We Were Told to Go
Luke 4:14-21
Listen for the Word of God. Read Luke 4:14-22a
Interesting on the weekend when we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
birthday and remember his life and ministry: I have to ask you all … I’ve put it off thus
far in our worship service. I waited until my “designated time of address” but I have to
ask you, all of you, any of you: Were you Christ last week? Anyone …. ? Did anyone
bring good news to the poor – any poor, spiritually or otherwise? Did anyone proclaim
release to the captives – anyone who is enslaved in any way? Did anyone help the
blind to recover their sight? Or let the oppressed for free? Or proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor? Anyone …
Why not?! (Or why not more of you?!) Two weeks ago we “got ready and got
set.” And last week we went! Or, more accurately we were told to “Go!” What are you
waiting for?!
What are we waiting for?
Maybe we were waiting for this morning’s scripture reading. As familiar as it is to
us, maybe we were waiting to hear it again, just in case we heard it wrong the last time.
From our scripture this morning, one Jesus of Nazareth proclaims: “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me … God has sent me to proclaim and to
free.” He reads from his own scripture, the book Isaiah. And then he rolls up the scroll,
gives it back to the attendant, sits down and says, “Today … today this scripture has
been fulfilled in your hearing.” We didn’t hear that scripture wrong the last time.
Maybe we’re not sure if we’re hearing the Spirit right as it’s moved through the
sermon messages I’ve shared the past three weeks. Maybe we can’t hear or honestly
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trust that when we talk about Jesus’ divinity, about how God is present in him, we must
necessarily talk about our own … divinity, about how God is present in us. Given the
exclusive tone our doctrine of the Incarnation too often takes we more commonly
separate ourselves from the life, love and labors of Jesus. That work was and is his.
Maybe we aren’t ready to discover the presence of God at work in and through
ourselves in ways that lead to “good news, release, recovery, and proclamation. I
personally believe, and have to belief, not only for the sake of a hurting and fearful world,
but for our own sake, that we must discover “God-within-us.” That discovery won’t
happen without Jesus, but it’s not just about him.
Who are we because of this Jesus of Nazareth? What are we called to do because he
did it first?
Isaiah 61, the scroll from which Jesus reads in our scripture this morning, is a
servant song, and “anointed me” means “made me the Christ or Messiah.” When
understood literally, the passage says “the Christ” is God’s servant who will bring to
reality the longing and the hope of the poor, the oppressed, and the imprisoned
(Craddock, Fred B. Interpretation: Luke. 62). That was Jesus, yes. And it is us, you
and me. The difference is Jesus claimed it: Today the scripture has been fulfilled …
Our response for two thousand years has been: Two thousand years ago the scripture
was fulfilled … and it will be again when that one comes again. I’ve been telling you this
year, since the Christmas event in Bethlehem only three and a half short weeks ago that
we cannot claim to be Christians and say that this work is someone else’s. We cannot
claim to be a disciple of Jesus Christ without making the same bold assertion that he did
in the synagogue in Nazareth on that fateful Sabbath day.
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The scripture has been fulfilled …
We are empowered by that life two thousand years ago to claim the presence of
God in us by living fully, by loving wastefully, and by having the courage to be all that
God created us to be, today. We must not allow today to become yesterday or, worse,
to slip into a vague someday. Everyone wants to know these days, “How is the church
doing today?” The real question should be, “What is the church doing today?” Jesus
stepped forward in Nazareth and declared the truth about his life, a truth that all of us –
if we are who we say we are – must declare: we are filled with the power of the Spirit
and anointed to being good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight
to the blind, to let the oppressed for free and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!
The Incarnation, our scripture’s telling of how God comes to us in human form, is not
just about Jesus of Nazareth. It is about you … and me.
Lofty, lofty sentiments … Best left to people like Martin Luther King, Jr., or Nelson
Mandela, or Mother Theresa, or Mahatma Gandhi, or Jesus of Nazareth. How in the
world are we supposed to know our “mission” or to understand what God has given us
to do? It’s right there in Luke 4:
Who are the poor in your life? And you know darn well that I’m going to
remind you that poverty is not just economic, though let us not pretend that it doesn’t
include those with no money, no money for healthcare, or childcare, or self-care. But if
you find yourself not able to bring good news to the homeless or the penniless, then
consider the “poor in Spirit.” Anyone who has lost faith in Love (with a capital “L”),
whatever we choose to call it; anyone who has given up on being loved, or trusting
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others, or finding happiness, or meaning, or hope. Who are the poor in your life? Bring
good news to them!
Who are the captives in your life? I trust you realize that captivity is not limited
to those who are behind bars, though let us not pretend that it doesn’t include those
who are locked up with little or no future and less present. But if you find yourself
unable to proclaim release to the incarcerated, then consider those who are held
hostage by physical or mental illness, by custom or convention, by their past or their
sense of no future ahead for them. Who are the captives in your life? Proclaim release
to them!
Who are the blind in your life? And … yes, you and I both know that we
cannot give eyesight to anyone who has lost it. But what about vision or imagination?
And if you find yourself unable to offer that to anyone who is physically incapable of
seeing, then consider those who are blinded to the reality of God in their midst, or who
cannot see the light at the end of their long, dark, tunnel, or whose dreams have been
so crushed that there have no idea what they’re looking at anymore. Who are the blind
in your life? Give them vision!
Who are the oppressed in your life? And not just those who are kept down
because of their race, or age, or gender, or sexual orientation, thought let us not
pretend that this doesn’t include the lingering consequences of racism, or sexism, or
prejudice and discrimination. But if you find yourself unable to offer freedom to victims
of anyone who has been a focus of cultural injustice, then consider those who are
struggling with addictions, or are in abusive relationships, or who have been so
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marginalized that no one even notices them anymore. Who are the oppressed in you
life? Let them go free!
Who are they? No … I’m not going to tell you that. Only you can answer that.
And you know who they are in you lives. (By the way, don’t overlook yourself.)
As we come to know the Christ in us, not denying the divinity of Jesus, but
acknowledging that divinity in ourselves as well we focus on God’s “humanness” and
God’s love of life, all life. As we bring and proclaim and release and let go free, we
don’t just do what Jesus did. We do what you were supposed to do!
I’ll bet, I hope, that if I asked my opening question again more of you would be
able to share where you where you were Christ in the world this past week. I’m not
going to ask it again this morning, though. That’d be too easy. I’m going to ask you
again next week so be ready. This week let the scripture be fulfilled in our lives, too, for
that is who we are called to be.
May it be so. So be it. (Amen)
Reverend Joel Weible, Pastor
Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church / January 19, 2014