By the Rev’d Hilary Willett

Season: The Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings: Jer 17:5-10 | 1 Cor 15:12-20 | Luke 6:17-26

9:30am: This morning, I would like to start a little differently. We are going to watch a small clip of a TV series called “The Chosen.” Has anyone seen it?

The clip I have chosen covers some of the content that our gospel reading covered, namely the “Beatitudes.” In it, Jesus dictates the beatitudes to one of his disciples. I would like us to watch this clip together, and then I’m going to ask a couple of questions for you all to reflect on.

“The Chosen” is one of the latest film productions covering the life of Jesus, this came out in 2021. It is a drama series and is freely available online if you want to watch it. In all honesty, I haven’t seen the whole thing yet… it’s on the list. But I do find this little clip interesting. It’s quite a different portrayal of the beatitudes than I think of when I read the gospel accounts. There are a couple of different gospel accounts, by the way; one version is in Matthew, the other is in Luke, and they don’t entirely match up. The clip we just saw was Matthew’s account of the beatitudes. But our reading was the Luke version. Does anyone know the difference between them?

The difference between the Lukan and Matthean accounts is that Matthew focuses exclusively on blessings. They are a little unusual in what they bless, certainly, blessing persecution and so on. But Luke goes a step further and declares “woes” as well.

Woe to the rich.

Woe to those well-fed.

Woe to those who laugh.

Woe to those who are well-liked.

Whew. Intense. Luke is a wee bit radical, I reckon. I wonder why I’ve never seen that in a film about Jesus. Pushes rather hard on the temptation of our age, doesn’t it? Greed. Otherwise known today as endless consumption. Consumption of power, privilege, money, the resources of the earth, attention, the endless desire to be liked and approved of and admired. Or perhaps we become greedy for the status quo, where we aren’t challenged into new ways of thinking and being, choosing instead safety, familiarity, and a sense of control.

If I’m being honest, I’m not really that surprised that the “woes” don’t often make it into modern films about Jesus. They are deeply uncomfortable. And they would have been uncomfortable at the time, too. Imagine if you had been Pilate or Herod, listening to those words. Woe to you, rich kings of the earth and professional politicians, because you have already received all the comfort you will get. This Jesus we serve is pretty radical. Imagine if a leader said that today, “Woe to the rich.” I doubt they’d get very far. In fact, they’d probably be crucified.

This is not really the sermon I wanted to preach today. Andrew finished last week, and I wanted to preach a gentle sermon about God being with us in all things. I imagine a few of us are feeling nervous. Transition is hard, and there’s a lot to do between now and a new vicar. We need to reflect on who we are as a community and who we want to be. Archdeacon Michael Berry will be here in a few weeks to help us reflect on these questions. But let’s be real, in the midst of that, we will also need to grieve. Andrew’s departure marks the end of a season in more ways than one. There are significant financial pressures now facing All Saints. Some of our ministries are proving difficult to sustain. There is no doubt that change is coming, and that level of uncertainty might be alarming for some.

But as I was reading the beatitudes this week, the thing that struck me as the far bigger concern is that in response to our fears and uncertainties, we hollow out the gospel message and attempt to fix things by clinging to power and money and the status quo. By resorting to familiar management strategies that the world uses to get ahead, by focusing on things that the world focuses on, so that we may be fed now and laugh now. But the far harder thing, in the midst of uncertainty and change, is to believe in a hallowed gospel. One that rightly sets our focus on the suffering in this world and calls us to walk alongside it. To call out the kings and politicians of this world who declare themselves almighty, and scorn the plight of the vulnerable. To do so at the expense of our wealth, our buildings, our privilege and position, not to maintain it.

I want to be clear here: I’m not saying that stability and some financial security is a bad thing. Being wise with our resources is a beautiful thing. What I am also not saying is that it is somehow an admirable thing to be desperate, without shelter or safety. It is not somehow more godly to suffer.

What I am saying is that power, and money, and remaining as we were, cannot be our focus. These things will not fix our problems they will only ensure we have our comfort now. Because actually, our problems are greater than losing finances, or numbers, or the ministries we love. The problems are out there: the young people with mental health crises, homelessness, the increasing epidemics of loneliness and hopelessness, the huge divisions that cause us to alienate those who are different to us. Those are the problems, and whether we are in a church building or praying together in a home, those problems will always be where God is directing us.

Our goal has never been to trust in the human powers of this world. Our goal is Christ. Our goal is shalom in all the earth. Whatever season we find ourselves in, the call is the same. We do not proclaim a hollow gospel, but a hallowed gospel. Blessed are the poor, Christ says, and woe to the rich.

In this time of change, transition, and testing, in this time where All Saints reflects on who we are and who we want to be, how will we respond? Will we trust in those familiar, comfortable things, the things that the world trusts in, to keep us safe? Or will we see the challenge of the beatitudes, the challenge of a hallowed gospel that calls us out and beyond into a world of blessing and woe to declare the love of God in their midst. We are moving into a new season. Who will All Saints be for the coming generations? Who will we be in response to God’s call?