I’ve Got Good News and Bad News

This is the sermon preached by the Rev. Candasu Vernon Cubbage on February 16, 2025. It is based on Luke 6:17-26.

Have you ever heard someone give a Bible lesson that changed not only the way you understood that passage, but also changed the way you understood your faith? That happened to me once.

33 years ago I was at a Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference in Washington, D.C. The main speaker was Father Elias Chacour, who is a Palestinian Christian Priest. In his talk, Father Chacour brought up the meaning of the phrase “Blessed are you”.

He explained that in Aramaic, the common language that the people spoke 2000 years ago, “Blessed are you” means “You are on the right path. You are following the way in which God is leading you.”

Blessed is not really about receiving special favors from God. It is about living the way God wants us to live together. It is all about loving God and loving your neighbor. And Jesus reminded us that our neighbor is anyone who is in need, regardless of who they are, or what they look like, or what language they speak, or how they worship.

The right path is all about living in Shalom.

I know I bring up Shalom nearly every time I preach, but to me Shalom is essential. Shalom is health, wholeness, justice, and being connected to everyone else so that we all have what we need to thrive. This is the Kingdom of God, folks. We are blessed when we live in the Kingdom of God in Shalom.

The Kingdom of God isn’t a place, it is living in relationships. One person can’t live in the Kingdom of God by themself.

The verses in the Bible which begin with “Blessed are they” are called “Beatitudes”. For example, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” and that means that those who live in the Kingdom of God will be comforted when they mourn. They will still mourn, but they will be comforted.

The Beatitude about comfort for those who mourn is from The Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus was speaking from an elevated place like a mountain or large hill to a group of followers who were looking up to him.

Today’s reading from Luke 6 also includes Beatitudes, but it is called The Sermon on the Plain because Jesus came down from the mountain and spoke to the followers standing on the same as they did. He was looking straight at the people, not looking down on them.

Jesus began to speak to them saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” In other words, you who are poor are on the right track. You are on God’s path because you are living in the Kingdom of God.

When you are poor, the best way to survive is to look out for each other, care for each other, and share what you have.

Jesus continued, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” When you are hungry for food or justice or wholeness , you will be filled in the Kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” When you are living in Shalom, you may be weeping now, but you will laugh again.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”

In other words, when you are living in Shalom and people outside of the Kingdom of God hate you, shut you out, insult you, and slander you, you should jump for joy for you are already living in the Kingdom where you have what you need. And remember that when the prophets warned the people not living in the Kingdom of God that they were not doing what was right in the sight of God and they needed to change, those people hated the prophets and insulted them and called them liars.

The title of the sermon this morning is “I’ve Got Good News and Bad News” and the Beatitudes are the good news. But Jesus had more news that was not so good. He also said to them, “But woe to you…”

“Woe” is a Greek word pronounced, “Whoa!” It has two meanings, “stop and listen” and “uh oh, you’re not going to like this”.

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” [stop] If you are rich, that’s all you get and your money will not help you in every situation.

“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.” [stop] If you have eaten all you can now, there’s not going to be more later when you’re hungry again.

“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.” [stop] You might be laughing now, but there will be no one around to comfort you when grief and sadness show up.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” [stop] If “everybody” says nice things about how great you are, remember that they said nice things to those who predicted whatever it was they wanted to hear. Uh oh.

When Jesus warns the crowds about the woes, he is saying that your life might seem good right now, but everyone’s life has ups and downs. It’s important to live in shalom every day, no matter what is happening in your own life, or in the lives of those around you.

Jesus calls us all to continue to live in wholeness, completeness, health, justice, peace, no matter what, and when we have bad times there will be people surrounding us to help and comfort us.

But how can we live in Shalom when the world is full of brokenness, evil, hate, loss, poverty, and all kinds of sickness? What can we do about the whole world?

I don’t know what to do about a lot of things. I can’t comfort every person in the world. I can’t pay everyone’s bills. I can’t fix everything that is broken, at least not by myself.

But I can do something. I can listen. So many people don’t have anyone that will listen to them.

I can smile at someone. A smile can make a difference in someone’s day and that’s a lot.

We can bring them soup. Okay, we know that we are starting to be known as that couple who brings soup to all the potlucks. But making soup is something we know how to do.

Every small thing we do makes a difference, and together we can do much more.

I am not THE person of God, and neither are you. Together, we are the people of God. We are the family of God.

I don’t think any of us have a master plan for how to change the world into what we want it to be. But what we can do is the next right thing.

Maybe the next right thing is to take soup to someone.

Maybe the next right thing is to put $2 more into the offering plate or give it to a local charity.

Maybe the next right thing is to sign a letter or a petition or call someone or write them a note.

Maybe the next right thing is to show up at the city council meeting and speak about our concerns or ideas.

Maybe the next right thing is to come to a meeting of the Session of this congregation and speak or even just listen - or better yet, agree to be on a committee.

Every next right thing is a step in building the Kingdom of God. And every next right thing is an act of resistance.

I want to share a poem by Loren Brantz with you:

In a time of hate, love is an act of resistance.

In a time of fear, faith is an act of resistance.

In a time of misinformation, education is an act of resistance.

In a time of poor leadership, community is an act of resistance.

In a time like this, Joy is an act of resistance.

Resist.

Resist.

Resist.

Resistance is hard. And resistance doesn’t really get easier, but with every act of resistance, we get stronger.

Together we can resist. Together we can live in shalom. Together we are the family of God.

In 1976 Jon Byron wrote a song called, “We Are the Family of God” and the chorus is:

We are the family of God,

yes, we are the family of God,

and he’s brought us together to be one in him

That we might bring light to the world.

AMEN.