Woe Baby- 6 Epiphany

Luke 6: 17-26
6:17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.
6:18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
6:19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
6:23 Rejoice 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.
6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
6:25 "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.
6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."

Each week I get an e-mail from an ELCA pastor, Brian Stoffregen, which is his commentary on the gospel reading. It's a good start. I posted his comments on this text here: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dhm78cxk_22fqw47s if you would like to look at them.

There are two things that I want to discuss. The first is that in this text Jesus comes out on the side of the underdog-- (that why the dang Bears should have won last Sunday). Actually underdog isn't the right word. I'm not sure what the word would be-- something describing being crapped upon by life and the world. Jesus addresses specifically the poor, the famished, those who weep, and disciples who are hated for following Christ. The world normally sees these people as cursed. They are not strong enough or self-sufficient enough to get help. They need to get on the right medication or stop taking out loans at the fricking Payday Loan places. In the world's darwinian system of ranking, their problems are evidence that they are not blessed. God has frowned on them. But in this sermon Jesus reveals God's preference for losers. God's love is for them. In Jesus the world is turned upside down. (This means that the winners will not be blessed but cursed.) How does one keep from turning this text into a moral lesson, if one is wary of moral lessons?

Second, promises are a strong theme in this text. Jesus makes promises both to the losers and the winners. He promises justice: good for the losers, bad for the winners. What is that quote? "God's word creates what it says/promises?"

So how does one preach a "God for us" from this text? Sure we cry now and then but we're not hungry or poor. Rather, we make decent money, eat too much, enjoy laughter, and fall prey to appreciating "Pastor Appreciation Sunday." We're screwed. But do we want to preach that? Where's the gospel for winners?