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Home , Luke 16, Parable of the Rich Fool

SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (C) :17, 20-26

Our scripture passage for this Sunday comes from the of Luke 6:17, 20-26. This text contains the Lucan version of the . It is significant that in Luke's Gospel gives these Beatitudes on the Plain rather than the mountain (as in Matthew's Gospel). The plain is where life is lived and so Luke is telling us that these are to practical instructions for everyday life. These Beatitudes present a direct challenge to disciples of all times because of their blunt and radical demands. Although people are generally more familiar with the Beatitudes as they are presented in Matthew's Gospel, Luke's version possesses a starkness that pre• vents them from being spiritualized or reduced to mere platitudes. Let's look at these principles for discipleship and see how they are meant to guide and sustain the lives of Christians. Our study will focus on each blessing and the associated woe corresponding to it. "Blessed are you who are poor/ Woe to you who are rich"• Luke's Gospel is often referred to as the "Gospel of the Poor" because he has more teachings on the right use of material possessions and care for the less fortunate than any other gospel. The term "poor" can mean those who are marginalized and throughout the Old Testament there are various verses that identify God as the protector of the poor. It is not that God delights in people's pov• erty but that God does care for those whom society does not care for. Thus, God's preferential love for the poor is a statement of the Lord's mercy and compassion rather than a statement of poverty in itself. In :22 Jesus will issue a challenge to a would-be follower to sell all he has, give to the poor and then follow Him; this is a challenge to use wealth in a way that manifests a true trusting dependence on God. The consolation of the poor is the reign of God's Kingdom in their lives (cf. Lk 2:25 and especially 16:25). The rich, on the other hand, are presented in Luke's Gospel as receiving their sense of security, value, and dignity from their wealth rather than God. In the time of Jesus, it was believed that 1 material wealth was a sign of God's favor and blessing; Jesus challenges this under• standing and calls His disciples to a radically-lived dependence on God and to find God's favor in their obedience to the Lord's will rather than their material blessings. The Early Christian community was a generally poor community in part because many people lost their possessions as a consequence of their faith. Thus, to be poor may well be the resulting sacrifice one faced when a person chose to adhere to their Christian decision. The indicates that those members of the early Church who did possess wealth shared it with the community for the needs of all. Today we have the expression, "Live simply so that others can simply live" which may capture some of the message of this beatitude. The corresponding woe is a warning to those who trust in themselves and their own resources rather than living a practical trust in God alone and generously sharing their resources for the good of others. It may also be a condemnation of those who faltered in their faith commitment when required to make a choice between their faith in Jesus or their material possessions.  When are Christians today faced with the choice between pursing personal material wealth or fidelity to Jesus?  How can people today be tempted to find their security, value, and dignity based in their possessions rather than in their relationship with God?  What does the phrase, "Live simply so that others can sim• ply live" mean to you and how does it challenge you?  How does God care for the poor today?  Who exemplifies this beatitude in the world today? "Blessed are you who are now hungry/ Woe to you who are now filled"-In Mary's (v. Lk 1:46-56), we already heard similar words as we find in these Beatitudes when she said, "He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly (poor); The hungry He has filled with good things; the rich He 2 has sent away empty" (Lk 1:52-53). Jesus will "fill" the hungry with good things when He multiples the loaves and fishes in :12-17. Jesus will also tell us a about a man named Lazarus who was filled after his own period of hunger in Luke 16:21. In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told that the early Church continued Jesus' ministry of filling people's hunger (v. Acts 2:45, 6:14,11:28-30). It is important to understand these other passages in order to gain insights into how the hungry are blessed while those who are filled are not. As with the previous beatitude, the answer may lie in the early Christian experience. Those who cared only for themselves had plenty of food (cf. the parable of the Rich Fool in Lk 12:13-21) while those who cared for others often experienced personal inconvenience and sacrifice (v. the teaching on the Widow's Mite in Lk 21:1-4). The Early Christians who experienced hunger were the ones who had shared their food with the less fortunate or the ones who were dispossessed because of their faith decision. Jesus fills the hunger of those who trust in Him but those who care only for themselves are condemned to future emptiness. The Church is blessed to have received this mission of carrying on this work of filling the hungers and longings of Christians who suffer need because of their decisions of generosity and faith.  How do you care for those who are hungry?  When has your generosity for others actually impinged upon your ability to pursue your own interests?  What reasons lead people today to care only for themselves and their families rather than for the larger community? Who exemplifies this beatitude in the world today? "Blessed are you who are now weeping/ Woe to you who laugh now"-Weeping is an expression of pain or sorrow. For the Prophets, the greatest reason to weep is that the people commit apostasy by turning away from God to pursue false idols or to reject the lived demands of the Covenant (especially justice and care for the 3 less fortunate). Weeping is also presented as a sign of repentance and Saint Paul even says that in 2 Cor 7:10: "For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance:' In the , we have several passages where people are presented weeping in a virtuous and faithful way (v. the woman who washes Jesus' feet with her tears in Lk 7:32, 381 the moment of Jesus weeping over because of its failure to repent in Lk 19:41, and the women who weep when they see Jesus unjustly condemned and carrying His cross on the way to Calvary in Lk 23:28). All these scenes indicate that weeping is the appropriate action for those who mourn injustice, who desire to repent of their sins, who are saddened by others lack of faith, rejection of God, or disinterest in living the Gospel. Laughter also has a rich biblical background to it. In the Prophets we read of people who laughed in response to disaster (v. Hos 4:3, 10:5, Am 8:8, Is 24:4, Jer 4:8). That laughter demonstrated their entertainment at other people's misfortune. Later in Luke's Gospel we will read of a rich fool who "makes merry" (that is laughs) in the pursuit of his own temporary interests while ignoring the eternal priorities of the Kingdom of God (v. Lk 12:13-21). In the Letter of James, we read the admonition to change your laughter into joy-an instruction that does not esteem sadness for its own sake but cautions against misplaced values and short-sighted concerns. When our values are out of order then we can find humorous what causes sadness to God. In :52 we see the danger of wrong values when the crowd weeps for the wrong reason (the presumed death of the girl) and the crowd laughs for the wrong reason (the ridicule of Jesus' call to faith). Jesus proclaims Blessed those disciples who share the values of God and weep over the causes of divine sadness while rejoicing in the causes of divine gladness.  What makes you sad in the course of an average day? What typically causes you to laugh?

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 How has the experience of sorrow led you to repentance? When have others' rejection of God and the values of the Gospel caused lasting sadness in you?  When do you find it easy to laugh at other people's misfortune? "Blessed are you when they hate you, and when they exclude and insult you/ Woe to you when all speak well of you"-There is a strong emphasis on the experience of rejection in the beatitude that ranges from attitudes (hate) to actions (set you aside) and words (scorn you). Many early Christians did experience this rejection as they were expelled from synagogue communities, families, and other groups (social and professional) as a result of their decision to be disciples of Jesus. What was meant to be a punishment has become a cause of praise! Rather than seeing moments of rejection as a cause of humiliation, disciples are charged to see such experiences as a cause of honor and a reason for rejoicing. Jesus experienced such rejection (v. Lk 5:24 and 6:5) and following the Lord means being willing to embrace the same difficulties that He faced. Sometimes the proof of our true discipleship is only when others begin to react to it that is when it is no longer a private, personal, interior experience but something that is now being witnessed and affecting the world around evoking both a positive and negative response. We see this negative response to authentic discipleship in the crowds who put Stephen to death (v. Acts 7:52) when he carries on the prophetic in the early Church. False prophets, on the other hand, told the people what they wanted to hear and were praised for it. Oftentimes this false message led the people to dismiss the need for repentance and suffer disaster as a result. The goal of a Christian is not to have a good reputation and win the praise of others but to faithfully and courageously speak God's word both when it is "convenient or inconvenient" (v. 2 Tm 4:2), when it is welcomed and when it is not welcomed.

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 When are you tempted to say what people want to hear ("keep the peace") rather than what they need to hear so they can be challenged to become the people God intends them to be?  When has your decision to be a disciple cost you something because of other people's negative reaction?  What are attitudes, actions, and words that are used today to marginalize or exclude Christians and Christian values from public life?  Who is a person you know that has willingly experienced great sacrifice for their faith commitment?  What does the statement "Sometimes the proof of our true discipleship is only when others begin to react to it" mean to you?

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