words is much more direct, more immediate, more pressing, and does not, obviously, carry a spiritual meaning. Here in Luke’s Gospel Jesus says, ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God’. In Matthew he says, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’. … We need to hear and heed both of these versions of Jesus’ sermon if we are not to misinterpret what he says. …

Recognising our spiritual poverty (as in Matthew’s Gospel) is important if we are to hear the gentle word of God’s love spoken to us in the bible. Spiritual poverty is the opposite of arrogantly assuming that we know God’s will and purposes, it encourages an enquiring mind, seeking out what God’s Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. It accepts that we will always have something to learn. It might even mean that we really do try to see things from the perspective of those with whom we disagree.

But what might it mean to say that the poor are blessed? …

Jesus uses the present tense. … The poor already have the Kingdom of Heaven. … They are blessed now. … This is hard to accept. It seems uncaring. How can those who have next to nothing be blessed? …… Perhaps Jesus means that for those who are poor there is nothing to distract them from their need for the love of God. Whereas for those of us who have resources and money, who are wealthier than so many, we can be distracted by our wealth. Rather than relying on God for our daily needs, our daily bread, we rely on own resources. Perhaps we are in danger of missing God’s blessing.

This seems to be borne out in human experience. It is when we are aware of our deepest needs that we are most prone to pray. … Even those of us who profess no faith in God.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus goes on to say: ‘Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

The parallel lines in Matthew’s Gospel say: ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled’, and ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’.

Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel, seems to be more concerned about some kind of spiritual intensity. … Jesus’ statements, in Luke, are more pithy and seemingly more concerned about physical things. It is those who do not have enough to eat now who will be satisfied; those who weep now will laugh. It is people’s immediate; substantive needs that Luke’s words focus on.

In each of these two cases in Luke’s Gospel, one part of the sentence is in the present and the other in the future. Jesus, in Luke, seems to be saying, ‘I know you are hungry, I know you weep and your tears exhaust you. But what you suffer now does not need to define you’.

The truth is that as Christians, we are defined by God’s perspective, God’s idea of who we are. We are defined by God’s love. We are defined by the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a place beyond our current situations when hunger will be satisfied, and tears will no longer fall. … While we are building the Kingdom of God on earth we can experience pain, suffering and persecution, but something is certain: the Kingdom will be attained, and you will have your fill and you will laugh! …

I don’t think this is meant to be just about a heavenly future, a hope of heaven; although it is certainly that. But it is more. It is about the land of the living, it is about living as people who have hope, who trust that the whole of their future is in God’s hands, who persevere because they believe, along with the psalmist who says (in Psalm 27:13): “I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” And along with Isaiah (in Isaiah 40: 31): “Those who wait on the lord will renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” With our future secure in God’s hands, we are free to love and to live with courage today.

Jesus’ first three blessings encourage us to live as those who are not distracted by all the things we have; to live as those who believe that the future is in God’s hands.

Jesus’ fourth blessing seems utterly absurd. How can those who experience hatred and abuse be blessed. How can those who are persecuted be blessed? Jesus seems to answer that question by explaining that when we experience difficulty for our faith we are identifying with the Old Testament prophets. We are identifying with myriad faithful saints of God.

We know that Jesus’ words spoke directly to the early church and were heard, not as absurd, but as an encouragement to see beyond their current circumstances – suffering and persecution were not the ultimate reality, but rather a sign of new life and hope.

I cannot imagine the things those who are persecuted face. I do know that it is not just Christians across the world who experience times of deep darkness, or hatred from neighbours and acquaintances. We repeatedly see them on our television screens. In Gaza, in Ukraine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Sudan and South Sudan. So often it is the weak and vulnerable who suffer most. There is little that I can do for them but pray and give.

To the question, ‘Where is God when the innocent die, or face persecution?’ The answer available to us, the only answer I can offer, seemingly the only one God offers us, is a story of God becoming human, living first as a refugee, then as an itinerant preacher, before dying in acute suffering, treated as a common criminal, on a cross.

The God we believe in has identified with human suffering, has felt the pain of rejection, has been persecuted. … This God points to the cross and says time and again, “I love you, this is my answer to your questions. This is how much I care. ”

The Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit torn apart as Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

It is as if God says to us, “This is where you will find the answers to all the questions you ask – in sitting at the foot of the cross and pondering on the depth of love that it demonstrates.”

As Paul says in our reading from Ephesians: “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”

This God, who loves us so much, welcomes us at his table to share in bread and wine. This God, calls on all his saints, you and me too, to live in the light of that loving welcome and acceptance. To live as those who are not distracted by all the things we have; to live as those who believe that the future is in God’s hands; and to love others with an all-inclusive, death-accepting love that knows no limit.

Prayer
God our Father, you redeem us and make us all your children in Christ. You extend a loving welcome to all. Look with favour upon us, give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promise. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord. Amen.