He stood on a level place

When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. 
-Luke 6:17

On Sunday we had a conversation that reflected the way God forms us. We looked at a simple passage in Luke 6, where Jesus moves from prayerful solitude at night, to community with his disciples in the morning, to healing the world around him in the afternoon. 

There's a flow there: Solitude, to community, to ministry. And it seems like God has made us to thrive when our identity in God is deeply rooted before we move outward. There was much more to it as we reflected on the role of belovedness as the foundation of it all, but that podcast is freely available, so I want to reflect on a verse in there that didn't come up until our post-message dialogue time. 

As we were sharing together after the message, one of our community members mentioned that he was struck by a phrase used in one of the verses, where it mentioned that Jesus and his disciples came off the mountain and stood "on a level place" as they began to care for people. He wondered if that phrase may have just been an odd way of translating the original language, but suggested that either way, it struck him as a significant insight about God's approach to us, and our approach to the world around us. 

So I did some linguistic digging. This passage is the lead-in to what theologians often refer to as Luke's "sermon on the plain," where Jesus shares radical teachings about caring for others and loving enemies, overlapping the same themes found in Matthew's "sermon on the mount" in Matthew 5-7. 

It's labeled the "sermon on the plain" because of this verse. Jesus walks down a mountain and stands on a "plain" (like a wide open field). But the actual Greek and the most direct translation is simply "a place where the ground is level." 

So a completely fair way of saying this would be: 
Together, Jesus and his disciples came and stood with the people on level ground.

What a little gem is held in that statement. As my friend shared, "God is with us on a level place... and so we need to be with everyone else on a level place."

When I look around today, I cannot help but see the anti-Christian idol of power and control all over the place. But the posture of Jesus is so radically different.

God's very self enters fully into humanity. Jesus not only embraces human limits, but he refuses to even use human forms of power and control. The theological word for it is kenosis, or self-emptying. In the act of emptying himself for the sake of loving others, Jesus moves into a position where he doesn't stand over people, but under and alongside them. He extends a hand. He invites. He seeks to serve. He challenges people to reject the temptation of domineering judgment that lacks self-reflection. He gives people freedom to come toward him and to walk away from him. He calls his followers brothers and sisters. He eats. He hangs out. The dude abides. On a level place. 

There is immense power in meeting people at eye level. 

Every time his own disciples start ranking themselves against each other or against others, he calls it out and brings them back down to level. 

Taking on this radical posture in our lives does not make us less valuable, but rather elevates the value of all people, who are made in the image of God. 
The more years that I pastor (over 20 now), the more I realize that I'm not the expert. Those that I seek to serve often teach me more than I can offer them. And those that I am tempted to stand in judgment over have often had a much more difficult journey than I have. So I am reminded that at the foot of the cross, the ground is level. And between me and my neighbor, the ground is level. And between me and my homeless brethren, the ground is level. And between me and those new in their faith, the ground is level. And somehow, by the grace of God, Jesus comes and meets me on level ground too. This is especially helpful on the days when I don't have the strength to look up. 

I want to live as someone who stands with others on level ground. Today, may we grow in wonder at a God who comes down to a level place. And may we have the humility to share that space with everyone we meet. 

Jesus, thank you for meeting me where I am. 

Peace,
Keith