Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place
Luke’s ‘Sermon on the Plain’ is often perceived to be more challenging than Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. His more ‘edgy’ Beatitudes and Woes (Gospel) show a Jesus truly in touch with the plight of the downtrodden, the poor, the forgotten. Not only that, but Jesus is determined that such people don’t see society’s judgment of them as saying something about the judgement of God. Despite even the direst circumstances of their lives, they are not outside God’s grace.
Jesus knew, as we do today, that not everyone who places their trust in God prospers in all that they do (Psalm). He also saw that the way of the wicked, far from leading to doom, was sometimes very profitable.
But Jesus did want to challenge the commonly held perception of Jeremiah (First Reading), who preached that the cursed are those who have turned from God, whilst those who trust in God are always blessed and fruitful.
St Paul (Second Reading) says that the scandalous image of Christ crucified, cursed and parched, never ceased to be the image of the fulness of God’s grace. Christ was vindicated in his resurrection, by which the fruitfulness of redemption is made accessible for all.
As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee year, let’s pray during the coming week that, like our Saviour, we might also be bearers of hope for those who feel lost through poverty, through grief, or because of rejection in its many forms.
