Luke's Beatitudes; Luke 6

May the mumbling commence!

I tell you.  Luke just does not pull punches.  Now that we are finished with the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, we will now take a look at Luke’s Sermon on the Plain.  I find myself drawn to the Beatitudes once again.  Read Matthew’s version with Luke’s version of the Beatitudes.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn,

     for they will be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek,

     for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

     for they will be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful,

     for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart,

     for they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers,

     for they will be called sons of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5: 3-12)

"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 men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers 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 all men speak well of you,

for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:20a-26)

While Matthew talks about the poor in spirit, Luke simply talks about the poor.  While Matthew talks about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Luke talks simply about the hungry.  Luke is a hard pill to swallow – especially when we live comfortable lives of wealth, when we are well fed. 

And, in case we missed it the first time around, Luke goes on to record the woes.  Woe to you who are rich and well fed.  Your comfort is already spent.  It begs the question: How do we spend our wealth of money, possessions, knowledge, and position?

It is high time to live with the statement that God calls us to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.  It is high time to recognize that many of us are the comfortable.  Should I say it?  We need to pray for affliction as a result of following our Lord and Savior.  True comfort can only be fully achieved when all people are comfortable.

All people being comfortable does not necessarily mean that everyone will have equal property and wealth and knowledge.  Everyone has a different level for their personal comfort.  If we do not seek to learn these levels of comfort, we cannot hope to meet them.  If we do not know what bothers other people about our attitudes and actions and words, we have no hope to stop offending. 

As we learn these things about one another, the issue will become less about us and them and more about us.  Then, we can all be fulfilled, blessed.

Luke, that was painful, man!  But, thanks, I needed that affliction on my heart and my way of living.  Lord, make us more like Jesus!

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out