LIVING IN BLESSING

February 13, 2022
6^th Sunday after Epiphany
Jer. 17: 5-10; Ps. 1; Lk. 6:17-26
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

Princess Diana famously made the humorous, tongue-in-cheek remark: “They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich and just moody?  Our Scripture readings for today do not allow for half-hearted responses or divided loyalties.

In our reading from Jeremiah today, the prophet stated unequivocally: “You either put your trust in God or not. No hidden altars to the demi-gods of the world. Jeremiah was speaking to a people who had repeatedly failed to obey God’s will, as revealed to them in the Torah. The privileged in society had gained their wealth by corrupt means and by selfishly ignoring the consequences of both their actions and inactions on others. Jeremiah condemns what society had allowed to happen with these words: “The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts.” Jeremiah contends that the human heart is deceitful but cannot deceive God.

The bible tells us, and historical records confirm, that Jeremiah’s warning proved true. The people had begun worshiping local idols. Judah’s King Ahaz played with international rivals by attempting to form new alliances with former enemies to strengthen Judah’s position. God warned the king not to trust in alliances with Judah’s historic enemies and promised to protect Judah from invading armies. But the king trusted himself, confident that he could keep an upper hand in international negotiations. Consequently, the Babylonian Empire conquered Judah and her people were exiled to serve their conquerors. At this point, Jeremiah is living in exile with his people. He had already delivered the terrible truth that they would not being going home soon, and their home would never be as it once was. Now the people were faced with the question: ‘How they live in exile?’ Would they be like the shrub in the desert that remains stunted by its poor water supply, or would they trust God and be like a tree planted by water, whose roots tap into a steady stream?

The bush in the desert lives apart from other vegetation, has shallow roots which are incapable of providing water in dry conditions; and is not big or strong enough to weather storms. The tree, of which Jeremiah speaks, has been deliberately planted by a stream. The Hebrew word translated here as “planted” could also be translated as “transplanted.” The tree was intentionally placed near a source of water, which is a necessity of life. Jeremiah uses the imagery of water in the same way John’s gospel tells the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, to whom Jesus offers living water that will quench her thirst forever. The tree planted by the stream will experience dry seasons and storms but will withstand the adverse conditions and continue to bear fruit. In the final verses of this section of Jeremiah, he also commends keeping Sabbath, especially corporate worship in the fellowship of believers, to sustain and grow our faith. With human hearts susceptible to going astray, we all need to keep dipping into the stream of “the living water.”

Jeremiah lays bare the foundations of relationships – in his case the relationship between God and humanity, which ultimately also includes relationships between God’s people. Good relationships are based on honesty and trust. Jeremiah speaks for God that trust in human powers separates people from God and eventually always leads to betrayal when those in power receive a better offer; and abandonment when one’s riches are gone.

In putting forth his formula of two divergent ways of living, Jeremiah declares that trust in God versus trust in human powers is the starting point of our pursuit of abundant life and ultimate purpose of being. The psalmist echoes this dichotomy:

“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path  that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;²but their delight is in the law  of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.³They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.” (Ps.1:1-3)

In our gospel reading, we also have the dichotomy of choosing God’s sovereignty versus human sovereignty. The blessings and corresponding curses make an unmistakable claim. Luke’s Beatitudes, which are part of his Sermon on the Plain, is a different interpretation of Jesus’ words from Matthew’ Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Luke employs the same literary pattern as our passage from Jeremiah. What Jeremiah declares as two different paths of life and their corresponding consequences, Luke conveys as blessings and woes.

 “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²²“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²²“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you.” (Lk.6: 20-22)

To whom is Jesus addressing his message?

At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, the author states he is writing to “Theophilus” to give an accurate account of Jesus. Luke writes with the level of  Greek a well-educated person would have written at that time. “Theophilus” means “lover of God. For Theophilus, whether one person or a group of people, to have read this he or she would have to be well-educated. Thus, not someone who is likely to be poor or hungry. The word translated as “woe” here had the connotation of being “shamed.”

When Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Plain, he has just come down from the mountain top where he prayed and then named his twelve apostles. Luke uses the word, “apostles,” to differentiate the Twelve from Jesus’ other followers. Then Jesus went down to level ground, where the people lived, and healed people of their afflictions. Luke tells us the people came “from all of Judah and Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.” Tyre and Sidon were gentile areas. Luke tells us Jesus healed “all the people.” No one was denied his miraculous touch, and all saw the sign that his power came from God. The crowd gathered may have heard his speech, but Luke tells us he was speaking to the Twelve – his apostles.

Luke warns those who choose the path of trusting in worldly success – lives of wealth, privilege, prestige, and pleasure – are, in fact poor, self-deluded, and unfulfilled. It is important to recognize that Luke speaks in both the present and future tense. He is not saying this will only happen in the future, he is saying it is happening now. Thus, it is imperative to correct the wrong course now – to bear the fruit of repentance. Both Jeremiah and Luke are describing two different ways of life — a life of trust in God, which bears the fruit of righteousness and justice, or a life of trust in human power for which the consequence is injustice, separation from God, and no fruit produced for God’s kingdom.

Typical of this gospel writer, Luke reveals Jesus as one who turns the world’s assumptions upside-down. The economics of God’s kingdom operates on an entirely difference currency than the world does. Like King Ahaz, the Achille’s heal of the powerful is their susceptibility to flattery by false prophets, which renders them irrelevant and useless in God’s kingdom.

So, what do we do with these two prophetic warnings from Jeremiah and Jesus? This is what I took away from these texts: Put your trust in God. Question yourself and assess your intentions. Serve yourself a liberal dose of humility and put your trust in God to provide what you need most to be sustained and to grow. Do not be obsessed with worldly success. In fact, be cautious of the rewards of success and popularity. Those false prophets Jesus warned about are beloved by the ego because they tell you what you want to hear. Since God knows the intentions of our hearts, be wary of justifying behavior that is unfaithful to the command to worship only the one true God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. When those who attempt to lead demonstrate they have no concern for the poor, the hungry, the distressed and the marginalized, ask “why?” What is their intention? Who gains from their failure to address the problems of those in need, those for whom God directs our attention and our actions to provide for them? If we support these false prophets or put no obstacles in their way, to what demi-gods are we giving our trust?

Jeremiah and Jesus have told us we can only give our allegiance to one God, we can’t hedge our bets with the world’s currency. In his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus echoes God’s covenant with Abraham. We are blessed to be a blessing to others.

Amen. May it be so!

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2022, All Rights Reserved
Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1420 W. Moss Ave. | Peoria, Illinois 61606
WestminsterPeoria.org  | 309.673.8501

“Why am I a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church?  Two words keep  floating up in a rather persistent way  –  “home” and  “family” – and I realized that it is an inescapable fact that is what this church means to me. During my 40 years here, so many life events have happened and Westminster has been there for me through all those times – good and bad.    It has been my home and family.  They say “home is where the heart is” and I’ve found the heart of Westminster to be as open and warm as a family’s!”