The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
February 16, 2025
Luke 6:17-26 

Maybe I was feeling kind of down the other day, so I asked Artificial Intelligence this question: “what must I do to be happy?” Because you know, we all want to be happy. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our kids love Happy Meals. One of the greatest golf movies of all time is, obviously, Happy Gilmore.So, looking for some answers, I asked the all-wise Artificial Intelligence, “what must I do to be happy?” 

One of the weird things about AI, is that it will always respond. At least some humans have enough sense to not say anything. But the computer told me that in order to be happy, I need to practice gratitude, to reflect on good things. To spend time with friends and family. To pursue hobbies that give me joy. To be happy, the computers told me to eat right, to exercise, to sleep. To stay positive, and to help other people. If I can just do all of that, then I will be happy.

And really, that answer, the answer that AI gave me about being happy, well, it’s really just a reflection of our culture. How different is that from any of the things we tell ourselves for New Years’ resolutions and things we’ll do during Lent? Because these are the messages we hear all the time about happiness. Be grateful, appreciate your family, do things you like. Go to the gym, eat your vegetables. Then, and only then, will you be happy.   

But you are here this morning for something more. So, what does the Bible say about happiness? Uh-oh.

This gospel lesson we just heard, these are called the “Beatitudes.” The blessings. Blessed are you who are poor. Blessed are you who are hungry. Blessed are you who weep. Blessed are you when people hate you. The really uncomfortable part about this, is that the word for blessing really means “happy.” Listen to it this way. Happy are you who are poor. Happy are you who are hungry. Happy are you who weep. Happy are you when people hate you. Jesus is meddling again, telling us pretty much the opposite of what we believe.

And in fact, all those things that we think will make us happy, well, Jesus says, “woe to you.” “Woe” is a funeral word. It’s as if Jesus is grieving over us who are rich; who are full now; who are laughing now; when all speak well of us. Woe to us.

It is such a stark contrast. Here we have our culture, our gut instinct, even our Artificial Intelligence telling us that to be happy, we must focus on ourselves. And here we have the Lord Jesus, telling us that happiness comes when we’re at the very bottom of our lives. 

Let’s dig in.

Those woes that Jesus lists, those are all things that come from outside of ourselves. How do we get rich? We either inherit money or make it from someone else. How are we full now? Because someone else has grown our food and we get to eat it. Why are we laughing? Because we’ve seen or heard something funny. People speaking well of us; that’s how other people perceive us. And yet, because these all come from the outside, they are the quickest to vanish. We should all know how quickly we can lose money. And goodness, we know that money is fiction anyway. We should all know that we are just one bad harvest, one environmental disaster, one major disruption, from all going hungry. We might laugh now, but one day, we could be the ones getting laughed at. And I know it from experience – people can speak well of you, and then they can change their minds. 

This is what Jesus is getting at. When you stake your happiness on things outside of your control, then your happiness is a ticking time bomb. Because one day, it will all blow up. And then, woe to you. 

And then all those blessings, all that happiness showered upon the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the reviled. It’s because they are the ones crying out to God for help. When you’re rich and laughing, when everybody thinks well of you, then you don’t really need God, do you? You’re getting along just fine, thank you very much. But it’s when we are the bottom, in the darkest moments that we reach out. And I have found, in my own life with Jesus, that when things are bad and I reach out for help, that’s precisely when God is revealed to me. I have been blessed, not by all the little charms of life; but the greatest blessings in my life have come when I begged God for grace, and it was given to me.

This is exactly the story of holy scripture. The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness, they cry out to God for food and water. God gives them food and water, and they are blessed by it. Jesus is dying on the cross, and it is there, in the darkest of moments, that we are blessed.  Think of it – the ancient church spread around the world even as those first Christians were being chased down and tortured. And they received blessings beyond understanding. The blessing, the happiness, does not come from a padded savings account and a stocked pantry and a few pals to laugh around with. No, happiness comes from the Lord God who sees us at our very worst, and gives us more blessings than we could ask for or imagine.

This morning, we are installing new members into our Junior Daughters of the King. And more than anything, this is what I want the children of our church to know. Happiness will not come from getting a new phone, because one day it will break, or become old-fashioned; because other people may very well say horrible things to you and about you by text message. Happiness will not come from food, because one day, even our appetites will fade away. Happiness will not come from gags, or jokes, or horsing around. That can be fun, but it’s no way to build a life. And happiness will most definitely not come by getting people to like you. Do not worry about the image you create on social media. Do not try to be so desperate to please everyone else, and who they expect you to be. As any of the adults in this room can tell you, going that way, will not make you happy.

So what will make you happy? Like Jesus was getting at, what will give you blessing, and happiness, is reaching out to God when you need it. Even in the really hard times. What will give you blessing, and happiness, is knowing that your identity as God’s beloved child is not contingent upon how rich you are, or how much stuff you have, or many friends you make. No, blessing and happiness is a gift from God, even in the darkest moments. And even if you have not yet lived through dark times, they are sure to come. That is simply part of life. But when hard things do come, I hope that you seek out God; and that you seek out real friends; and that you find true grace and mercy and kindness. That is the path to happiness.

And that, after all, is the gospel. This is the good news of Jesus Christ. The fact that you are a beloved child of God is not tied to how much or how little you have. It is not tied to whatever emotion you happen to be feeling in this moment. The fact that God loves you eternally is not connected to anything anyone else thinks about you. 

What must you do to be happy? The good news is that you don’t have to do a thing, because it was the Lord God who did it all. The Lord Jesus made you, sustains you, died and rose for you. That is true happiness, that is the ultimate blessing.