Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
This week’s rambling is an adaption from my sermon last Sunday based on Luke’s version of Jesus’ Beatitudes (Luke 6:17-26). Jesus Teaches and Heals Lord Acton was a 19th century British historian who famously penned, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This phrase helps us think about the intentions of those in power. I bring this up because just before the blessings and woes people are attempting to latch onto Jesus because “power came out of him and healed all of them.” This can bring light into Jesus’ following words commonly known as ‘The Beatitudes’. Perhaps, blessed are the poor, hungry, weeping, and hated because they seek the power of Christ for restoration. That is what Jesus promises in the blessings. What about those who belong to the woes that were grabbing for power from Christ? Perhaps, Jesus lets them know woe to the rich, full, laughing, and loved because they only seek more of what they already have. They do not seek restoration. Instead, they seek to increase their own power instead of seeking to restore those who have none. Does this mean Jesus hates all of those in power? According to Lord Acton, does this mean anyone with means is corrupt? Psychologists did a study to test if power truly corrupts everyone. What they found was that the characteristics and personality of a person became intensified the more power someone had. Both good and bad characteristics intensified. The characteristics of loving, caring, and helping intensified but so did lust, jealousy, greed, need for control, and a need to be liked. What seems to happen is that many of the negative characteristics do not get acted upon when a person has no power because they require power in the first place for those negative characteristics to take hold. For example, someone with no money may try to steal to get some, but that does not necessarily mean they are greedy. Someone who has a billion dollars and always wants more of it would be considered greedy. For the first person there is a need and the second there is a desire. To those people who have a stronger ideology towards helping the greater good than their own desires they seem to increase in their caring and helping the more power they get. So…it seems that not all people with power are corrupt. (Even Acton uses ‘tends’.) If it were true that everyone with any power in this world were corrupt we would never be able to trust anyone. Democracy would fail. Capitalism would fail. The point of all of this power talk is to recognize the only being which has Absolute PoweràGod, Almighty. If we go back to Jesus’ words of blessings and woes and insert God into the equation they begin to make sense. Who is bestowing the Kingdom of God to the poor? Who promises to fill the hungry, bring laughter to the weeping, and reward those who are hated because they believe in Jesus? God. God. God. God. Why is it woe to the rich? What is their consolation? Their consolation is their wealth, but wealth does them no good after death. The full will be starving for grace and mercy. The laughing will weep for they did not know the true joy of Christ. The loved will suddenly come to understand that God’s eternal love is way greater than that of any human. This is important to remember because we can be found in both groups of people. There are times when we truly thirst and hunger for God, but there are also times where we trust in what we have more than what God has for us. Any time you have spent money frivolously when you could have given it to someone who needed it, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Any time you have walked away from a meal absolutely stuffed even though you know there are people starving around the world, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Any time you back off from talking about Jesus’ love for you so that other people will love you more, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Even though we falter and come up short to God’s expectations Jesus came down to us. Just as he did in Luke 6:17 for the crowd he did so for the whole world. Because of that love shown to us through the cross and empty tomb the forgiveness and blessing of Jesus claims us first and foremost. We are guided to live for God and others, but for the times when we find ourselves in the “woes” of Jesus’ preaching I leave you these beatitudes: Blessed are those who sin and seek God’s forgiveness for it will be forgiven. Blessed are those who come to partake in the Body and Blood of Christ for you will receive his benefits. Blessed is the whole world for Jesus died and rose again for it. Points to Ponder:
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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