1
Today’s reading in Luke is what could be
easily called Jesus’ inaugural address. This
passage is at the very beginning of his
ministry. He had been baptized by John and
then was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted and tested by Satan. He then
returned to Galilee and began to teach.
After being on the road, Jesus finally
returns to his hometown, Nazareth. And at
Sabbath worship, he stands up and reads
these words from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.”
2
So what about the poor? Now as well as
then, the poor would be those individuals and
families who do not have enough resources to
live secure and happy lives. In other words,
the poor are those who live on the margins of
society, either physically, spiritually, or both.
For the most part, I see the poor as those
that have been rejected for one reason or
another.
The next sentence is, “He 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.”
3
I wonder if the captives might be the kind of
people, who for the most part, are trying to
flee from danger, running from tyrants and
ruthless killers and people who have no
livelihood or means to provide for their
families.
So these two sentences were the scripture
Jesus read for the day. After reading them he
rolled up the scroll and said, “Today this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The text says all spoke well of him and were
amazed at his words. Jesus had simply but
profoundly announced what was important to
4
him, his mission statement so to speak, or
what might be termed his “inaugural
address.” He let people know that the Spirit
of God was with him.
I also believe that the core of Jesus’
teaching continued to focus on opening the
eyes of the blind and showing compassion to
the poor and outcasts. This was Jesus’
message, his “campaign slogan” if you will.
In this text Jesus pushes “seeing” to the
social edge. Can we see the image of Jesus in
the least of our brothers and sisters? Can we
see Jesus in the "nobodies" who can't play
5
our “game” of success? In those who cannot
reward us in return? When we can see the
image of God where we are not accustomed
to seeing the image of God, then we see with
eyes not our own.
Looking back at our Gospel lesson, can we
can imagine a hometown congregation filled
with all the characters of the village -- rich
and poor; seeing and blind; oppressed and
oppressor -- and wonder what this liberation
looked like for them. Did they anticipate the
good news would come first to the poor, the
prisoner, and the oppressed? Or did they
6
think it would come first for those with inside
connections, the rich, and the religious?
Jesus offers them good news. Will they
hear it and receive it as good news to be
shared with all, especially the vulnerable? Or
will they hear it and hope that it is a message
for them alone? Are they hoping that as
Jesus’ hometown they will receive special
favor? Exclusive favor? Or does their hope
extend to the whole world? Good questions.
Tune in next week to find out how the
Nazareth crowed reacted to this Kingdom of
love and grace message?
7
I believe what we do for the poor, the
displaced, and the marginalized must become
part of our DNA as a congregation. It means
we are called to reorder our priorities and the
system to meet the needs of all of God’s
children. And this needs to happen not just in
crisis time but also in ordinary times.
Compassion and generosity means feeling
with another, right next to them, not from
above or below, but right alongside as I hope
Heather and Dustin Williams can feel as we
offer them our deepest prayers and
8
assistance as they deal with baby Coulter’s
cancer.
In Corinthians, Paul talks of love. He
reminds us that love and compassion are at
the heart of Jesus’ message—it is His "mission
statement" for ministry. Our mission
statement is pretty close to His. “We are to
joyfully share God’s love with all.” Added to
that is one of or our guiding principles: All are
welcome and invited!
As we move deeper into this New Year, we
might ask ourselves, are we, in a sense,
visiting the prisoners and working towards the
9
release of the captives? Are we healing the
brokenhearted? Do the works of our
committees and ministry teams bring good
news to the poor, the rejected? Do we work
on restoring sight, not just physical sight, but
understanding and insight into our work in
the world?
In closing, I share this comment on
today’s Gospel lesson from Sara Miles, who
directs a food pantry ministry in San
Francisco, "Revealed or hidden, God is always
at work. Join in, come closer, lend a hand,
and you will enter the perpetual present tense
10
of Emmanuel, God-with-us." "My prayer is
that all of us, in one way or another, will join
together to make a more beautiful and
compassionate world of justice and peace,
striving for the greater gift of love. If we do,
the scripture that Jesus made the heart of the
Gospel will indeed be fulfilled this day and in
this place. Let us pray for God's grace and
hold each other to our stated mission. Amen"