Friday, November 10, 2000
Friday, November 10, 2000
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are
well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false
prophets."
Can't you see the banquet hall grow suddenly still with people lowering their eyes and speaking to
one another in hushed tones.
Jesus often spoke to specific situations and thus taught specific strategies to deal with those
situations. For example, the economic situation was much different in his day than ours. Many
who had obtained wealth had done it by exploiting others--some by exploiting the political
system. What was even more grievous was what wealth did to people. It caused them to turn a
blind eye to those who were not as fortunate as they. May we not turn a blind eye to those we see
in need.
(Luke 6:24
NRSV)
Sometimes the words of Jesus, taken out of context, can cause us real problems. Imagine if you
and I were sales people and we had invited Jesus to speak at our annual sales banquet. Imagine
Jesus standing up as the guest speaker, looking us over with a strange mixture of anger and
compassion, and then speaking these words:
Lord Jesus, may I use the blessings you have given to me to help others. Amen.
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