The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 Luke 6:17-26

Have a blessed day. Have you ever gone through the checkout line, and as you were leaving, the cashier handed you your receipt and said, “Have a blessed day.” It happens frequently in the South, where the people are brought up with good manners and old-fashioned Southern charm. It seems to just roll off the tongue naturally around here. What’s your response to the cashier? Do you reply, “Thank you, you too.” Have you ever met up with someone and asked how they are doing, and their reply is, “I’m blessed.”

“Have a blessed day.” “I’m blessed.” What do we mean when we say these phrases? What does it mean to be “blessed?”

            The Beatitudes are a series of blessings that come to us in the Gospel of Mark in what we know as the Sermon on the Mound. This is Jesus’ first public sermon. In Luke’s Gospel, which we read today, his story account is a little different. Luke’s Gospel is referred to as the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus has chosen his twelve disciples, and he’s spent the night on top of the mountain, praying. And now, he comes down the mountain to talk to his disciples. But they are not alone. Crowds of people have come to hear him teach, and some are searching for healing. Jesus comes down the mountain to the people and to the disciples. He stands amidst the sick and the ailing, the hungry and the poor. He stands shoulder to shoulder with them, on a level plain, as he looks up to his disciples and recites the four “blessings” and four “woes” we heard today.

            It may be a little disheartening for us, the readers and hearers of these blessings and woes. Jesus has made two separate lists. The blessed are those who are poor, hungry, crying, and hated. Woeful are those who are rich, full, laughing, and liked. You may look at these blessings -- poor, hungry, crying, and hated -- and think that you probably fit into one or two of these categories when you compare yourself to your neighbor. But if you look at world statistics, you most likely don’t. The daily income for the world’s population is $6.85 per person, with a significant number of people living on less than that. In the United States, more than 771,000 people are experiencing homelessness. Over 700 million people in the world are undernourished. The truth of the matter is that when we compare ourselves to these statistics most of us probably fit more into the “woe” category don’t we? When we have food, when we are happy, when we have a roof over your head, are we blessed, or are we happy? Is there a difference? What does it mean to be blessed? 

Yes, we are blessed, but it’s not because we are happy or because we have the comforts to live by. Jesus has turned our world upside down in what it means to be blessed. Jesus is teaching us that there is a difference between happiness and blessedness, and it has to do with God’s kingdom. It has to do with the fact that God’s kingdom is “already but not yet.” The kingdom of God is already here and now, breaking into the world. The poor, hungry, crying, and hated are blessed, not because of their circumstances, they are blessed because even when life is difficult, God’s love is present and at work in their lives right now. God is at work, giving us peace, strength, and hope during our struggles.

While the kingdom of God is already here and now, it has not been fully realized. Our world is broken with suffering and injustice, but the promise and hope is that everyone will be made fully whole in God's kingdom. So, we are all blessed now because God is with us, and we trust in God’s promises even when we can’t see them fully realized yet -- “already but not yet.”

I have a friend from another congregation that I served while in seminary. I think she’s 92. I see her every once in a while, or I will call to check on her and when I do, I say, “How are you doing, Ethel?” And her reply is always, “I am blessed.” I called her this week and said, “Ethel, why do you always tell me that you are blessed? What does that mean to you?” I knew what her answer would be…because I have my health, and all these wonderful friends, and have a good life. I was wrong. Ethel said, “It’s because He is my everything. God is here for me always.” What does it mean to be blessed? 

One of the themes in Henri Nouwen’s book, The Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, is for us to know that to be blessed is more than having good things happen to us. Being blessed means living in the reality that we are God’s beloved, no matter our circumstances. God unconditionally loves us. Nouwen says that we often hide our brokenness out of fear of rejection, but it’s in embracing our vulnerability that we truly experience God’s presence and the depth of our belonging. “Blessedness” is not a state of perfection or happiness. It is an assurance that God deeply loves us even when we feel weak or think we are flawed.[1]

In his book, Nouwen also challenges us to extend the blessing we’ve received to others. When we understand that we are God’s beloved, our hearts naturally overflow with compassion. Jesus came down from the mountain and stood shoulder to shoulder with the sick and the hungry, the poor and the desolate. He came to them and healed them. Our overflowing compassion calls us to act, serve, and help.

Thomas Edward Frank wrote a commentary on this text from Luke’s Gospel for the book Feasting on the Gospels. Of serving others, he wrote, “Congregations are always discovering whether dishing out the potatoes in a soup kitchen, changing the bandages of the wounded, or taking care of the kids while the widow gets her house in order, that they are being ministered to far more than they are ministering; that their own need for transformation is most obvious when they are with people they thought were the needy ones; that the Jesus they assumed they were taking with them to the site of ministry is already there ahead of them.”[2]  The woeful are called to serve and when and where we are called to serve, is when and where we see Jesus.

Jesus’ message reminds us that true blessedness isn’t found in the comforts of the world but in the ongoing process of spiritual growth and renewal. It invites us to look beyond conventional measures of success and happiness and recognize the need for God’s transforming grace in all of our lives.  

The kingdom of God is here, but not yet. The simple wish of “Have a blessed day” reminds us that, no matter what we face, we are invited into a relationship with a loving God who sees our true worth. It reminds us that blessedness comes from God’s love, not our circumstances. Blessing someone is not just about words – it’s about presence. “Have a blessed day” can make someone feel seen, heard, and valued. “Have a blessed day” reminds us that while life is not easy, we are not alone because God is holding us.

Next time you hear or say, “Have a blessed day,” I invite you to pause and consider: Am I living with the kind of blessedness that Jesus describes? One that isn’t based on my comforts but on knowing God loves me? How can I extend true blessedness to others, not just with words, but through actions that reflect God’s kingdom?

Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain invites us to trust his promises even when we can’t see them fully realized. True blessedness is living with the hope and assurance that God’s kingdom is breaking into our world now while still longing for the day when it will be complete. That’s why we can be blessed even in suffering—because God is at work, and God’s story isn’t finished yet.

Have a blessed day. Amen.

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[1] Nouwen, Henri. The Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. Doubleday, 1982.

[2] Frank, T. E. (2014). Feasting on the Gospels: Luke, Volume 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.