One of the things I love about the diversity of parish like Hickory Neck is that I often get to see the fullness of life in just a matter of days – or even hours. Whether I am talking to a retiree dealing with new health issue, an adult dealing with rigors of parenting, or a kid dealing with the everyday challenges to their identity, the breath of life is ever before me. But these last weeks have brought a new rawness that I have not seen in a while. The philosophical arguments of an election year have birthed a new praxis that has everyone on edge – from deep divides about economic and ethical policies, to the questions of how we bound we are to care for our neighbors, to whole livelihoods and vocations coming into question. We are swimming in a sea of defensiveness, of vulnerability, of righteous indignation – no matter where you find yourself on the political spectrum.
Into that volatile atmosphere, we get some scripture today that cuts to the bone and leaves all of us standing vulnerably before God who is calling us to task. The bite starts in Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain in Luke’s gospel. The blessings alone should bring us up short: blessed are you who are poor (not poor in Spirit like Matthew says, but the literal poor), who are hungry, who weep, who are reviled. Jesus’ blessings should be enough to bring us up short about how we are treating the poor, hungry, and oppressed. But Jesus does not stop there. Then he begins with the “woes.” The word “woe” in Greek is translated literally as “woe” – like the sound woe makes as woe comes out of your mouth – like a sigh of “oh man!” As New Testament scholar Matt Skinner says, that sound is not necessarily a sign of disappointment, but as if Jesus is explaining, “Your vision is so small, so limited,” like Jesus is just giving a “deep sigh.”[i] And all of this blessing and woe would be hard enough in normal times, but the truth is, as many of our own find ourselves in economic insecurity – whether layoffs are coming, or social security may be cut, or loan payments may increase – we’re not even sure which category we are in anymore.
In looking at Luke’s Gospel, professor Mary Hinkle Shore explains, “The difficulty in…this text in a 21st-century American, mainline Christian context is that most of us who will hear this word are not inclined to trust it… We aim to be rich, full, laughing, and respected. Hearing the beatitudes from Jesus, we may be tempted to think, ‘I’ll take my chances with the status quo.’ This reaction may be why Jesus adds woes here after his blessings. No matter how hopeful his words are, some in the crowd have placed their trust elsewhere, and the choices they have made are working for them. For these, the woes are not curses, but warnings. It is as if Jesus said, ‘Certain things are worthy of your trust, and other things are sure to betray it.’ When those objects of misplaced loyalty do betray your trust—Lord, have mercy.”[ii]
I think that is why the designers of the lectionary chose Jermiah today. Jeremiah features blessings and curses too. But these blessings and curses are almost harder because they are not about economic categories but about our very relationship with God. Jeremiah pronounces in the text today, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” In contrast, Jeremiah goes on to say, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.” All of holy scripture seems to be pushing us to deeply examine where we are putting our trust these days.
As many of you know I have been working the last few months on a charity event to raise money for two amazing non-profits in our community – a little event called Dancing with the Williamsburg Stars. I thought the dance lessons would be fun, and as someone who has danced in the past, I thought I would have a somewhat easier go of things. And I loved the idea of representing Hickory Neck in such a fun-loving way. But here’s the funny thing about ballroom dancing – dancing with a partner requires a level of trust I never experienced when dancing in an ensemble. A few weeks ago, we were practicing a move where I basically lean backwards, held up by my partner. I thought I was doing a great job until we watched video replays. I was barely dipping my head back at all. My partner had to show me where his arms were placed to catch me and how little I was leaning into them. Then just this week, we were working on another move were I basically fall forward with an extended arm behind me. My partner explained that if I try to catch myself in the fall, I will make him fall. I must trust that his hold is steady enough that I won’t slam face-forward to the ground. And then, just to show me how I still wasn’t fully trusting him, he showed me how even in the turn out from that fall, I was muscling my arm to get up, instead of trusting him to pull me up.
We are in intricate dance with God right now. We are vulnerable, on stage, and not at all in control. Our natural inclination is going to be to muscle our way through, to fight for some modicum of control, to determine what we want (to be rich, full, laughing, and respected) and trusting that that fullness is the ultimate end game. Into that battle of wills, Jesus sighs a big “woe.” As we stare out into the audience of that dance, I love what Debie Thomas sees in this text. When thinking about her relationship with trust and God, Thomas confesses, “I might begin by admitting that Jesus is right. I might come clean about the fact that most of the time, I am not desperate for God. I am not keenly aware of God’s active, daily intervention in my life. I am not on my knees with need, ache, sorrow, longing, gratitude, or love. After all, why would I be? I have plenty to eat. I live in a comfortable home. My family is safe. I’m not in dire need of anything. In short, there isn’t much in my circumstances that leads me to a sense of urgency about ultimate things. I can go for days without talking to God…Most of the time, it just plain doesn’t occur to me that I would be lost — utterly and wholly lost — without the grace that sustains me.”
Thomas goes on to conclude, “I think what Jesus is saying in this Gospel is that I have something to learn about discipleship that my life circumstances will not teach me. Something to grasp about the beauty, glory, and freedom of the Christian life that I will never grasp until God becomes my everything, my all, my starting place, and my ending place.”[iii] In other words, until I let God take the lead, and actually follow, my dance through this life is going to echo the woe’s I have been sighing for the last several weeks. Blessing comes in placing trust not in earthly things or earthly policies, but in the Lord. Then, as Jeremiah reminds us, we will be like trees planted by water, roots going down by the stream, and leaves that stay green, not ceasing to bear fruit. When we are so rooted, growing, and producing, then we can share our fruit, our shade, our refreshment. God needs us so rooted so that we can stop sighing woes and start being blessings. Amen.
[i] Matt Skinner, “Sermon Brainwave Podcast: #1008: Sixth Sunday after Epiphany (C) – Feb. 16, 2025,” February 6, 2025, as found at https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/1008-sixth-sunday-after-epiphany-c-feb-16-2025 on February 12, 2025.
[ii] Mary Hinkle Shore, “Commentary on Luke 6:17-26,” February 16, 2025, as found at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/sixth-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-luke-617-26-3 on February 14, 2025.
[iii] Debie Thomas, “Leveled,” February 6, 2022, as found at https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/3319-leveled on February 14, 2025.
Seeking and Serving 