The sermon on the plains offers a poignant opportunity to dig into why we struggle with seeing ourself in scripture.

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In the Sermon on the Plains (Luke 6), Jesus keeps speaking in the second person:

“Blessed are you”

and

“Woe to you…”

which really starts to sound like he’s talking to us! This, of course, is the blessing and the curse of Scripture. Which usually means that we choose when it applies and…doesn’t.

But here, Jesus’s repetition is intense. He uses you 19 times and your twice. It is impossible to let this one roll off and assume it isn’t about us personally.

So don’t.

The true challenge of scripture is living into the implication of it applying to us. That we are both blessed and the source of woe. That both things are possible. And true. And up to us to wrestle with. With help.