(The following questions have been developed to ferret out some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers, particularly how the Word is functioning. For more information on this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon).
1. How does the Word function in the text? The short answer is, "It depends." If you are one of those poor, hungry, weeping or reviled ones, this text is good news to you. It is a gospel word. If you are one who is rich, well-fed, laughing and well-spoken of, this text is not good news. It is a word of law. One thing is clear: this is not a prescriptive word, but a descriptive word. That is to say, this text is not seeking to prescribe a way for us to be blessed, or a path to avoid lest we be cursed; it is simply describing a reality within the coming reign of God.
2. How is the Word not functioning in the text? Again, the short answer is, "It depends." If you are one of those who have received little blessing in this life, you might conclude there is no word of law here for you, yet it would be disingenuous to suggest that the poor don't wish to be rich, the hungry fed, the sorrowful happy, or the hated to be spoken well of. Given that, it perhaps is fair to say that any reliance on the blessings of this present life as though they have some permanence is being judged. That means that whether we have much in this life or only dream of it, we must learn to place our trust elsewhere.
3. With whom are you identifying in the text? We are certainly those whom Jesus is addressing. We might even say that we are his disciples, and the "you" of these verses is speaking precisely to us. We must decide how these verses apply to us. Few of us in middle class North America would be able to claim the mantle of poverty, and many of us would do well to consider associating with those given warnings here. Wherein does our hope lie?
4. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text? This text, while it challenges us to consider where our faith is placed - on the things that are passing away, or on things that will last - could be considered in total a call to obedience. In short, Jesus is saying, "Follow in my way, not the way of this world."
5. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? Couplets are provided here: poor/inheritors of the kingdom; hungry/filled; weeping/laughing; hated by all/welcomed into the heavenly realm.
6. Exegetical work: It is important to take stock of the tenses of the verbs in this speech of Jesus: to the poor, Jesus says, "Yours is the kingdom"; to the hungry and the weeping he says, "You will be filled," and "You will laugh"; to the rich, Jesus says, "You have received your consolation"; and to the well-fed and laughing he says, "You will be hungry," and "You will mourn and weep." Unmistakably some things are already present and some things are yet to come. One of the oft-debated points of this text is whether or not it has any of the spiritual elements that are common to Matthew's version of this sermon. (i.e. "poor in spirit" vs. poor economically). Scholars seem to consistently warn against getting too spiritual with this text, yet often veer that way anyway. Fred Craddock says that "the preacher and teacher would be advised not to sail above economic realities into such spiritual realms. Luke does join material and spiritual conditions..., but he does not allow in the process the evaporation of 'poor' into some condition other than being without food, without shelter, without hope of anything better tomorrow." (Luke, Interpretation series, p. 89) I. Howard Marshall is not nearly so concerned about preserving this distinction. In his perusal of many of Jesus' sayings regarding wealth and poverty he concludes: "Luke does not present poverty as an ideal in itself, or wealth as intrinsically evil. When his teaching on wealth and poverty is seen in the context of the Gospel as a whole, the underlying attitude to God is what really matters." (Luke: Historian and Theologian, p. 143) Amy-Jill Levine and Ben Witherington III seem to concur when they quote I Enoch 94.8: "Woe to you rich, for you have trusted in your riches, and from your riches you shall depart, because you have not remembered the Most High in the days of your riches." (The Gospel of Luke, p. 178)
7. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text? James Squire takes a nice turn by reminding us that what seems like law - Christ's "leveling" - is really gospel. The world is blessed when we see that "the ground is level at the foot of the cross." Check out crossings.org/text-study to see the entire analysis.
Blessings on your proclamation!
No comments:
Post a Comment