2025 Sun Feb 16

I. Theme – Blessed! 

Blessed is anyone who trusts in the Lord. (Jeremiah) Blessed are you when you are in need.(Luke)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

Old Testament – Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm – Psalm 1 Epistle – 1 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Gospel – Luke 6:17-26

In the Old Testament, reading from Jeremiah God, through the prophet Jeremiah, contrasts the fates of the ungodly and the godly. To ancient peoples, the heart was the centre of emotions, feelings, moods and passions. It also discerned good from evil and was the centre of decision-making. Conversion to God’s ways took place in the heart.

In Corinthians 15:12-20, Paul continues his argument against those at Corinth who deny that Christians will be resurrected bodily. He has written of three basic doctrines he has received and passed on: Christ died, was buried, and rose. He now confronts these people with a logical argument. He confronts them with the consequences of their denial and tells the benefits of affirming resurrection.

In Luke 6:17-26, Jesus has ascended a mountain to pray. While there, he has chosen twelve of his disciples to be apostles. Now he descends part-way, to a “level place”. There he finds followers and many others, from Israel and beyond. He tells who will be admitted to his Kingdom – and who will not.

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“The spacious slope of the Mount of Beatitudes (also known as Mount Eremos, a Greek word meaning solitary or uninhabited) would have provided ample space for a large crowd to gather to hear Jesus”

“Archaeologist Bargil Pixner says: “The terrace above this still existing cave, called Mughara Ayub, must be considered the traditional place of the Sermon on the Mount. The hillcrest of Eremos indeed offers a magnificent view over the entire lake and the surrounding villages. The cragginess of this hill meant it was left uncultivated and enabled Jesus to gather large crowds around him without causing damage to the farmers.”

There are two Beatitudes in the Bible, Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-23. Both are similar in that they contain a guide for the conduct of the disciples on this earth. Of these shared beatitudes, Luke has written the equivalent of Matthew’s first, fourth, second and ninth beatitudes, in that order.

Similarities. Here is a beatitudes comparison using a table of the two accounts

1  Poor –. Matthew “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and Luke “Blessed are you who are poor.” They will inherit the Kingdome of Heaven (Matthew) or God (Luke” Luke’s account contains some woes – “But woe to you who are rich,for you have received your consolation.”

2 Hungry – Matthew “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” and Luke “Blessed are you who are hungry”. In both cases you will be filled. The rejoinder from Luke – “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry

3  Hate/Persecution – Matthew “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” And Luke “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”  In both cases your reward is in heaven. Luke’s “woe” – Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their  ancestors did to the  false prophets.

There are common contexts between the beatitudes. The sayings are in the context of discipleship, which Luke has been emphasizing in various ways since Jesus’ visit to Nazareth. He will continue dealing with the nature of discipleship through the conclusion of the Galilean ministry (ch. 9), and then set the tone for the journey to Jerusalem by opening that trip with a discussion of discipleship and the sending of the seventy (9:51ff). The sayings are also in the context of the nature of the Kingdom,

There are a number of major differences between these four beatitudes, which firstly includes the point of view where Luke writes in second person plural “yours” and Matthew in third person plural “theirs”.

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