Text:  Luke 6:17-26

Welcome to World Communion Sunday.  My thanks to Susan Thomas and Jan Robitaille for decorating the chancel with some global artifacts and to Suzan and Timothy Seery for providing our breads from around the world, to be served to you, on, in about 15 minutes.  But first, we've got to talk.  Or at least one of us.

Our scripture lesson for this special and celebrative Sunday is Luke's version of the beatitudes.  You are more familiar with Matthew's version, which is delivered to the crowds up on a hillside, and are forever after the opening verses of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  Some of you have even stood in the chapel said to be built upon the sight. It is lovely, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

In Luke the setting is different.  It reads, as you have already heard read, "Jesus came down from the hill with his disciples and stood at a level place."  Why we choose to translate the Greek as "a level place" rather than a plain is beyond me.  Somehow the Sermon on the Level Place pales in comparison to the Sermon on the Mount, but this is what we have in Luke. 

Let's at least refer to the level place as a plain, so that we have the Sermon on the Plain, as scholars do, and which begins, as in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, with Luke's version of the beatitudes.  Not only is the place different, but Luke's version varies as well.  Luke only has one-half the beatitudes, four verses eight.  Which is probably just as well, for Jesus' beatitudes in Luke are more demanding than Matthew's beatitudes.  For instance, Matthew says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."  Luke says "Blessed are the poor."  Matthew says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness."  Luke says, "Blessed are those who are hungry now."

There is a big difference.  In Jesus' biblical times there are a lot more folks who are poor period, than who are poor in spirit.  Everybody went to synagogue then.  Making the poor happy was a lot bigger chore than making the few who were poor in spirit happy.  Feeding those who hunger is a much greater ministry than feeding those who hunger for righteousness.  I mean, how many people are wandering around hungering for righteousness.  I can tell you it is not as great as the number who hunger for nutrition.  Not that the poor in spirit and those who hunger for righteousness should be ignored, but even if you tried, it would be a whole lot harder to ignore the poor period and those who are outright hungry for then, as now, their number was great.

But there is more.  Matthew lists the beatitudes, which are beautiful, "blessed are the poor in spirit?those who mourn?the meek?the merciful?the peacemakers?"  (5:3-7), then he stops and goes on to other topics, like you are the "salt of the earth" and the "light to the world?"  In harsh contrast, Luke lists his four Beatitudes or blessings then he counter parts with four "woes" or curses.

         "Woe to you who are rich."

         "Woe to you who are full now."

         "Woe to you who laugh now."

         "Woe to you when all speak well of you."

You can hear, Luke's Sermon on the Plain is more challenging.  We usually preach Matthew's loftier Sermon on the Mount.  This morning let's look at Luke's "plain talk."

First, let's set it in the context of Luke's Gospel.  The sermon, as it appears here in the sixth chapter, is the beginning of Jesus' teaching ministry in Luke.  Up to this point, he really has not taught much.  We've heard his first sermon in Nazareth, back in chapter four, which you might recall is not well received as his own congregation runs him out of town, giving us the quote, "prophets are not without honor except in their own home town."

Since then he has collected his disciples, and begun to collect large crowds through miracles and healings, a leper here, a paralyzed man there, evil spirits cast out everywhere, guaranteed to fill the pews, more so than teachings and preachings.

But now it is time to talk.  Plain talk.  Jesus comes down from the hill country with his disciples.  He comes down to the plains, to where the people are.  Luke tells us, "there were people there who had diseases," and "Jesus healed them all."  More miracles.  No wonder the people are present.  For now Jesus is at the people's level place.  Which by the way is where Jesus spends most of his ministry in Luke, with crowds on the plain, not secluded with his disciples at the mountain top retreat center.

Another observation about Luke's Gospel.  There seems to be three groups of people with whom Jesus relates. 

1)   There are the Pharisees, who are lots of fun, or at least, fun to poke fun at, which we do frequently, but we'll give them a break this morning.

2)   There are the disciples, of course.

3)   There is the crowd.

And I guess I should add a fourth group, the Gentiles, who are big in Luke, but, then, Luke is a Gentile himself, and his Gospel the most inclusive of all.

Jesus heals the crowd, as well as the Gentiles.  He does not ask anything of them.  Frequently addressing the disadvantaged and disenfranchised of his society, Jesus sees their needs and out of compassion he heals them.  Then they go away, nameless, faceless, we never hear of them again.  They are the suffering of the world, and God comforts them through God's son.  It's a nice touch.  Jesus does not heal the disciples.  Nor does he particularly comfort them.  More to the point, Jesus prods them and challenges them.  They do not hang out as a Hardee's coffee bunch.  More they are a raggedy remnant, following Jesus, with a cross to bear and no place to lie their heads.

When we read the gospels, though there are times in each of our lives where we need to mix in with the crowds, and soak up the Lord's blessings, we, the churched, are to identify with the disciples.

Jesus is forever turning aside from his healing of the crowds and from his debates with the Pharisees, and speaking to the disciples, trying to teach them, shape them, make them, so they might continue his ministry in his absence.  Right?  This is the church.  As we are disciples.  Luke says, when Jesus finished healing the crowds, he turned to his disciples and said,

         "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God."

         "Blessed are those who hunger now, for they shall be filled."        

         "Blessed are those who weep, for one day they will laugh."

         "Blessed are those who are reviled for my sake, for one day they will rejoice."

Do you see what Jesus is doing?  He comes down to the plain, where the people are, and demonstrates what God's will for the world is.  In God's Kingdom there is to be no poor, no hungry, no weeping or bereaved, or persecuted.  One day this will be so.  But until then, Christ identifies with the crowd, stands with them, touches them, heals them, lets them know they are God's children, even the leper and the Gentile.  And to the disciples Jesus says, here is your work.

Jesus brings the disciples down from the mountain top, to the plains of life, and makes it plain to them that following Christ is not a mountain top experience but a down to earth life of service in the plains and valleys of the world.  The disciples can retreat to the mountains from time to time.  In fact, Jesus insists upon it.  It is there Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, "Thy will be done."  Then he takes them down the mountains to the plains and says, "Now do it!  This is where we practice our faith!"

It's in the Book.  It's all over the Book.  Christians are to serve the poor and those in need.  We are the disciples, called not to be comfortable, but to be Christ-like.  This means we cannot store up wealth for ourselves, while there are others who have nothing.  We cannot daily dine sumptuously, and not be concerned for those who have no food to eat.  We cannot laugh and carry on, and not care for people in this world, especially children, who never smile.

I'm not trying to make you miserable this World Communion Sunday, but as Christians we are called to be advocates for the poor, spokespersons for the disadvantaged and discriminated, and servants of those in need.  We are to use our wealth and influence to make sure they are not forgotten.  To encourage and invite them into a Christian community.  To make our circle as inclusive as possible. 

So today we take our Neighbors-In-Need offering, that as a wider church we might minister throughout our nation to person in need.  Pick up some Fair Trade Coffee as well.  That helps, too.

A week ago Friday several of you served lunch at St. Ann's kitchen, providing not only provisions but fellowship.  The Sunday before we took our "Emergency Fund" offering to assist Opportunities Inc. in assisting our marginalized.  We will skip our own FISH offering this morning in lieu of Neighbors-In-Need, but next month two dozen of you will people our pantry as we provide food to the hungry with our ecumenical partners.  With the turn of the weather we will soon celebrate Blanket Sunday, where we work with St. Vincent de Paul to keep the homeless warm through the winter, and then on to our Thanksgiving baskets, angel trees and bell ringing with the Salvation Army, which make the holidays holy.

What we do is wonderful.  The church at work.  If it doesn't make you feel good, you better come in for a spiritual checkup.  We'll either send you up the mountain top or sit you down in one of our several Bible studies.

Albert Schweitzer used to say there are two kinds of people in the world.  There are the helpers and there are the non-helpers.  I think Jesus put this in "plain talk."  If we are Jesus' disciples, we are helpers and servants of those in need.  By the power and grace of God through Christ.  So be it! 

AMEN.