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“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be
hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe
to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the
false prophets in this way.” Luke 6:24–26
Is it dangerous to be rich, to be filled, to laugh, and to have all
speak well of you? According to Jesus, it appears so. Why would
Jesus warn against these things? And before that, why would He
pronounce it blessed to be poor, hungry, weeping and insulted?
Essentially, Jesus was condemning four common sins—greed, gluttony,
intemperance, and vainglory—and promoting their opposite
virtues.
Poverty, in and of itself, is not sufficient for holiness. But in
Luke’s Gospel, Jesus declares it blessed to be poor, literally.
This goes further than Matthew’s Gospel which says it is blessed to
be “poor in spirit.” To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually
detached from the material things of this world so that you can be
fully open to the riches of God. One common tendency among those
with material wealth is to rationalize that even though they have
many things, they are detached from them. Hopefully that is the
case. However, in Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, Jesus directly
says, “Blessed are you who are poor” and “woe to you who are rich.”
In this teaching, we discover a second blessing not found in
Matthew’s version. In addition to spiritual detachment (poverty of
spirit) being identified as a blessing, literal poverty is
proclaimed as the easier way to achieve this spiritual detachment.
Material wealth, though not a sin in and of itself, brings with it
many temptations toward attachment, self-reliance, and
self-indulgence. Thus, spiritually speaking, it is easier to be
detached when one is poor, rather than when one is rich. This is a
hard truth for both the poor and the rich to accept. The poor often
want to be rich, thinking that if they were, they would share their
wealth with others and remain detached. The rich often enjoy being
rich and believe that they are more spiritually detached than they
actually are.
Being “hungry” is also identified as a blessed state, whereas being
“filled” is a dangerous state. When you are literally hungry,
either from fasting or from lack of an abundance of food, it is
easier to turn your hunger and thirst toward God so as to be filled
by Him and to more easily trust in His providence. An abundance of
food, especially fine food, tempts you with a gluttonous
satisfaction that makes it difficult to hunger and thirst for God
and His holy will in a complete way. Therefore, if you refrain from
indulgence and experience hunger, you will be blessed to be free
from gluttony and even the temptation toward it.
“Laughing” and “weeping” in this case are not referring to joy and
despair. Rather, they are referring to those who are always seeking
fun and an indulgent life. Many people live for fun, entertainment,
and momentary pleasures. Weeping refers to those who have
discovered that the fleeting pleasures of the world can never
satisfy. Constant entertainment, therefore, brings with it a real
temptation, whereas the loss of that form of fleeting pleasure
helps eliminate that temptation.
Finally, Jesus declares it blessed to be hated, excluded, insulted,
and denounced as evil on account of Him rather than being spoken
well of by all. In this case, Jesus is referring to the praise that
comes from things that mean nothing from an eternal perspective.
When all speak well of us, praising qualities and accomplishments
that are not true Christian virtues, we will be tempted to rely
upon that praise for our satisfaction. But this form of
satisfaction is nothing other than vainglory and never truly
satisfies in the end. However, when one sees and praises the
virtues of God within us, God is praised first and foremost, and we
are blessed to share in God’s glory.
Reflect, today, upon whether you prefer to be rich, to indulge in
the best of foods, to be constantly entertained and to be the envy
of others, or whether you see the temptations this type of life
brings. Reflect also upon the concrete spiritual blessings that
come to those who are literally poor, hungry, temperate and humble.
This is a very demanding teaching from Jesus. If it doesn’t sit
well with you, then know that it is a sign that you still have
various attachments in life. Reflect, especially, upon the
beatitude that is most difficult to embrace, and make that
beatitude the source of reflection and prayer. Doing so with
honesty and openness will result in you being among those who are
truly blessed in the eyes of God.
My blessed Lord, You were poor, hungry, temperate and humble to
the perfect degree. For these reasons, You were filled with perfect
virtue and were satisfied to the greatest degree. Please open my
eyes to the deceptions of this world so that I can live with You a
life of true holiness, experiencing the riches of the Kingdom of
Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You!
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