A Time to Squirm- Afflicting the Comfortable
Here are the Words:

‘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.

‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you* on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.

‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

I have to agree with Sarah over at Dylan's Lectionary Blog when she writes:

I'm not going to soft-pedal: these are hard readings we've got this Sunday -- at least for people like me.

By "people like me," I mean the comfortable, the privileged, those who are among the richest people in the world.

And I am among the richest people in the world. I doubt that I'll be appearing on any television profiles to that effect, but it's true. If you make an annual income of $47,500, you are in the top 1% of wage earners worldwide. I'm not in that number, but even though I'm employed only part-time as a consultant while being a seminary student (with all the expenses that entails), I'm comfortably within the top 10% of the wealthiest in the world. If you're curious about where you fall, go to the Global Rich List to find out.

I am within that top 1% worldwide even though I know I am far from being anywhere near the top 1% in the United States. Whether I try to rationalize what Jesus said, or spiritualize it for my own comfort, if I am willing to take what Jesus said at face value, I will begin to squirm.

Or I will begin to do something about it. That's where theologians in Third and Fourth World countries begin to get in trouble. They may not adopt a full-blown liberation theology, but they often get the message. Somehow or another, in ways that I find difficult to figure out in its details, there is a preferential option for the poor in scripture.

Perhaps it is the ultimate example of powerlessness and God responding, but over and over and over again we find it in both Testaments. It is mentioned many, many, many more times than homosexual activity. (In fact, Jesus never mentioned same-sex relationships.) It is far more central to the message of the prophets than the Second Coming. It can't be missed.

So why do we miss it?

And what are we willing to do about it?

There I will leave it. I have far more questions on this than I do answers. Your turn.