Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. 

February 16, 2025

Luke 6:17-26

Rev. Neli Miranda

During the past weeks we have witnessed the arrival of the Epiphany in the different villages in Galilee and so have we in our own lives. Today, on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the Epiphany comes down from a mountain to a level place where a needy multitude awaits Jesus. In the preceding verses Luke tells us that Jesus appointed twelve of his disciples as apostles on a mountain. Now, as he descends with them and stands on a level place, he finds a large crowd gathered, comprised not only of his disciples but also of a multitude of people seeking good news, comfort, healing, and liberation. The call on the mountain was not a privatized experience for the twelve; rather, it was a preparation to bring the Epiphany down to those in need, to the level ground where the marginalized awaited the good news.

Who are these people eagerly awaiting Jesus? They are the destitute, the despised no one heeds or regards, the impoverished who have fallen to the subsistence level under the rule of the Roman Empire. They are the hungry, they are the sick, they are the ones who plead on the streets for life’s bare essentials. In stark contrast to the system, Jesus does not reject them but compassionately attends to their needs, offering them a healing touch while proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. This encounter with Jesus is an epiphany for those gathered; they experience the profound presence of Jesus’ healing touch, as recounted by Luke “…everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them” (6,19). 

In Jesus’ time, the religious system taught that poverty and illnesses were manifestations of sin. This belief led to the stigmatization of the poor and sick who were often called sinners, considered impure, and viewed as cursed.  To these marginalized people, Jesus now offers words of vindication and calls them “blessed”. Traditionally, the term “blessed” derived from the Greek (makarios) indicated the results of living a righteous life such as possessing earthly, material possessions, like a “good wife”, many children, an abundant harvest, riches, honor, wisdom, beauty, good health.  In essence, to be blessed (makarios) implied possessing significant material wealth and social status—a privilege predominantly held by men of the economic, political, and religious elite.  Jesus, however, challenges this conventional understanding, using “blessed” (makarios) in a radically different manner: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (6,20). Rather than pronouncing the elite—the wealthy and powerful men—as blessed, Jesus proclaims those considered despicable—the poor, the hungry, and the sick— to be the truly blessed ones.  These are the very people the Jewish religious authorities and Roman political structures had cursed with their inhumane practices.

Jesus’ blessings are more than a promise of material abundance and well-being; they speak of vindication and dignification for those marginalized by the unjust systems of this world. Jesus’ proclamation affirms the values of the Kingdom of God, a kingdom where justice, not wealth and power, is the ruling principle. By proclaiming blessed the poor, Jesus honors them because their hope rests in God, not in material possessions; they understand the true nature of God’s kingdom. He also pronounces blessed those who suffer: the hungry and the mourning, for they will receive their daily bread and comfort from God. Jesus also honors those rejected by the system for their allegiance to him and affirms that God is for them.

In contrast, Jesus pronounces woes against those who control the system—the rich and powerful. “Woe to you who are rich,” he declares, “for you have already received your consolation.” Woe to them because they trust in their material possessions; they store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God “Woe to you who are full now…” woe to those who feast in excess while others starve… “Woe to you who are laughing now…” woe to those whose happiness resides in having all their desires fulfilled... woe to them because in God’s Kingdom, there is equity and all will be fed and receive what is just. Woe to them because in the Kingdom of God there are no possessors, and they will lose their social status that grants them the privilege of possessing abundantly what others lack.

Dear sisters and brothers, Jesus’ proclamation denounces the inequities of our world, where the accumulation of wealth and power impoverishes many. His proclamation challenges us to transform our thinking—thinking shaped by the very systems that lead us to despise those who don’t conform to their standards.  Whom do we truly consider blessed today? The wealthy? The powerful? The influential? Those who hold positions of power? Or those whom Jesus pronounces blessed in today’s Gospel? His proclamation calls us to live out the Epiphany on the level ground of this world with the needy and marginalized.  On this sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, let us descend from our mountains; let us experience the Epiphany; let us receive Jesus’ healing touch and listen to the Good News of the Gospel; Let us receive his blessings! In a world filled with injustices against the helpless, blessed are you, disciples of Jesus, who proclaim God’s justice! Amen.