Scripture: Luke 6:20-22
Looking at his disciples, Jesus said: “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.
Thought for the Day: I just went to the garage for a ladder so I could climb onto my soapbox. Over the years I have learned that rarely does anyone give you help when you are preparing to scale the peak of some personal pet peeve. With that said, I hope you will indulge me for a moment. Christianity in America has been taken for a ride by the Prosperity Gospel of some mega-churches and their television counterparts. They assume ‘blessing’ to be associated with the single notion of one’s check book. Wealth and God’s blessing are inseparable in this theology, yet how can they make such statements when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor, the hungry and the grieving.” Jesus is not implying that such people will become rich someday. Instead, Jesus is proclaiming the nonsensical ideas of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel writer Luke knew quite well that faithfulness was rarely associated with wealth or great possessions. In fact, just the opposite! In the kingdom of God, those who are poor, hungry or grieving will find a God who cares for them in the midst of their struggles. This would have sounded like nonsense to many who heard Jesus say it, and even today, there are some who find it so bizarre that they try to change the whole notion of the Gospel by saying, “Wealth and affluence are the signs of a blessed life.” Excuse me why I climb down from my soapbox.
Prayer: May the abundance in life, O God, be blessed by your grace so it may provide transformative care for all those who find themselves struggling and afraid. Amen.
