Woe, woe is me!

When Jesus preached to the folks hanging out on a hillside, he said things like, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." When Jesus preached to the folks out on the plains, he changed it up a bit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit" becomes "Blessed are the poor". In addition, there is a whole list of "woes" added on. "...Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep."

I must admit -- I am much more fond of the the former rather than the latter. When I read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," I think, Yeah, that's right -- I'm blessed -- I'm having a bad day -- I've got problems. God bless me! But it's harder to find my place in the latter where the "poor in spirit" are replaced with "the poor". I'm not poor. In fact, since almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day and 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day I am anything but poor. I am quite rich in comparison to the rest of the world.

That would put me, not in Jesus' blessed category, but firmly in his woe category. When I only take this teaching on face value, that's when I start longing again for the warm fuzzies of the sermon on the mount. When I go deeper into this passage, that's when I start to understand how to truly be blessed. When I am rich, I have resources to give. When I am full, I am able to give of myself because. When I am laughing, I have joy to share. When Jesus is holding us accountable, we ought not run in the other direction, but embrace his tough teaching, his tough love. It's through making that love a reality in this world that we are all blessed.