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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
September 11, 2024
The Invitatory
The earth is the Lord’s for he made it: O come, let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Reading: Luke 6:20-26
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
I am mindful of the countless memories and visuals of this day that may be flooding your thoughts and vision today - the unspeakable horror, the depth of sadness and mourning, the fear that gripped the heart and soul, the threat to personal and national peace and security and yet: the deep gratitude for the courage and selflessness so many displayed in rescuing and offering comfort and treatment to the many who were injured, those who stood sentinel over the area around the World Trade Center and, the pentagon; and those who bravely and selflessly diverted one plane set to attack.
In light of all this, it is perhaps fitting that this passage from Luke should appear in the lectionary today. It is often referred to as the Sermon on the Plain. It is a public sermon on matters of economic and political concerns that takes on directly the Emperor and the Roman Empire. And we might think about how this speaks into our own time of such division and discord. Life is seen as a broken level world then, and life in the broken level places of today.
Let us think and see differently, let us be aware in the present of God’s providence for us in his Kingdom. To be “blessed” does not mean an absence of struggle. The very suggestion of the Kingdom of God, can invite hatred, exclusion, being reviled, and being defamed. To be blessed is to live through such opposition, aware that the struggle is temporary and that “your reward is great in heaven.’ God will gather his people into the Kingdom. The sayings in this passage move from the pronouncement of salvation to its realization, as present and accessible. The great invitation is to learn to live in the present on the basis of the promise of that very salvation, while moving towards the realization of salvation. For those who learn this lesson, salvation is present. For the one who does not, it is only a possibility.
The people are invited into experiencing the mood or state of salvation. The promise of the kingdom of God is assumed. It must be inspirational, aspirational and uplifting to those who are burdened by poverty, oppression and marginalization. It gives them impetus to lift their heads enough to imagine or see something better, engendering a spark of hope. This is good news that counters the good news of the Emperor.
Jesus is powerfully and craftily undermining the Roman Empire, its supposed power and its values and his words speak to us as we contemplate our own country’s political and economic conditions. Jesus is ready to take on the Roman Empire. To replace the “good news” of the Emperor with the Good News of the kingdom of God. In the Sermon on the Plain Jesus is confronting the dehumanization wreaked by the Roman Empire with the Good News of a God that is radically different. His goal of justice is to rescue and restore humanity to humans. This sermon within this gospel gives a window on how the kingdom takes shape. And this is true today, that God’s power still stands in opposition to any and all powers of not of the Kingdom.
For the Unity of the Church
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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