Rev Gav

Blessings

Luke 6:20-23

“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.
²¹ God blesses you who are hungry now,
    for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
    for in due time you will laugh.

²² What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. ²³ When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Reflect

Back in the Old Testament (that’s the writings of the Jewish people), there were lists of blessings and curses that accompanied people’s obedience to the religious law. Jesus had come along with a new way of thinking, and he cemented this new way with four promises (or blessings) and four woes (or curses). The blessings were both spiritual and practical.

Firstly, spiritually, the blessings declared God’s promises and attitude towards those who identified with Jesus – even though they appeared countercultural and seemed opposite or upside-down to what anyone would consider to be ‘worldly’ blessings. The way of Jesus was not a way of greed, wealth, independence, power, or violence. It was a way of humility, dependence, poverty, tears, and persecution.

You see, when you are spiritually poor, you realise your need for dependence on God who will bless you with spiritual richness; when you are starving, you know that through God you will be well fed; when you cry, you know that God will wipe away every tear from your eye; and when you are persecuted or oppressed, you will be lifted up because your identity is that of a child of God. And these promises are not for some time in the future, they are promises that, for those who follow Jesus, are fulfilled in the here and now.

Secondly, practically, these blessings are not separate from the community of believers — the church. They describe how things are meant to be when God’s kingdom fully comes — and the church is to declare this kingdom ahead of time and to practice it in the here and now.

You see, you are blessed if you are physically poor because in God’s kingdom the rich will share their money. You are blessed if you are starving because in God’s Kingdom those with food will share it with you. You are blessed if you are crying because in God’s Kingdom people will come along side you and comfort you. And you are blessed if you are opposed and persecuted, because you have a family in God who will stand with you.

These really are spiritual and practical blessings that accompany the Kingdom of God, and they really are good news.

Do

Today, if you are feeling spiritually or physically poor, starving, mourning, or rejected, know that the Kingdom of God belongs to you. Depend and lean on God today, trusting in these four promises of Jesus.

Pray

Holy God
Thank you for the blessings
of being welcomed into your kingdom.
Help me to trust, rely and depend on you.
May I be part of a community called to bless the world.
Show me how I can be part of your mission
to the poor, starving, sad and rejected.
This day and forever.
Amen.

Think

How does your local church shape up to this vision of God’s kingdom – i.e. reaching out to the poor, starving, mourning, and rejected?