My Dear Shepherds,
When Jesus and his 12 newly designated apostles came down from the mountain, Luke says they were surrounded by a large crowd of disciples who’d come from hither and yon “to hear him and be healed of their diseases.” They weren’t disappointed, for “power was coming from him and healing them all” (Luke 6:19).
Every week pastors attend to disciples healed more miraculously than any in that crowd. We serve people redeemed and reborn by the dynamis of Jesus. Then their preachers echo Jesus’ incongruous message.
Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” (Luke 6:20–23)
Do you see the paradox? That crowd was still on a miracle high when they settled down to hear what wonders Jesus had in store for them next, only to learn that the God-blessed life is only for the poor, hungry, weeping, and those rejected as evil. What’s more, the rich, well-fed, happy, and well-regarded are actually life’s losers. I doubt anyone knew what Jesus was talking about.
It’s still hard for the Lord’s disciples, us included, to grasp that only those who come to Jesus with their spiritual pockets turned out have access to the treasures of the kingdom, that only those starving for a crumb of righteousness are invited to a seat at the Lord’s banquet, that only those who grieve over the world’s never-ending sin and who have wept at too many graves will laugh for joy when we see the end of the story, when “everything sad is coming untrue.”
And when the world throws their worst at us, it’s time to celebrate and kick up our heels because an unimaginable reward awaits us in heaven. After all, what could be better than being worthy of the company of God’s rejected prophets!
The thing about those qualities is that, other than honesty, there’s no actual virtue, no moral high ground, in being spiritually impoverished, hungry, sorrowful, or rejected. Nothing to live up to. In reality, we must live down to them.
We are charged with the strange work of nourishing such lowliness so that Jesus’ disciples might know the rich, multifaceted riches of God. We don’t just teach people to be good. We show them the surprising life after the miracle of salvation, the stunning advantages of being empty. What a wondrous miracle when the Lord’s loving and lavish offer of grace opens people’s eyes to their poverty!
I remember explaining the gospel yet again to a young man who listened impassively, just as he had each time before. Then, without warning, he began to cry, sob actually. Nothing was wrong, of course. The power of Jesus had healed him. The time had come to laugh for joy! God bless him!
That day long ago, Jesus’ new apostles were no longer only disciples. They’d become agents of the lowly life, Wordworkers entrusted with these downside-up secrets of God’s kingdom. So it is for us now. We usher saints through the low passages to God’s vast kingdom and banquet. We give them hope that they will laugh and leap for joy, because great is their reward in heaven.
Be ye glad!
