Memorize Monday: Blessings and Warnings

The Exercise:

Memorize Luke 6:20-26:

²⁰Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²²“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.²⁴“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.²⁵“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. ²⁶“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” (NRSV)

The Why:

If this passage looks familiar, it is.  Luke 6:20-26 begins Jesus “Sermon on the Plain” which is a kind of abbreviated  and some would say more radical, version of the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.

It is helpful to know both versions of the Beatitudes to help us understand the meaning of Jesus’s teaching.  Unlike Matthew, Luke also includes a series of warnings to those who will not find the Kingdom of God a welcome place.  These are as a good source of meditation, particularly for those of us who find ourselves well off according the our society’s standards.