You raise me up

 

Many of you will know the song, ‘You raise me up’. The verse that’s repeated in it says, 

‘You raise me up so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on Your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be’ 

 

It’s a powerful song because it reminds us of a strength which sometimes seems beyond us, but that we know is there, and finding the person or the thing that gives us that strength is crucial… And that begins with God, and when I looked at the gospel reading this morning, this song came to mind, because the reading is about lifting people up to be the people God wants them and us to be… And that is more than we can ever be through our own strength alone. 

 

The reading (Luke 6:17-26) was an account of the beatitudes. The beatitudes are also told in a bit more length in the gospel according to Matthew, but today we hear from Luke. We don’t know whether it is an account of the same speech that Jesus gave or whether it’s similar but told somewhere else which seems more likely, but that really doesn’t matter. What is important are the sentiments that Jesus expresses. A love and concern for everyone so that they be that person God wants them to be… 

 

When people gathered to hear Jesus, I’m not sure they knew what to expect – there was a lot of talk about him, a lot of people seem to have been intrigued and wanted to hear what he said and here in this reading we heard of people gathered after hearing of some of the incredible work Jesus was doing – many had come, perhaps to see if they could get a bit of good luck from Jesus, watch a bit of magic happening or to see something spectacular. 

 

Well Jesus of course specialises in the spectacular but not always in the way some of those people imagined. Jesus has extraordinary power to heal but his power is also revealed in his love for others, and we see it especially here in his care for those on the edge of society or anyone who is struggling.And there may be obvious people for whom the reading applies today, but actually we can perhaps see ourselves at times as well in some of the words – and Jesus spoke these words to raise people up, people including you and me….  

 

So Jesus laid out this manifesto, confounding many of his listeners by saying that it is the poor who are blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of God; the hungry for they will be filled; those who weep because they will laugh; those who are hated or excluded, reviled or defamed on account of their faith in Jesus – their reward is great in heaven… 

 

And he doesn’t leave it there – just to hammer home his point he contrasts those who are struggling with those who are rich and full today…

 

You get the impression here that Jesus is pretty frustrated with some of these people and why shouldn’t he be. As we’ve already thought about, these people came for all kinds of reasons, but few came, it seems, to really get closer to Jesus, few came expecting their lives to be transformed… 

 

And maybe that was because they didn’t want their lives to be transformed – they were comfortable, they had food on the table and plenty of money to get by and they weren’t going to really take risks for Jesus… And they weren’t going to expect their lives to be transformed by him.

 

But Jesus’ message is always about transformation, it’s always about us trying to be more like him… It’s about leading the full life that is on offer when we centre our lives on the peace of God…  And that isn’t a peace that makes everything perfect every day, but it is a peace that has the ability to raise us up – to feel like we can stand on mountains when we’re at the very bottom looking up; to know that the stormy seas that we might sometimes encounter in our lives will calm; to know that when we have Jesus as our foundation we can be strong… 

 

And one of the great gifts we’re given by God is other people – sometimes we see Jesus in them, sometimes we find strength and inspiration in them… Precious gifts, given by God are around us always… 

 

So that is the invitation of this reading – to just allow ourselves to think of the words of Jesus and to know his hopes for us, to feel that we can be the people he wants us to be… to trust in him… 

 

And when we do that we also recognise the challenge of this reading… 

 

Sometimes it can be easy to rely on the comforts we have, or for us to not really worry too much about loving each other as Jesus tells us to, or for us to perhaps, even sub-consciously, believe that we are somehow blessed by God to be living so well… 

 

Jesus confounds all this thinking completely – those who were and who are rich are not blessed in the way they think but rather burdened with a responsibility to care for those who don’t have much. Those who have plenty of food are burdened with a responsibility to help feed those who have none. Those who are laughing are burdened to care for those who are mourning or weeping… 

 

It was a picture that many of those listening wouldn’t have understood and to be honest, it’s a picture which isn’t understood today very well either… Success is often measured in having a nice house, nice holidays, a good car, but Jesus reminds us that these things really don’t matter. These things are not the things that last… 

 

So the call is to see Jesus, to recognise his invitation to each one of us, an invitation that isn’t about burden and commitment, but about love, about enjoying a relationship that changes us day by day, that raises us up… 

 

This can be pretty tough reading for us in much of the western world because, beyond the acceptance of that invitation it’s challenging, but the good news is that Jesus is looking to bless and not condemn and is calling us to recognise where we are and what we have, and the fact is that when we recognise what riches mean we will also recognise that whatever our earthly wealth, we will recognise that on some days we’re struggling and some days we are really blessed.

 

Richness is seen in relationships, in the things that really last. Richness is seen in how we share God’s love with one another – it’s by putting away the fears that sometimes separate us from others, it’s by putting away the old grudges that we hold so tightly, it’s by recognising that when Jesus speaks, he speaks of what is good and right for all of us. He speaks of being committed not to a comfortable lifestyle, but to a life filled with the sort of riches that money can never buy… 

 

The Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote his History of the Jewish people during the time that Rome ruled Israel - in the middle of the First Century - talked about the cross and what it was like in those days to walk the main road that led into Jerusalem. He recorded how, along that road there would be - at times - as many as 2000 or 3000 crosses lining the way - each with either a fresh victim nailed or tied to a cross - or the decaying body of an earlier victim baking in the heat.

Jesus spoke to his followers about carrying their cross and this was relevant language of the time – not just a ‘saying’…. The disciples were all too well aware that the cross was a very real option for those caught offending the Romans or even the Jewish authorities…

 

I’m very pleased that we don’t live in a society that behaves like that, but we do have a faith that calls us to be committed, committed to loving one another and serving one another; committed to looking out for those who are struggling; committed to letting Jesus live in us in a way that when people look at us, they can see him and they can see his love for everyone… 

 

Jurgen Klopp the former Liverpool manager was famous for the big hugs he gave to his players - sometimes it would be a hug that said, ‘that wasn’t the best game but we move on’, sometimes it would be a hug of celebration or thanks or congratulations… 

 

Many people in the world today need hugs (literal or otherwise), people who are struggling, people who just need to know someone cares about them, people who are worried that they’re failing at life in some way, people who have nothing in material terms, people who on the outside look like everything is going well, but inside are crumbling, all kinds of people, and just imagine the possibilities if we hug enough people and those people go on to hug others, what a difference can be made in the world… 

 

May we know God’s continuous love for us, his desire and ability to raise us up to be the people he wants us to be, but also know that passion of serving others and helping them to know that love too. AMEN