Luke 6 17-26 2007
Epiphany 6
February 11, 2007
Luke 6: 17-26
“there is a way that seems right”
Introduction: Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Cigarette smoking has a long history in America. It wasn’t many years ago when it was widely accepted as a thing to do. At first it was a thing that men did together. There were smoking jackets and smoking rooms - even in the White House. As women gained more freedom it was associated with women’s suffrage. We have all heard the saying, “You've come a long way baby.” It seemed like it was the cool thing to do. John Wayne did it. James Dean did it. Back then, there was little social stigma associated with it. There wasn’t a concern over how it affected ones health. It seemed like the right thing to do. All that has changed now. Medical research strongly indicates that there are many health problems associated with smoking -- Cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. The door to the smoking room in the White House just closed in 2002. No there is a strong debate on where and when it is legal to smoke. What seemed right to do ended up being one of the ways that can lead to death.
Of course, why just pick on smokers. All of us eat food. Years ago we ate so we had the strength to work, to live. Now, at least in the United States, most of us live to eat. We are getting fatter and fatter, we are becoming a nation of obese people. We’ll we have to eat don’t we? What seems right to do, even satisfying to do, in one of the ways that can lead to death.
Why pick on eaters? How about money. We all need it don’t we? We have to pay the bills. A little bit more couldn’t hurt could it? Maybe we could afford just a few more nice things. But often this leads to obsession. Money, and finances and the conflict about these is often a major contributing factor in divorce. What about to much money…perhaps we might consider Anna Nicole Simpson…seemed like she had it all…but it ends up that she doesn’t have anything.
I. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. .
A. In the today’s gospel lesson Jesus teaches His disciples about who is blessed and who is cursed. He teaches His disciples that what seems right for many people is actually the way that leads to death. In His sermon to them He turns the world’s expectations of blessedness upside down. Jesus says blessed are the poor. Blessed are the hungry. Blessed are those that weep. Then He says woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are filled with satisfaction. Woe to you who laugh.
Ask anyone in the world you want about what it means to be blessed. Most of the time, answers will include such things as being rich, having plenty to eat and having a good time in life. At face value these things make since. After all how happy can a person be when they’re poor, hungry or miserable. Here, Jesus is not speaking about material satisfaction. After all, God blessed many of the heroes of the faith with material riches, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, and Solomon, they were all rich. Rather Jesus is contrasting those people that focus on the things of this life, and trust in them rather than trusting in God. Jesus is speaking against people that think that they are spiritually rich, full and content with their own imagined righteousness. He is talking about people that are spiritually self-satisfied. He is speaking to those people that feel they don’t need anything, especially God as they see themselves as self sufficient. By virtue of the good things that they have accomplished, they hope and are confident that God will accept them. That He will take them into Heaven because of what they have done, because they have tried to live decent lives and may have even been very successful. This is the way that leads to death.
B. This attitude is common in the world. It is also common among us. As a pastor I have had the opportunity to talk to many people. During these conversations people often tell me why they hope God accepts them. Over and over I hear words like these -- “I hope God accepts me because - I haven’t been too bad”. “I did what I thought was right.” “I’ve tried to be good.” “I hope God lets me into Heaven, after all I’ve tried to live a good life and tried to follow His Laws.” The bottom line is that there is a hope that God will forgive and accept a person for the sake of how they have lived and what they have done or not done. This is the way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death -- eternal death.
C. God’s Word tells us why. In our Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah tells us, “Cursed is the man who trusts in a man, and makes flesh his strength... but “blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome saying, “Therefore by the deeds of the law [the works of people] no flesh [no person] shall be justified in His sight...the just shall live by faith.” It is by faith alone in God’s Son Jesus that people are made acceptable in the sight of God.
II. There is a Way that doesn’t seem right, and yet it is.
A. Jesus describes the characteristics of those people that are blessed. They are poor, hungry and weeping. These are the characteristics of God’s people. These are the characteristics of those people that are right with God. These characteristics describe penitent sinners. The poor are impoverished in Soul with empty hands and heart. Their only treasure is Jesus. Yet in Him, by faith they posses everything...even the kingdom of God. The hungry, hunger for bread that does not perish. They yearn for the bread of life and thirst for the living waters whose fountain spring is Jesus. In Him they are truly satisfied. The weeping, weep because of their sins which sent their righteous Lord to die on the cross. Yet they will find their laughter in the celebration of His glorious resurrection. Poor, hungry, weeping all describe the person who, led by the Holy Spirit, comes to know the blessed emptiness that can be filled only by Jesus blood and righteousness. They describe the person that has come to know that there is nothing that they can do, there is no way to live, which can earn God’s blessings or His favor. It is in Jesus alone that God’s blessings are found. In Jesus is the way that does not seem to be right to the world, but it leads to life -- eternal life.
B. The apostle Peter knew the way of life. In last weeks gospel lesson Peter is confronted with His own destitute emptiness. As Jesus filled the boats with fish, as Peter heard the Lord‘s word, he falls on his knees and cries out “O Lord, depart from me I am a sinful man.” He doesn’t try to gain acceptance for himself by any merit of his own. He doesn’t say “Lord I’ve tried to live a good life”. All that he can say is that he is a miserable sinner. It is at that point that Jesus raises Peter to his feet and calls Peter to follow Him. From that time on Peter will live a life of penitence. Over and over he will fail. Over and over He will confess His sins. Over and over he will be forgiven even after he denies Jesus not once but three times.
C. We are gathered together today as the blessed people of God. We begin each service on our knees spiritually in our confession of sins, like Peter we cry out together as Peter did -- “Forgive me a poor miserable sinner.” In these words we proclaim our own spiritual emptiness. We proclaim how poor, how hungry, and how sorry we are. We have done nothing to gain any merit before the Lord. Even the good works that we do are reflections of what God has done in us. Then in the Word’s of absolution, Jesus bids us to rise up and follow Him just like Peter, knowing that the “Kingdom of God” is ours. He wants us to remember that we too are forgiven over and over for His sake. He bids us to come to His cross and believe in Him and His death and resurrection that have opened the doors of Heaven for all believers.
Conclusion: Happiness, blessedness, elude so many people. Many look for it in the wrong places. Some people never find it. Some people mistakenly think that they have found it - t here is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end leads to death. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life...he who believes in me shall never die.” Blessedness is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him God turns your poverty into riches, your hunger into satisfaction, your weeping into laughter and your suffering into a crown of glory that does not fade away. Amen!