February 13, Epiphany 6C (Luke 6:17–26)

On Thursday evenings I teach ballet class. In constructing barre exercises that help warm up the body for more intricate steps, I aim to balance the use of muscle groups. The practice of moving en croix, in the shape of the cross, creates both tension and balance in the body. Each exercise is completed with the foot tracing the shape of a cross on the floor, once to the front in fourth position, to the side in second position, and to the back, again in fourth position. The dancer stands in the center of the cross, and the limbs move to explore the space where the well-worn path of the cross leads them.

Luke’s opening to the Sermon on the Plain invites us into the tension of living a cross-shaped life. As Jesus comes down the mountain to the plain, the disciples gather to receive instruction for their new role as apostles and the crowds clamor around Jesus to see his power reflected back into their lives. Jesus sees in them all a people in need of both blessing and challenge.

On first read, I often fall into the trap of reading these blessings and woes as I would a personality quiz. I want to find a comfortable place to land and find my identity. But every verse can seem to fit, so I see myself in conflicting categories. On subsequent readings, it seems Jesus cares less about sorting us out than welcoming us to live in the tension of all these experiences.