Week 1 Upside Down Kingdom Small Group

Scripture for This Week

We will invite two different voices to read this from start to finish. Having two different voices will help us connect differently to the passage and reading it through twice allows us an opportunity to get a sense of some of the nuances of the passage.

Luke 6:20–26 (NRSV)

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.

23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “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.

26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

This is perhaps the most quintessential “upside-down kingdom” passage. As one author writes,

“Together with the following woes these beatitudes make a mockery of the world’s values. They exalt what the world despises and reject what the world admires.” (TNTC)

What exactly is a “beatitude?”

In the Old Testament the authors recognized that the truly blessed (or happy) individual is one who trusts God, who hopes for and waits for Him, who fears and loves Him (Deut. 33:29; Pss. 2:12; 32:1–2; 34:8; 40:4; 84:12; 112:1). A formal beatitude was an acknowledgement of a fortunate state before God and man (Ps. 1:1; Prov. 14:21; 16:20; 29:18).

-bkc

It is the total role reversal that no one saw coming. What would it look like if we took this incredibly challenging, and incredibly convicting message, and tried to embrace it as it is? It would seem much easier to mold it to our image, or to our understanding. Jesus didn’t come that we would have comfort, but that we would be a blessing. This passage seems to condemn those that are comfortable and challenge them to something that is just a little bit deeper than comfort. The kingdom of God is not about our needs and our wants. It is not about constructing a God that conforms to OUR image. It is about conforming OURSELVES to the image of the kingdom of God.

Breaking down the scripture

The disciples approach Jesus knowing that Jesus is a healer in this passage. Jesus (canonically) has already performed healings and miracles publicly which urges the question of, if the disciples were drawing near to him there must have been something within them that they were looking for healing from.

As the passage was first read you heard about a number of categories that were in some ways opposite of each other, which one(s) of these categories stood out to you?

The disciples would have given up everything to follow Jesus they would have been “the poor” that Jesus was talking about. Which means that Jesus’ words would have been reassuring for them. However, This passage does not say:

That being poor is a blessing

That God chooses to bless one socio-economic class above another

That it is bad to be connected, or well spoken of, or to have money

It is a way of saying in the kingdom of God being popular, being well spoken of, and being wealthy are less important

This list is the list of attitudes to adopt while in the midst of persecution not a list of pre requisites. And certainly not all all people who are poor are blessed

Imagining a God that brings good news only to some is not God that is all that amazing.

When you read this passage is it good news just for the poor or could it be good news for the rich as well? If so, how so?

Jesus starts with the reminders to those that are the most oppressed saying that they have a part in the kingdom of God. That even when the systems of this world fail them time and time again, when they don’t have friends to rely on or riches to sustain them that theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

That seems like the easy passage, and comes the part that can make us uneasy and it’s about the rich

Luke 6:25a NRSV

25 “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.

What does the passage mean by “Woe”?

may encourage an attitude of self-sufficiency which is fatal to spiritual growth. Woe does not convey the exact force of Jesus’ ouai. It is more like ‘Alas’ (NEB) or ‘How terrible’ (GNB). It is an expression of regret and compassion, not a threat.

-TNTC

A contemporary way to translate this might be to say that riches are short lived. Popularity is short lived, those things that we hunger for are short lived. And if we are completely honest when we actually get them - they disappoint us because at that point we are looking forward to the next thing.

What is an example of something that you strived for but once you attained you realized it was short lived?

Building up throughout the next couple of weeks - The kingdom of God often looks so different than ours and yet we get to decide whether we are a part of the kingdom of humanity or the kingdom of God. Whether rich or poor we get to decide whether we participate in the upside down kingdom

Being blessed doesn’t mean you have to be poor it doesn’t mean you have to be rich. We serve a God that breaks through binaries like that. A kingdom that is not just for some but is for all. We get to choose to follow in the upside down kingdom

This passage speaks a bit to various areas of privilege and oppression. What are some of the ways that your own social location has shaped you?

What are you taking away from this passage today?

Action Step

Luke makes it clear that the upside down kingdom is practical and about meeting needs. There are likely a number of organizations in the area committed to meeting the concrete needs of those in our community. This week reach out to one of them and just ask how you can help them meet tangible needs in your area. And, of course, be prepared for God to lead you to respond.