Sermon 1/25/04
The mission, the Vision - Luke 4:16-21
(view notes for this text)
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
This passage from Luke is one of my favorite scenes from the gospel. Just before this scene, Jesus had been in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, a passage we will read during the season of Lent. He has been tested and found ready to get to work, and so this visit to the synagogue marks his announcement of his intentions for ministry. We hear that already, his reputation was growing - these people were talking about him, and praising him for his teaching and wisdom. Today, we find Jesus going to the synagogue, as was his custom, we are told, and reading from the scriptures of Isaiah. And importantly, Jesus is in his hometown, Nazareth, this time, not far away in some distant place. His behavior in itself was not unusual - many who attended the synagogue on the Sabbath as Jesus did would also read from the scriptures, then speak or preach about their meaning. The words Jesus spoke would have been familiar to them, these words from Isaiah. They knew the scriptures. They knew this passage. They knew this tradition of reading and preaching. What was surprising, even shocking to them, was that Jesus closed by saying, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." This is the man that they knew as a young boy, the man whose parents they knew well. And the man that they had heard reports about by now. And here they are, witnessing him speak themselves. We'll have to wait 'til next week to find out how they reacted to what Jesus was saying. But for now, let's look at just what Jesus was saying for ourselves.
Jesus read from the book of Isaiah, the same Isaiah included in our Bibles today. Interestingly, if we look at the verses Jesus chose from Isaiah for his reading, we'll realize that Jesus skips around a bit, leaving out a verse or phrase here, skipping back a few chapters to read another phrase there. What he chooses to leave out is as important as what he chooses to read aloud. He leaves out the part about "the day of vengeance of our God" that follows the phrase he reads about the year of God's favor. And he leaves out a mention of Zion, or Israel, the chosen people, instead making his message directed at a broader group of people. Jews and Gentiles. Jesus makes sure, as we will learn more fully in next week's gospel lesson, that his hearers understand that his mission is to minister to everybody. And he makes sure they understand that he doesn't come to hand out God's vengeance, as Isaiah spoke of long ago - he doesn't come to hurt, to humiliate, to lay blame.
So what does that leave? The Spirit of the Lord has anointed Jesus, he says, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Jesus selects verse that describe what will be his mission and ministry. This is what he has come to do: to bring good news, to proclaim release and recover, to bring freedom, and bring God's favor to the people. He lays it out for all to hear - this is the plan of action he will take. What a wonderful vision! What hope we can find in Jesus' words!
And yet, that's not the whole message that Jesus gives to them. We know that the people always found Jesus challenging, so we must wonder, where is the challenge in this message he brings? Why would people not accept this plan he had laid out? Who wouldn't want good news and God's favor? The trouble is, we have a habit, as his hearers that day did, of skipping right over the part of the passage Jesus reads that makes his ministry what it is. Jesus does not bring the good news just to anyone, he says, he brings it to the poor. The release is not for the general crowds, but for the captives. Recovery comes for the blind. Freedom comes to those who are oppressed. This is what makes it the year of God's favor, for those who are least and last, deemed most unworthy by society to receive such good news.
But Jesus' message is for us, too. His plan of ministry is our plan of ministry. If we truly seek to be Christ like, we must try to do as he did, live as he lived, spread the good news in the way that he called us to share the good news. And we do try. We seek to do all the things listed by Isaiah that Jesus shares here. But, I must admit my own guilt - my ministry is more comfortable than challenging. Sure, you are a challenging bunch of people - Yes, I'm still in the midst of my first year of ministry here. Sure, we've faced grief and loss as a congregation. Yes, I'm busy with meetings left and right. But when, I must ask myself, was the last time I brought the good news to the poor? Perhaps only through a can dropped off for Salvation Army collections. Is that what Jesus is getting at? I can't say yes without kidding you and myself. When was the last time I proclaimed release to the captives? When did I help the blind to see? Have I freed those who are oppressed? Who is oppressed today? At best, I have tried to proclaim the year of God's favor - but how can I convince people of God's favor when they are poor, captive, blind, and oppressed?
Indeed, write Michael Hardin and Jeff Krantz, "What would happen to us as preachers if we preached real, unmerited forgiveness, forgiveness that included the least worthy, the Osama bin Ladens, the suicide bombers. If someone stood up in your church and announced this ludicrous degree of forgiveness, how would you feel?" (1) Jesus says he comes to turn everything upside down, and confuse everyone's expectations of how things are supposed to be. Those who are captive find release, even when we still seek to hold them guilty. Those who are oppressed are freed, even when it means we must give up our role too often as oppressors. Those who are poor receive God's good news, even when it means we must share from our abundance, even when we want the good news all for ourselves. Jesus challenges us to a radical ministry that defies the normal order. Can we do it? Can we have this kind of ministry, right here at St. Paul's?
This past week, a few of us here were summoned to meet with Bishop Fischer, the bishop of our conference, to talk with her about our financial situation at St. Paul's. Not too long ago, St. Paul's paid 100%, or even above and beyond 100% of our shared ministry obligation to support the connectional ministries of our conference. But in the past few years, for a number of reasons, including a slumping economy, job loss, loss of members with a high commitment to giving, etc., we have fallen short, paying less than 100%, even just 50% of our shared ministry obligation. Bishop Fischer challenged us to discover ways we could turn this situation around. She wanted to know what our vision was - where do we want to be headed as a congregation. What exactly is St. Paul's all about? What are we doing here, anyway?
We do have a mission statement: after a little searching we found our most recent mission statement to read, "St. Paul's UMC is a living, growing fellowship of caring people with a mission of extending God's love through ministry within the church and into the community at large." That's a good mission statement. But with our mission in hand, what is our vision? If we have our mission, how are we realizing it? How are we putting it into action? In my column in our January newsletter, I shared with you some small pieces of my vision for St. Paul's. What is your vision? I don't ask rhetorically. I really want to know, really want you to speak with me about what St. Paul's would look like in your wildest dreams. Because with a vision, we can take action, and brings Jesus' vision into reality in this place.
Can you imagine what this place would look like, if Jesus' vision for us was a reality? If St. Paul's was a place that reached out into the community to touch those who had the most need, those who are so often shunned and looked down on, and said to them, you are welcome here, God loves you so much? Can you imagine if we preached release to those who felt captive to sin and suffering, wrong doing and bad choices, and said to them, you are welcome here, God gives you fresh start after fresh start? Can you imagine if we preached to those who were broken and blinded, and said, you are welcome here, be surrounded by God's healing grace? Can you imagine if we reached to those who were oppressed, affected by sexism, racism, classism, and said, you are welcome here, for in God's eyes we are all beloved children?
I dream of such a place. We can be such a place. Christ calls, even demands of us to become such a place. What is your vision? How will you work to make it a reality? The Spirit of God is upon you, and the year of God's favor has come at last. Amen.
(1) Jeff Krantz/Michael Hardin: http://www.preachingpeace.org/epiphany3.htm
Benediction: The Spirit of the Lord is upon you. God has anointed you to bring good news to the poor. God has sent you to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. You are sent to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of God's gracious favor. Amen.