Blessings and Woes (Luke 6: 17-26)
Our gospel reading this week may be hard for people in the developed world to hear. Jesus stands in a “level” place, ie., down in the messiness of life, where the poor, the hungry, and the suffering people subsist, and speaks words of comfort to them. For those, however, who think they have no need of God because they have put their trust in the good life, Jesus indicates a different judgement. How can we live in ways that point to God’s Kingdom of love and compassion, rather than mindlessly following the ways of the world? Dare we think afresh about how we might collectively move towards a clearer witness to god’s Kingdom?
