Sunday Sermon: "World's Ugliest Dog"

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, as we turn to your Word, may the Spirit of God rest upon us. Help us to be steadfast in our hearing, in our speaking, in our believing, and in our living. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 6:17-26
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. 20 Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. 24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

SERMON: INTRODUCTION
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about county fairs. You know I’m from Butler, home of the “Big Butler Fair,” which claims to be the largest county fair in western Pennsylvania. And before that, when we lived up north in Titusville, PA, we always went to the Crawford County Fair. And before THAT, lived in Canfield, OH and were regulars at the Canfield Fair. The Bauer family has never met a fair they didn’t like.

But what really started me thinking about all this county fair stuff is California’s Sonoma-Marin Fair which I read about a few weeks ago. You may have heard about it on the news or read about it in the paper or on-line. The Sonoma-Marin Fair is famous for a particular beauty pageant it holds. Every summer, for seventeen years, the organizers of the Sonoma-Marin Fair have held the “World’s Ugliest Dog” competition.1

You should see the pictures of these doggie contestants. Bald patches, bug eyes, missing teeth and other body parts, tongues hanging out, huge overbites and, this year’s winner had a massive underbite! You name it, one of the contestants has it. The characteristics that would get it laughed out of the ring at the “Eukenuba American Kennel Association Dog Show” are the exact ones that will bring home the prize at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

Normally, the rules of our culture say that what is beautiful is best and that which is ugly is a failure, which is why the Eukenuba championship is shown on TV and why the Sonoma-Marin “World’s Ugliest Dog” is a contest you probably never heard of. That’s what our culture values. But according to God’s values, being “ugly” or different from the rest of the crowd, means being a smashing success.

#1
If there’s one thing we know about Jesus, it’s that what our culture considers ugly, like these poor little canines, Jesus blesses.

In this passage from Luke, Jesus blesses the ragtag crowd of “ugly” people that keeps hounding him everywhere he goes. These people are poor, dirty, sick, and hungry. Some probably hadn’t bathed in awhile; others were fresh off the fishing boats. You can imagine what the scene must have smelled like.

The space surrounding Jesus is full of people who came “to be healed of their diseases” and so that those “troubled by evil spirits were cured.” It’s a good thing Jesus wasn’t claustrophobic because this mob of humanity seems to be crowding closer and closer to Jesus, trying to touch him with just one little finger tip in hopes of getting some of his healing power. You can just FEEL the crowds leaning closer and closer to him.

This ragamuffin group has gathered from all over the place: from Jerusalem to the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They are apostles and disciples, Jews and Gentiles, and probably even some pagans in the mix, all gathered to catch a glimpse of Jesus. They are a dirty, smelly mass of illness and disease, people declared unclean and ugly. And Jesus blesses them, because what our culture considers ugly, Jesus blesses.

#2
This passage from Luke’s gospel is part of what is known as The Sermon on the Plain. You’ve heard of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. Well, this is the same speech, except it’s shorter and preached down at sea level instead of on a mountain. Commentators suggest that although Matthew 5 is prettier, Luke 6 is probably closer to Jesus’ original words.

In Luke’s version of this speech, Jesus says some unexpected things. Jesus CHOOSES to bless the ugly people in the crowd! He BLESSES the poor who beg for change alongside the dusty city streets. He BLESSES the hungry who scrounge for scraps out of garbage cans. He BLESSES those who are unable to contain weeping and mourning. And he BLESSES those who are hated and excluded and insulted and rejected by the rest of society, and maybe even by us. Because what our culture considers ugly, Jesus blesses.

Now, the word “blessed” used here doesn’t mean that they will suddenly attain a supreme level of sublime happiness that will help them to transcend all their problems. It means that the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are rejected will be considered righteous—they will be blessed not in the eyes of the culture, but in the eyes of the Lord. Being blessed doesn’t mean money will never be tight or that there will be food galore on the table, or even that we’ll never be sad or rejected again.

It means that God has chosen to see us through the dry spells. God will always provide enough to get us through the tough times.

#3
Along with the 4 blessings, Jesus also delivers 4 woes: woe to the rich, woe to the well fed, woe to those who laugh, and woe to those who are well-respected by others. There he goes again—Jesus is saying a lot of unexpected things in this passage!

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve been taught that it’s a good thing to have a little money in the bank; that it’s good to have 3 square meals a day and maybe a little snack before bed time. And what’s this nonsense about “woe to those who laugh”—this congregation is in big trouble if laughing turns out to be a bad thing! And isn’t your reputation supposed to be your most important asset, the key to influence and affluence? A little money in the bank, a full belly, a good time, and a good reputation—aren’t these good things? Why does Jesus say "woe" to these things?

Here’s the problem: Mark 10:25 says, “ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus knows that too often the pursuit of money and a comfortable life—being well fed, laughing a lot, and being spoken well of—all too often gets in the way of worshiping God.

We have to remember what our culture blesses, Jesus considers ugly because it becomes an obstacle to God.


CONCLUSION
In the beginning we hear about the crowd that is gathered around Jesus—they were needy, sick, tormented—all desperate for the healing power of Jesus. They had come from every corner of Judea to see Jesus.

But as Jesus begins to preach, the crowd suddenly begins to look like a bunch of disciples. You see, in the middle of this crowd of “World’s Ugliest Dogs,” Jesus sees his disciples: among this crowd of riff-raff, he sees the people who will continue his ministry after his death. Jesus is clear that what the world sees in this crowd of disease and poverty and neediness is the exact opposite of what He sees in them.

Remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” God chooses to bless the “ugly dogs” who trust in God and not so much in other people; the “ugly dogs” who depend on God instead on themselves; the “ugly dogs” who persevere in the call God has given to them, even when they’re in the middle of a dry spell.

I hope I don't offend any one by saying I don't think any of us are going to win any beauty contests any time soon. I know I won't! So, let us embrace all those characteristics that would get us laughed out of a beauty contest--like an "ugly" dog out of the Eukenuba championship--and embrace our inner “ugly dog” that turns away from the rules and standards of our culture and chooses to live according to God's standards. And may we all enjoy the hope that comes from being “blessed" by God.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

[1] http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93000312