Sermon - Epiphany 6, Year C, 2025 - Luke 6:17-26

The Sermon on the Mount, Cosimo Rosselli, 1481

Blessed are you who trust in the Lord

1. Abundance in this life often leads us to love this life and ignore greater comforts

2. Sorrow in this life directs us towards greater comforts

3. We are not blessed because of our sorrows, but because of our faith in Christ

“Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are full now. Woe to you who laugh. Woe to you when all people speak well of you.” Those are difficult words to hear! We like to hear the beatitudes and that God is blessing us, but the woes are challenging, especially these, because we identify with them so concretely. We live in a land and an age of abundance. Some of you probably consider yourselves rich, others of you probably wouldn’t, but even if you’re not rich your level of poverty is pretty manageable, since none of us are starving to death or naked. 

But does this mean that rich, full, laughing people can’t go to heaven? No it doesn’t! The Bible is full of rich Christians. The Old Testament Patriarchs were rich. David was a king. Solomon was insanely wealthy. The Apostles in the New Testament were bankrolled by wealthy individuals to fund the ministry. So what’s the problem with being rich, full, and laughing?

Abundance in this life often leads us to love this life and ignore the greater comforts which only the Lord can give. Jeremiah teaches us that “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord…. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.” When all is going well in life it leads us to trust in man, to trust in the riches of this life, instead of in the Lord. 

This is a pretty common trouble that Jesus confronts during His earthly ministry. We have for example the rich young man whom Jesus instructed to forsake his earthly treasures and follow Jesus, at which the rich young man went away despondent. We have the parable of the rich farmer who built larger barns to store his wealth and thought he had everything because he had riches, and yet that very night his soul was required of him. Or on the positive side of things we see men like Zacheus who gave away much of his wealth to follow Jesus, or Joseph of Arimathea who gave Jesus his tomb. Earthly wealth is often a temptation in which our hope remains firmly embedded in this life and not in the one to come. Like St. Paul concludes: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 

So what does this look like very practically in our lives? Jesus teaches us these woes in order to warn us against falling away from the faith, so what is Jesus warning us against in our lives now? Cursed is the man who makes flesh his strength. Who are you trusting in to resolve life’s troubles? Is it Trump or Elon with their work at DOGE? Perhaps it’s someone else who might unseat Trump? Perhaps it’s your own hands and strength that you trust in to provide all good things for your household? Maybe it’s the right pastor at church who will resolve our churchly woes and bring back our glory days?

Woe to you who are rich. What are those riches in your life that you’re trusting in? Is it the retirement account, investments, or properties? Could you imagine losing your house, or your family? 

Woe to you who are full now. It’s good not to be starving, but you’re never hungry because you’re always full, and is that full belly dulling your hunger for the Lord? 

Woe to you who laugh now. Are you so entertained with the humor of this world, that the divine mysteries of God are boring to you? Do you scroll mindlessly on the internet? Watch countless hours of television or other sports? Do you find hours every week to be entertained, but find picking up the Bible to be a chore and saying prayers for 90 seconds to be unbearable?

Woe to you when all people speak well of you. Do you value the opinions of men more than the judgments of God? Do you keep your faith to yourself, and even repress your faith, for the sake of friends or a job? Do you say nothing of Christ to your relatives, your kids and grandkids, in order to keep the peace and have a nice meal, to the detriment of everyone’s souls? Of course you should be tactful, but do you use tact as an excuse to never say what needs to be said?

So long as we’re rich, full, laughing, and surrounded by friends we become content with these worldly treasures and dismissive of heavenly treasures. We end up making decisions based solely on maintaining our earthly life, to the extent that we end up losing our eternal life. Indeed, woe to us when we trust in this life against Christ!

But blessed are you who trust in the Lord! Sorrow in this life often directs us towards greater comforts in the Lord. The Christian who suffers in this life comes to realize the impacts of sin on this world and on him or herself, and so desires a life better than can be found here. This is how we understand crosses and trials in life, and my suffering is not necessarily the result of my specific sins, but the Lord sends me sorrows in order to dissuade me from loving this world.

Blessed are you who are poor. When you have no earthly treasures, or they’ve been taken away from you, you come to desire an eternal treasure which cannot be stolen from you by man or decay. You have a treasure, an eternal kingdom, which is yours in Christ Jesus, and this treasure is better than any could find on earth. 

Blessed are you who are hungry now. You have been invited to the heavenly wedding feast, to dine at the banquet table of God, where you shall be filled and never lacking. This hunger drives you to the Lord’s Supper in anticipation of the complete and fulfilled meal in the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who weep now. The enticing entertainment of this life is dull and boring in comparison to an eternity of laughter in the house of God. Weeping may tarry for the night, but these tears will be wiped away by the Lord Himself when the angels carry you to paradise, and tears are no more.

Blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, revile you, and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Friendship with God is far better than the constant politics one must play to be friends with man. Through baptism you have more than friendship, but you are a child of the heavenly Father and Jesus is your Brother, and you are an heir of His kingdom. You who are lonely now on account of your faithfulness to Christ, shall rejoice and leap for joy for your reward is great in heaven! 

The Lord Jesus Christ gives you these beatitudes not so that you may desire to be poor, hungry, weeping, and friendless, but in order to comfort you who find yourselves in such miserable circumstances. You are not blessed because of your sorrows, but you are blessed in spite of your sorrows on account of what Christ has won for you through His sorrows. He suffered all of His afflictions leading up to the cross and while hanging on the cross, in order that He may atone for your sins which cause you sorrow, and give you a kingdom in which to rejoice.

It’s a Satanic lie that only good things happen to good people, and that if you’re a true Christian you will be happy, healthy, and wealthy; and if you’re suffering or depressed then you must not be a real Christian or God must hate you. Take heart, your salvation or the strength of your faith is not a matter of worldly wealth and happiness. In fact, Christians often suffer demonic oppression because the devil hates you and wants you to despair of Christ and lose your soul to hell. Take courage and be of good cheer, you are blessed by God! Yours is the kingdom of God! You shall be satisfied! You shall laugh! You shall rejoice and have joy for your reward is great in heaven! Though every trial may rise to greet you, Christ has defeated them all and risen, and so will you.