[Jesus said,] “But woe to you who are rich… who are full now… who are laughing now… when all speak well of you…” – Luke 6:24-26, excerpted

Oh, thank you, Jesus, for those comforting words!

“Blessed are the poor.”
Did you forget “in spirit”?

“Blessed are the hungry.”
“For righteousness,” you mean.

“Blessed are those who weep.”
Didn’t you mean, “those who mourn”?

“Blessed are you when people hate you.”
Isn’t it amazing, Jesus, that people could hate me?

Wait. What?

You have more to say?
Oh, I don’t like that. Oh, no.

“Woe to the rich”?
They seem pleased with their consolation.

“Woe to those who are full”?
Well, sure they’ll be hungry again. And filled again, I’m sure.

“Woe to those who laugh”?
Honestly, don’t we need more laughter in this world?

“Woe to you when all speak well of you”?
Oh, that one stings. I want to be remembered well,
and even honored, for…

Helping the poor gain the realm of God.
Helping the hungry be filled.
Helping the weeping find comfort.
Amplifying the silenced voices.

Wait. What?

A poem/prayer based on Luke 6:17-26, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel Reading for Year C, Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. 

The image is Blessed Are Those by Hochhalter, Cara B., from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59299 [retrieved February 8, 2022]. Original source: Cara B. Hochhalter, A Challenging Peace in the Life and Stories of Jesus, 2019.