A New Song

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 6 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

20 Looking at his disciples, he said: 

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21      Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22      Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil,

because of the Son of Man. 

23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 

24      “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

25      Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26      Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:17-27, NIV)

 

REFLECTIONS:
How old were you when you first learned some nursery rhymes?

Probably quite young. In fact, many children can say a few rhymes long before they understand what half the words mean. It's a great way for kids to start learning things, exercising their young brains with music and words and rhythm and rhyme. It's the mental equivalent of learning how to ride on a swing or how to do a little dance.

Now, suppose that you were in the crowd listening to Jesus tell you all kinds of things about God and his kingdom. There's so much to take in, so much to think through, so much to try to remember… But wait, he's teaching us something—something we can learn quite easily. It goes with a swing and a flow. 

“Blessings on the poor… Blessings on the hungry… Blessings on the weeping… Blessings when they hate you… Woe betide the rich… Woe betide the full… Woe betide the laughing… Woe betide the popular.” 

Now, repeat after me…  

And soon the whole crowd is joining in. 

 

But what does it all mean? Well, we're working on that. It's a bit like the words they say his mother sang when she knew he was on the way: the rich getting brought down with a bump and the poor getting a leg up (Luke 1:46-55). At long last, God turning the world right side up.

 

Promises, promises… But it does seem to be coming true, for some people at least. That old lady down the road, the fisherman's mother, looks twenty years younger since he prayed for her when she was ill the other day (4:38-39). And as for that poor young fellow with the withered arm—well, I don't care what day of the week it was, anyone who can cure someone like that gets my vote (6:6-11). And they say if you can get near enough to him in the crowd you can sense a kind of healing aura all around him (5:17b; 8:45-46). So if he's saying that the world is being sorted out—straightened out—maybe it's true!

 

But not everybody's going to like it. There are already mutterings and mumblings in the background. After all, that's what you'd expect, going around teaching people rhymes like that. Wonder how long he'll survive if he keeps this up—the occupying forces have eyes and ears everywhere, and that old fox Herod isn't going to be exactly jumping for joy, either.

 

In fact, maybe that's what the rhyme means. Maybe it's not just a general truth we have to learn. Maybe we need to think out who Jesus actually has in mind…

 

 

POINT OF PONDER:

Read again slowly the words in verses 20-23: 

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil,

because of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,

because great is your reward in heaven.

For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” 

In what ways are Jesus' words a challenge to your current way of life?

 

 

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to learn your new song. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart, my mind. Grant me wisdom and revelation, understanding and inspiration. I yearn to find out what your new song means in our world today. Again, I ask you to strengthen me to turn away from the Babylonian mindset of our culture. Protect me from my natural cravings. By the power of your Holy Spirit, transform my inner man, so that I might live in a new way—your way.

 

 

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and our kids I have sort of compelled us to get re-acquainted with nursery rhymes and children's stories. As with most children, our kids love for us to sing with them and to read to them. So we've acquired quite a collection of children's CD's and storybooks. Abby loves Susan Boynton's books, and Benjamin really enjoys Richard Scarry's books. But my favorites are the Dr. Seuss books. So, whether the kids like it or not, we read a lot of Dr. Seuss around our house. :)