This article will appear in Illustrated Bible Life (Dec.-Feb. 2005-06).  This rough draft is not for citation.

The Sermon on the Plain

            “There’s no springtime on earth like winter in the Galilee.”  So goes the familiar proverb from the Holy Land.  The gently rolling hills along the shores of the Sea of Galilee are one of the most delightful places on earth.  Even during the Middle Eastern winter, these hills are adorned with exotic flowers and dabbled with the shade of palm trees. 

            For first century people, life was good in Galilee.  The weather was typically beautiful, and with its fertile soil and sufficient rain, the Galilean countryside provided abundant crops.  With an environment that allowed for growing crops that could not be sustained in the southern deserts of Judea or the salty coastal plains to the west, the Galilee offered the opportunity for a life of abundance and leisure.  Life was so good in Galilee that even the first century Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, envied the “pleasant towns” located on the shores of this fresh water lake that we call the Sea of Galilee.

             When he preached the Sermon of Plain, Jesus wasn’t addressing the impoverished and homeless of the ancient world.  He was addressing the affluent and well-to-do of ancient Palestine; he was addressing those who could afford real estate where the property values were inflated by good weather, easy living, and beautiful views.  And what Jesus did tell these people?

            “Blessed are you who are poor…Blessed are you who are hungry” (Lk 6:20-21). The Galileans weren’t poor, but they probably didn’t mind Jesus offering hope to the poor.  After all, the comfortable often feel empathy toward the disadvantaged.  But then Jesus continued: “Woe to you who are rich…Woe to you who are full…Woe to you when all speak well of you” (Lk 6:24-26).  Ouch!

            With these words, Jesus turned their world upside-down!  By beginning his sermon with these words, Jesus was warning the comfortable Galileans that their privileges carried great responsibilities.  As with all people who enjoy prosperity and creature comforts, the Galileans faced the temptation to grow complacent about the needs of others—and perhaps even defensive of their own privileges.   In this sermon, Jesus challenged his well-fed and well-entertained Galilean audience to accept an alternative values system; he challenged them to use their privileges in the service of the neglected and disprivileged.

            Everyone knows the way the world works today—and it was no different in ancient Galilee.  According to the principles of this world, those with power and influence use that power and influence to isolate themselves from or even to destroy their enemies.  But Jesus said, “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you” (Lk 6:27).  According to the principles of this world, those who possess resources and enjoy affluence have to defend themselves from those who might take advantage of their generosity.  But Jesus said, “Give to everyone who begs from you” (Lk 6:30).

            With every sentence in this brief sermon, Jesus turned the conventional wisdom of this world on its head.  The wisdom of this world teaches people “to love those who love you,” but Jesus asks “what credit is that to you?” (Lk 6:32).  The wisdom of this world says “do go to those who do good to you,” but Jesus again asks “what credit is that to you?” (Lk 6:33).  The wisdom of this world says “lend to those from whom you hope to receive repayment,” but Jesus insists that “even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much again” (Lk 6:34).

            Jesus didn’t seem to place much value on the wisdom of this world.  In fact, he admonished his hearers to reject the values that had made life in Galilee so pleasant.  They had invested in themselves, had protected their privileges, and put down every enemy.  Jesus told them to live differently: “Love you enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” (Lk 6:35). 

            How could Jesus say such a thing?  Because Jesus understood the love of God.  Jesus called his followers to love others as God has loved them.  Jesus said that God “is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:35-36).  By God’s kindness to the (formerly) ungrateful and wicked like us, God has set an example of how we ought to live—kindly and with mercy.

            What would it look like to live by Jesus’ sermon today?  Perhaps I’m a Galilean?  I live a life of relative comfort and privilege.  When I speak of a diet, I am referring to my need to lose weight.  Yet one in five people on this planet live in absolute poverty, making less than one dollar per day, and for them, a diet is about securing enough food to stave off starvation.  Over twenty four thousand people fail at that task everyday and die of hunger or hunger-related diseases.  That’s one thousand human beings, most of them children, who die every hour.  In the light of such human tragedy, what is God calling a comfortable Galilean like me to do?

            What would it look like to live by Jesus’ sermon today?  It would mean to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Lk 6:31).  It would mean to seek out the privileges and comforts that I could abandon for the sake of others.  When I am tempted to turn a blind eye to the needs around me, I remember that Jesus said, “woe to you rich.” I also remember that Jesus has called me to love as I have been loved.

--Thomas E. Phillips