Feb. 16 | Epiphany 6, Year C
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
Those who flocked to Jesus in Galilee were there voluntarily. If they were compelled by anything, it was their need to experience the truth that they did not know or to experience the healing they could not otherwise receive. In Jesus they saw one who had the power to reveal and to make whole — a power they could not find in themselves or their communities. So they came from as far away as the city of Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast north of Israel. Being accompanied by his disciples, Jesus made this a teaching moment.
Everyone present, whether as part of the crowd or as members of the company of disciples, had recognized their need for Jesus and left everything to go to where he was. In their “poverty,” they had come to Jesus for fulfillment and opened themselves to the eternal King who created all there is. In his kingdom is to be found all the riches of God. By their sacrificial choice to leave their families, communities, and local amenities to find Jesus, they expressed a hunger — an organic, gnawing desire to be made whole physically and spiritually. That hunger drove them to Jesus, the Bread of Life, the manna that satisfies forever. Those who have left all behind to be with Jesus suffer the loss of what they previously held dear, but the knowledge of the surpassing grace of God dries their tears.
They have chosen to recognize that their answer is to be found in One who is outside the power structures and worldly leadership of the day. For that, they face criticism, ostracism, and even persecution by those who are satisfied by the status quo, or are threatened by the thought of an alternative answer to the one with which they are accustomed. Rather than three separate groups, St. Luke presents a composite description of the heart of the true believer in Jesus. The woes form a revealing counterpoint by describing the self-sufficient and self-satisfied people who neither think they need Jesus nor are willing to leave their comfortable ways to find him.
The blessed do not seek their security in the things of this world, the power structures of the culture, or the potential of celebrity status. According to the prophet Jeremiah, they rely on the Lord — the giver of life and the only source of security and meaning. As we read in today’s Collect, “O God … because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed.”
In contrast, both Jesus and Jeremiah speak of the woes (or curses) awaiting those who reject God and choose to follow someone or something else as their god. The psalmist calls the latter the wicked. The decisions we make all have consequences. The more important the choice, the more powerful the consequences. When we are dealing with the Almighty God, the consequences are eternal, in that they are experienced in this life and continue to define our lives after death.
Jesus is the King and where he is, the kingdom is also. His message was “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 4:17). To repent and believe is to acknowledge our poverty and need before God; to declare that Jesus’ way is the only way; and to hunger to such a degree that even persecution and suffering cannot keep us from going to Jesus for satisfaction. To such as these belongs the eternal realization of God’s grace and his rest that is reserved for the citizens of his kingdom.
Look It Up: Matthew 6:19-21
Think About It: Many Gothic cathedrals have a depiction of the wheel of fortune with Jesus as the hub. Do you live on the rim of that wheel, or at the center where Christ is found?
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
