When the Bowl Is Empty

In the Hunan Provincial Museum is the oldest bowl archeologists have discovered so far. It is 18,000 years old. Of course, all that remains are pieces of the ceramic pottery, which have now been reassembled to reveal that this bowl was almost 10 inches in diameter at its widest point. The biggest question scientists have about this discovery? What did they put in the bowl?

At my house, we have a lot of different kinds of bowls. And the kind of bowl that gets pulled out of the cabinet and set on the counter to use while I am cooking is going to tell you something about what I am making, and the kind of bowl that gets set on the table is going to tell you something about what is going to be served.

This bowl is the popcorn bowl. This one is the mashed potato bowl. This one is the tossed and coated bowl. This bowl is the mixed or whipped bowl. This bowl is the salad bowl. This bowl is the rice dish bowl. If this bowl is on the table, we are having red beans and rice or jambalaya. This bowl is for chili. This one for cereal or soup. These bowls are for dipping sauces. And then, of course, there are fine china bowls for soup and for fruit and for serving. All of them have one thing in common. When they are empty, they are waiting for something.
Our God is all about filling what is empty. Silence and Word. Darkness and Light. Mountains and Valleys. Empty and Full. Woes and Blessings. Absence and Presence.

Luke tells us that Jesus has been to the mountain top to pray, and he came down to them. He stood on a level place; he empties himself to be equal to them, the crowd who have gathered from all over. Remember that Judea was the area from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea, Jerusalem is in Judea. The Jordan River runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, and the area along the Jordan River to the Mediterranean is Samaria, north of Samaria is Galilee, and Tyre and Sidon are north of Galilee in an area known even then as Syria. So, what Luke is telling us is that people are gathered from the whole of Israel and beyond. Some Jewish, some Gentile, perhaps some Roman…some have come to hear him teach, others for physical healing, others for spiritual healing.

All come with an emptiness, reaching for him, trying to touch him, when they do, they feel the power coming from him and into them, they are filled and healed…all of them.

And then he looks up and speaks: 4 blessings, 4 woes. Poor-rich, hungry-full, weeping-laughing, rejected-accepted. The Israelites would have heard the echoes of the prophet Isaiah, who was anointed, was filled with God’s Spirit, to preach good news to the poor that places long devastated would be restored, ruins rebuilt, broken hearts bound up, captives set free, mourning turned to joy and despair to praise. Jesus’ message was one of real hope right then for a people who were being oppressed, who are eager for change, who are empty and ready to receive change, ready for transformation, and it is personal and happening. The first three blessings address their emptiness now. Blessed are you, who are poor, for yours IS the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry NOW, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep NOW, for you will laugh.

Most of us, if we were in the crowd, with all our bowls, would probably be with the folks from Tyre and Sidon, the Gentiles, maybe Roman citizens. They were people who were for the most part satisfied, not eager for real change, accepting of the status quo. Perhaps they were curious what Jesus was teaching, perhaps they had a specific ailment in need of healing, but they weren’t looking for transformation. They heard what Jesus was saying and all they could think was, “I came all that way, to hear THIS!” Woe, to you who are rich, for you have gotten your comfort. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

Their reaction was the same as the reaction had been to the prophets centuries before, and we might be tempted by the same impulse centuries after. We like things the way they are. Our bowls are full. We like to believe that everything is just great and that we have worked hard for what we have, and that we can expect to be able to continue to provide for ourselves, thank you very much. Luke will tell the story of one man like this later on in Jesus’ ministry. He was a public official; he asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit life in the age to come, this kingdom of God that Jesus was preaching. He had kept all the commands listed in the Law. He knew the lists of blessings and curses in Deuteronomy. Blessed are those who do the right things, cursed are those who don’t. Of course, he had done all the right things, and his bowl was full. Jesus saw how full his bowl was and said, you only lack one thing. Empty your bowl. Give up all that you possess. Let go of everything you treasure – sell it and give the money to the poor. Only when your treasure bowl is empty can it be filled with God. THEN, you will have treasure in heaven. Remember, they didn’t have an understanding of heaven as a place up there that we go when we die. Heaven is the presence of God. Empty your bowl of all that you cling to that is not God, all your idols…money and stuff and things…and then God will fill it. God will be your treasure.

The man went away sad, because he had a lot. I imagine most in the crowd from Tyre and Sidon went away angry. How dare Jesus pronounce woes on them! They weren’t bad people. They worked for what they had. They were citizens of Rome. They had NOT expected him to talk to them like THAT. It was NOT what they came for.

Maybe some interpreted it just to mean that every life has its empty times and its full times, and if you are full now, just know that there will be a time that you are empty. And that’s true. “There is a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh…” Life has its ups and its downs.

But that wasn’t all Jesus was saying, and they wouldn’t have missed Jesus’ message in the last parallel blessing and curse. “Blessed are you when people hate you, shut you out, slander you, reject you because of me,” says Jesus, “Celebrate on that day! Jump for joy! For surely, God’s presence fills you to overflowing! Don’t you remember, that’s how the prophets got treated too….But woe to you when all speak well of you, those people praising you descend from a long line of people who have praised false prophets, people who have just told them what they wanted to hear.”

Everyone in the crowd that day had already been healed. They had already felt the power flowing out of him and into him. They were believers. They had come from all over to hear what he would say to them.

I wonder how many gathered up their bowl full and left for home. I wonder how many decided to pour out what was in their bowl and follow Jesus. I wonder what we would have done – what you would have done, what I would have done? Would we have been with the status quo, full bowl folks, irritated by the message but not enough to really hear it and certainly not open to change, or to our bowls being emptied? Or would we be open to hearing Jesus’ warning that when we are satisfied, we have no hunger for God? That money and food and status go together, and that those who have it are tempted to prioritize maintaining their bowl full of it rather than seeking God. That we can get so full of our own will that there is no room for God’s. Woe…

I invite you today to think about the bowls in your house, ready to be filled. And to pray, Lord, empty me of my commitment to the status quo and refill me with passionate hope for your Kingdom to come. May I do less of my will today, and more of yours. And may I end each day asking, “What did I see or hear about today that would break God’s heart?” And then let it break mine. Amen.