THE GREAT REVERSAL

We have a vision for tomorrow, just believe, just believeWe have a goal for Singapore, we can achieve, we can achieveYou and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heartWe're going to show the world what Singapore can beWe can achieve, we can achieve

“My soul magnifies the Lord,47 and my spirit rejoices in God my

Savior,48 for he has looked on the humble

estate of his servant.    For behold, from now on all

generations will call me blessed;49 for he who is mighty has done great

things for me,    and holy is his name.

This is not any ordinary praise song from an individual,

It is a song that depicts the kind of kingdom God was about to usher in through the coming Messiah.

When the Kingdom of God is here, everything in this world will be turned

THE GREAT REVERSAL

The mighty will be cast down and the humble will be exalted

The poor will be made rich and the rich will be sent away empty

“My soul glorifies the Lord47 and my spirit rejoices in God my

Savior,48 for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.From now on all generations will call me

blessed,48 For He has been mindful of the humble

state of his servant.•  

51 He has shown strength with his arm;    he has scattered the proud in the

thoughts of their hearts;52 he has brought down the mighty from

their thrones    and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and the rich he has sent away empty.

SERMON ON THE PLAIN

Luke 6: 20  “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. 

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 

SERMON ON THE PLAIN22 “Blessed are you when people hate

you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!

23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven;

SERMON ON THE PLAIN

Luke 6: 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

SERMON ON THE PLAIN

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Nothing wrong with blessings and prosperity.  But there is a danger:

Social and economic security can blind us to the realities around us and make us deaf to othersWealth and prosperity can distract us from our ethical and spiritual responsibilities 

IS PROSPERITY BAD?

WHY THE RICH MAN WAS CONDEMNED

1) His good fortune had blinded him to the moral responsibility he had towards the poor and needy, like Lazarus.

WHY THE RICH MAN WAS CONDEMNED

2) His world was centered around himself

Even in death, he seemed to still think that he was somehow more important than Lazarus.

Luke came from a well to do family:• sophisticated Greek => well-educated 

Luke moved among high society.• Theophilus addressed as “most excellent”.• someone of social standing 

BACKGROUND OF LUKE

Yet Luke never shied away from proclaiming this theme of the Great Reversal in his Gospel.

His gospel challenged those from his social class regarding their wealth and prosperity.

How should the followers of Christ who are socially secure relate to their own well-being and to the needs of others?

How then do we make sense of this Great Reversal that God is bringing about?

4 POINTS FOR REFLECTION

1. This Great Reversal assures us that the downtrodden in this world are especially precious to the Lord.

4 POINTS TO HELP US IN OUR REFLECTION.

2. The Great Reversal serves as a warning to those who are well-placed and well-provided for in this life.

DANGERS OF WEALTH AND POWER

• make us proud, measuring ourselves and others not by our values in the eyes of God, but by our achievement and possessions.

• create in us a false sense of security and blind us of our dependency on God

• lure us to a place of complacency and insensitivity to the needs of others

4 POINTS TO HELP US IN OUR REFLECTION.

3. The Great Reversal is the work of God

This announcement of the Great Reversal is NOT a call for us to go into the streets or to take up arms and join in some form of social or political revolution.

4 POINTS TO HELP US IN OUR REFLECTION.

4. God is calling us to be His partners to bring about this Great Reversal.

DIOCESAN EDUCATION

WORK

DIOCESAN HEALTHCARE WORK

God’s mercy is for those who fear him    from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;    he has scattered the proud in the

thoughts of their hearts;52 he has brought down the mighty from

their thrones    and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,    and the rich he has sent away empty.