Woe? Whoa!—Psalm1; Luke 6: 17-26
[SLIDE 1] The great televangelist Jesse Duplantis recently theorized that if you want Jesus to return early, [SLIDE 2] try to give more donations to your pastor. His more literal quote was, “Jesus has not returned because people have refused to donate enough money.” His net worth is around 20 million. He calls poverty a curse. [SLIDE 3] Other prominent minsters have asked for private jets, large homes, one even praised God for a member giving the preacher a Bentley as the member’s dying wish. There are many who believe that in this life wealth is the end goal of the gospel. There are also many for whom the gospel takes a backseat to their love of money and power. [SLIDE 4]
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is a true lesson in comfort and encouragement for people who feel the sufferings and oppression in life, especially because of their faith. In Luke’s gospel it is known as the Sermon on the Plain. Here we see a fiery Jesus who looks and sounds like an old school fire and brimstone preacher. Matthew’s gospel focused on a Jewish audience who would have been suffering spiritually with the oppression of the day, so it’s written to bring comfort. Luke’s gospel is written for a gentile audience, who need to be called to a place of repentance for their love of power and wealth, and taught how to be a generous and loving follower of Jesus.
We first hear from Luke that Jesus performed many miraculous healings including healing from diseases and casting out evil spirits. And he did so for everyone who was there. One of the most beautiful things about our gospel stories, and especially this one, is that Jesus never turned someone away. Whether they were impoverished, unclean, sick, possessed, a pharisee, or an oppressive ruler, Jesus never turned anyone away. He offered healing and spoke the same words of love and grace to all.
In 2022, it was estimated that the United States has a combined total of $137.6 trillion in wealth, making us the richest country on earth. In 2024, Cole Schmidtknecht [SLIDE 5] died from lack of an inhaler for his asthma when the cost rose from $66 to $539. If you google deaths from cost of insulin, you’ll see dozens of news articles on 20 something year olds dying because their insulin was over $1,300. One of them is Alec Smith, age 26. [SLIDE 6] Many of you have talked about being unable to get medicines or afford them because the price was so extreme. In a country where we have over 100 trillion in wealth, people die from being unable to afford basic medications. I wonder what the Jesus who healed everybody who came to him in Luke’s gospel for today would say about that?
[SLIDE 7] Jesus then teaches the people: blessed are the poor for the kingdom of God is yours, blessed are the hungry for they will be satisfied, blessed are those who weep for they will soon laugh. Whereas Matthew’s Beatitudes focus on spiritual poverties, Luke makes it more concrete: the poor, the hungry, and the sorrowful. The truth is neither one is exclusively accurate. There are times when we suffer because we have nothing. There are times we suffer because, even though we can afford what we need, inside our spirits are hurting. There are times when people will suffer from the physical problems that come from living on a broken earth. But there are also times our spirit and soul will feel malnourished, beaten up, broken, and hurting. There are times we will weep because we’ve experienced loss, and sometimes, we weep and have no real idea why. And in every single one of those situations, Jesus offers a blessing.
In many instances that blessing is us, the ones who follow Jesus. What makes this scripture hard is that Jesus doesn’t stop with the blessings, he adds curses: sorrows awaiting the rich, sorrows awaiting the fat and prosperous, sorrows awaiting those praised by crowds. In the older translations, the warning is even more dire, for it says: Woe to you who are rich, woe to the full, woe to the laughing, woe to those spoken well of. And when we hear that we think, “Woe? Whoa!” [CLICK FOR TEXT]
I was once asked, “So when Jesus says, ‘Woe to the rich,’ what kind of number are we talking about here…half a million, more?” I don’t think that’s how it works. You have to jump to Matthew to understand what Luke is trying to say. [SLIDE 8] Matthew picks up on this theme and says you cannot serve God and money. The letter to Timothy echoes the theme telling us that the love of money is the root of all evil. It goes back to that age-old question, who or what do you worship?
[SLIDE 9] Too many people seem to think that faith is a road of ease and wealth. A friend and pastor once told his congregation, your faith in Christ is not at all like winning the lottery. Instead, it’s more like the greatest retirement plan you can get for your work. We do the work of Christ here on earth for the treasures stored up in heaven awaiting us when our time on earth is done. That doesn’t mean God WON’T bless us, but that should not be our expectation. As another friend said, “Faith won’t bring you a new Ferrari, but it will bring you hope for eternity.
[SLIDE 10] When I was preparing for this sermon, I saw a funny comic. It’s a picture of Jesus teaching and it says, “I want you to be rich, so naturally the more faithfully you adhere to my teachings, the wealthier you will become…oh and you should then give that wealth to the super rich pastor who shared this teaching with you.” And the title under it says, “Things Jesus Never Said.” [SLIDE 11]
Faith is not always an easy road, and it never has been. It won’t make you world-rich. It won’t make you necessarily popular. Jesus even gave us a very clear warning that we may just have to be blessed in the midst of hatred and persecution. But when you travel with Jesus by your side, you can feel in that holy presence, how much easier life is and how much hope you can have for every tomorrow.
I like how the Psalm for today comforts us. There is joy and hope in following Jesus instead of giving in to the pathways that lead us into wickedness, evil, and false gods which manifest as a gospel, but lack in anything holy. For those who are steadfast in following God, they live like strong trees at the riverbank holding fast and being fruitful in any circumstance.
The journey of faith is not about the private jet, the gifts of millions, fancy houses, the Bently, and so forth. The journey of faith is about connecting people closer and closer to a God who loves them and to Jesus whose redemptive work saves us and whose presence leads us. Luke reminds us that our work in the name of Jesus is about lifting up those who are broken, feeding the hungry, and caring for the poor. It’s about making sure we are present with the persecuted, and take a stand for what is right in every situation.
The Psalm tells us that those who remain close to God are like strong trees by the riverbank, nourished, and fruit bearing year after year. Faith may not bring you the greatest things in this life. You may not wind up miraculously rich. You may not have all the security you want from all troubles. You may not find the most peaceful life here. The struggles and troubles of life will continue to be present with us, just as it was the disciples, and Jesus. But in walking with God, in letting our lives be part of this fabric of faith in Christ Jesus we find a hope that outweighs any trouble here on earth. We find a hope that is timeless and eternal. In Christ the woes of this life become the hope of eternal life. And that makes it all worthwhile.
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