If You’re Happy and You Know It
(Luke 6: 17-26)
Many of you, like me, grew up in church and as a small child learned what I guess we can call Children’s Praise Songs. When Teresa and I went to her home church in Coldspring, Texas, I left my Sunday School Class to help her and a few of the other ladies in the nursery which seemed strange to some that there was a man in the nursery, but the kids gravitated to me. Anyway, before the kids went to their classes we’d gather at the piano and sing some of those songs the kids liked such as This Little Light of Mine, We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, I’ve Got Peace Like a River, and If You’re Happy and You Know It. And when I was at Trinity in Port Townsend, I would open the service with a children’s message followed by a song or two that we would teach to the adults. You could always pick out the ones who learned them as a child because they sang the loudest. They were happy and you knew it.
And it’s being happy and knowing it that Luke is writing about in our scripture reading for today. Even two thousand years ago people, like us, lived in a world where wealth and prosperity were presumed to indicate divine favor, but Luke records the words of Jesus that teach exactly the opposite.
Luke begins by telling us that Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a large area of level ground and that a great company of his disciples and a huge crowd of people from all around Judea and Jerusalem and the area around Tyre and Sidon joined him there. This is significant as Jesus had just called his twelve apostles whom he had chosen to extend his ministry. This was to be a teaching moment that they would carry with them as they went out into the mission field themselves. Luke tells us that those in the crowd came to hear Jesus and to be healed from their diseases, and those bothered by unclean spirits were healed. The whole crowd wanted to touch Jesus, because power was going out from him, and he was healing everyone. That had to have been quite a sight as desperate people flocked to Jesus looking for relief from their physical and mental afflictions, much like the marginalized folks we see on Saturday mornings who come to our clothes closet, food pantry, and soup kitchen looking for some temporary relief. And so it was that once word of Jesus’ healing power spread, crowds gathered just to touch him. For many, he had become a symbol of good fortune, a lucky charm, or a magician. Instead of desiring God’s pardon and love, they only wanted physical healing or a chance to see a spectacular event. I think that in a way this had to have been frustrating for Jesus as he had a much more important and meaningful message of healing and salvation to share but with some of these crowds his gatherings took on a circus-type atmosphere. But then again, we here at Community United Methodist Church do have a sense of how rewarding and enriching it is to be able to help people when they come to us for help, knowing in the back of our minds that there is so much more to offer.
But now that Jesus has their attention, he raised his eyes to his disciples and said: Happy are you who are poor, because God’s kingdom is yours. Happy are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied. Happy are you who weep now, because you will laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One. Rejoice when that happens! Leap for joy because you have a great reward in heaven. Their ancestors did the same things to the prophets. Admittedly, that had to have been a strange thing to hear for people who were struggling to get by, people who were marginalized, people who didn’t matter to the elite of society because they had nothing to offer. These verses are called the Beatitudes, from the Latin word meaning blessing, and they were a common theme in many of Jesus’ preachings. We’re mostly familiar with the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, but this was just another time when he stressed these principles that describe what it means to be a follower of the way of Jesus Christ, giving standards of conduct, and contrasting kingdom values with worldly values, that show what Christ’s followers can expect from the world and what God gives them.
So, substitute happy with blessed which refers to the special joy and favor that comes upon those who experience God’s grace. Jesus is telling his poor listeners that they are blessed in God’s eyes because the kingdom is theirs. They are blessed now if they are hungry because one day they will be satisfied, and their weeping now is a blessing because one day they will laugh with inexpressible joy, and it might not seem like it now, but being hated by others because of our following of the teachings of Jesus Christ is a blessing because of the great reward we will receive when we get to heaven. This had to have been a tough message to hear for those elites in the crowd, those in power, those who controlled the purse strings. They believed that they were blessed by God because of their wealth and status and that they weren’t like those other people whom God seemed to have forgotten. It’s at this point that Jesus speaks out telling those listening that if they are trying to find fulfillment only through riches, that wealth may be the only reward they will ever get, and it does not last. He says: But how terrible for you who are rich, because you have already received your comfort. How terrible for you who have plenty now, because you will be hungry. How terrible for you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep. How terrible for you when all speak well of you. Their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.
Ouch! That had to have been hard to hear. I think that Jesus realized even back two thousand years ago that the reason many, and not all, rich people have money is that they don’t spend it or give it away freely, if at all. They’ve figured out ways to have other people spend their money. They avoid either paying taxes all together or have smart accountants looking for loopholes and ways to find tax deductions. They take care of those in power who control the purse strings so that they won’t be dinged at the end of the year.
Oh, oh! There he goes again; poor old Scott is going woke! Maybe so, but what does our new United Methodist Book of Discipline say about what Jesus is teaching? In our Social Principles, the Economic Community, under the heading of Poverty and Income Inequality it says: As United Methodists, we follow in the footsteps of our founder, John Wesley, who sought to improve the lives of those who suffered from debilitating conditions such as poverty, starvation, illiteracy, imprisonment, slavery, addictions, and disease. We decry the widening gap between the rich and the poor and the concentration of wealth in the hands of ever smaller percentages of the global population. We lament that too many of the world’s people lack the basic resources necessary for survival and pledge ourselves to work toward the eradication of the roots and effects of poverty. That’s a pretty bold statement, and goes on to say that we, as United Methodists, reject religious teachings that view the accumulation of wealth as a sign of God’s favor and poverty as a sign of God’s disfavor. That’s called the prosperity gospel which is actively preached by many evangelicals as a way of making themselves feel better about themselves and serving as an excuse for not loving their neighbor as themselves. You know, God helps those who help themselves. It continues by stating: We confess that we have not always heeded the words of Jesus, who preached good news to people living in poverty, taught that they were not far from God’s coming reign, and challenged the rich young man to give up all that he had to follow him. The Discipline closes out this section by stating: We commit ourselves to be in active ministry with impoverished communities by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and by supporting their efforts to secure equal opportunities and meet human needs, including food, water, health care, and education. We reject preferential treatment in the church on the basis of wealth and income. We also commit to work toward eradicating unjust practices, policies, and systems that have condemned entire generations to live in unrelenting poverty. That, my friends, is how we bless the poor, those who hunger, those who weep, and those who are hated because of their love for Jesus Christ and his teachings of diversity, equality, and inclusion.
In closing, these four blessings and four woes here reflect a divine value system in which the privileged no longer exploit their privileges for their own benefit but instead share their privileges with those without privilege; and in which those without privilege become blessed. Identifying with Jesus usually leads to rejection and hardship, but the disciple who has left all to follow Jesus understands what placing Jesus first means. So, if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, stomp your feet. If you’re happy and you know it, say: Amen! If you’re happy and you know it, do all three!
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving Father, make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring your love. Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, and where there’s doubt, true faith in you. Yes Lord, awaken us so that we may be a blessing to those who need to feel the warmth of your love so that they may feel blest. WE pray that we unselfishly share in our abundance with those who are poor, who are hungry, who are without. We pray that we are compassionate and weep with those who weep and that we bring them compassion and comfort. And we pray that we defend and stand up for those who are hated by others because of you. We pray that we are the ones moved to console, understand, and love with all our souls. This we pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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So, substitute happy with blessed which refers to the special joy and favor that comes upon those who experience God’s grace.