Luke 6:20-23

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” vs. 21

We’re used to hearing Matthew’s beatitudes as the gospel for All Saints’ Sunday, but this year we get Luke’s version–and there are some differences. For one thing Luke doesn’t bother spiritualizing Jesus’ words. He doesn’t mention the “poor in spirit” or those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” For Luke it’s the poor and the hungry who are blessed, and one day they will be fed, and even better the weeping will laugh! Sometimes we forget that according to the gospels, suffering is not something to be avoided, but rather a blessing to be embraced. For people like us who will move mountains to keep from experiencing any kind of pain or suffering this is a strange notion. But Jesus knew that suffering draws us into the community of saints better than anything else. One of the great truths of human existence is that we are not alone in our suffering. Poverty, hunger, and weeping can draw us together. Of course God does not intend that we remain in pain, that’s why Jesus attaches a promise to the blessing. We will live in the kingdom of God, we will feast with all the saints, and we’ll lose ourselves in joy and celebration. Our loved ones are experiencing that new life now, and as we remember them, we rejoice at the peace that is theirs.

Thought for the Day: For what do I hunger?