16 February 2025 - Epiphany 6, Year C

 

Theme

The reading from Jeremiah and the Psalm for this week contrast righteous folk with ungodly folk. According to Jeremiah, a righteous person is someone who trusts in God, while according to the Psalmist, a righteous person does not fraternize with the wicked and meditates on God’s law day and night. The Corinthian and Luke passage speak about a future hope for those who may be experiencing sin and death now. They also speak about a change in the way of thinking about blessings and curses.

Scriptures

Jeremiah 17:5-10 - The prophet Jeremiah teaches that God’s people must trust in the Lord, not in mere humans.

Psalm 1 - A psalm commending the godly for not fraternizing with the wicked and staying focused on a God-honouring way of life.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 - Paul talks about Christ’s resurrection, and the implication that it has for everyone else to be able to experience resurrection after death.

Luke 6:17-26 - Jesus preaches to a large crowd about the beatitudes. According to Luke, God blesses the poor, the hungry and the mourning. He explains that those who are mocked or scorned now will receive great reward in the future.

The Context

A common literary tool used throughout Scripture was to speak about blessings and curses. This is primarily seen in Deuteronomy, but is found throughout scripture as well, such as our readings this week. In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), God’s people are often blessed because they are righteous, because they trust in the Lord, because they don’t fraternize with the wicked, etc. On the other hand, they are cursed for not following God’s Laws, seeking their own desires, worshiping idols, etc. When Jesus preached the beatitudes in our Gospel reading, he used the same literary tool of blessings and curses but turned its common understanding on its head, as he so often did in his teachings. According to Jesus, blessed are the poor, the hungry and the mourning; and cursed are the rich, wealthy, elite who have no concern for the former.

Personal Application

I believe that this week’s readings remind us of Jesus’ core teachings - to love each other and care for the poor, vulnerable and oppressed. It is with this group of people that we will find Jesus (Matthew 25). The teachings of Jeremiah and the Psalmist to trust in God and avoid fraternizing with the wicked are important, but Jesus’ outlook seemed to be a bit different. According to Jesus, a righteous person is someone who provides for the poor, heals the sick, cares for the widow, and sets the prisoner free. Furthermore, the poor, hungry and vulnerable are blessed, not because of anything that they have done, but merely because of the future blessings that they are going to experience. The wealthy, on the other hand, are cursed because they are so caught up in their worldly riches that they are missing out on experiencing true godly values now.

If Jesus had to see our lives today, would he call us blessed or cursed? Would he find us with those who he called us to serve or hoarding up our wealth at the expense of others?

Communal Application

Even though the two New Testament passages speak about a future hope, when we speak about resurrection, we need to understand the eternal and present realities of resurrection. Resurrection does not only take place when someone is raised to eternal glory after death. Resurrection takes place every time an addict resists falling back into old habits. Resurrection happens every time a widow is taken care of and provided for; every time a child is presented with an opportunity to access education; every time a grieving family receives a warm meal. Resurrections are happening every moment of every day.

Are we as a church only preaching about a future, eternal hope of resurrection? Or are we actively seeking out and taking part in bringing resurrection to the world we find ourselves in today?