February 20, 2022
Luke 6:27-38

Blessed are the poor.
Blessed are the hungry.
Blessed are those who weep.
Blessed are you when you are hated.

Woe to the rich.
Woe to the full.
Woe to those who laugh or mock.
Woe to those who are falsely propped up.

Blessed are you, the one overlooked by the world.
Woe to you who cannot see beyond your pride and self-interest.
Blessed are you, the one deemed a loser by the standards of the world.
And woe to you who insist on those standards being kept.

In this flip, Jesus declares a new way of living and being. Jesus is not offering a list of character qualities for us to aspire toward. No, Jesus’ opening words in the Sermon on the Plain create a new list of contrasts between the kingdom of Caesar and the Kingdom of God with the implications of Jesus’ flip detailed in our scripture reading.
Love your enemies. No thanks. I can barely love my neighbors.
Bless those who curse you. I would rather pass. They can have their blessing when they stop their cursing.
Pray for those who abuse you. Maybe next week, Jesus.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. How about doing to others as they have done to me.

These tongue-in-cheek responses better match the game we all have been playing since birth. This is a game where getting even, settling the score, are preferred norms. Instead of being merciful just as God is merciful, we trick, deceive, and get even. And if we do not do those actions, someone will surely, do it to us.

Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe