Luke 4:21-30
Sunday, February 3, 2019
First Congregational United Church
of Christ of Manhattan, KS
Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons
Wood
When I was in seminary, my intro to
theology professor, Theo Walker, made us memorize Luke 4:17-18. It’s the only
text I was ever asked to memorize in seminary. Dr. Walker wanted us to memorize
it because he felt it was one of the most important texts in the Bible. It’s
Jesus telling us why he’s here. It’s Jesus telling us what he’s come to
accomplish. It’s Jesus telling us what will be fulfilled by his life and
ministry.
Jesus could have picked anything as
his personal mission statement. Anything at all. What he chose was a text about
Holy Spirit-led liberation for those who need it most. Dr. Karoline Lewis notes
that these verses from Isaiah are essentially a re-language-ing of Mary’s song
in Luke 1. Perhaps the Magnificat was not just a one-time song sung by a
pregnant Mary, but was a lullaby that she sang again and again to the infant
Jesus. [1]
“God’s has scattered the proud in
the thoughts of their hearts.
God has brought down the powerful
from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.
God has filled the hungry with good
things, and sent the rich empty away.
….
The Spirit has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor.
God has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives
And new ways of seeing for those who
cannot see,
To let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of Jubilee.”
“Today this scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing.”
Those who were here last week for
worship will remember that we spent time talking about the HOW of that short,
short sermon that Jesus preached in the synagogue at Nazareth. In Luke 4 we
find Jesus at the place where he was raised in the Jewish faith. Except now
he’s all grown up and starting to get a reputation as a wise teacher. When he
goes to his hometown, everyone is excited to hear him preach. So he reads aloud
a version of Isaiah 61, and then preaches the words shortest sermon. “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Last week we looked at the HOW of
Jesus’s preaching in this particular moment. The way that he embodied God’s
presence in this moment. The way that his ministry signified something new
taking place. The way that the best sermons aren’t necessarily always about
words being said.
This week we’re looking at the WHAT
of Jesus’s debut sermon. Because not only did he choose those specific words
from Isaiah as his mission statement….he doubled down on them in the part of
Luke 4 that we heard today. It seems that the people present didn’t quite catch
what he was saying at first. They smiled and nodded….but then Jesus came back and
clarified, “Look. I know you like me because I’m a hometown boy. But I have to
tell you, I’m not just a hometown boy, I’m a hometown prophet. And I know that
prophets aren’t doing their job unless they’re making people mad. Let me spell
this out for you a bit….remember all those great stories from the past about
all the amazing things God has done? Well, I need you to notice that many, many
of those miracles were for people you would consider to be outsiders. God has
always been about the business of seeking the people that we despise and loving
them fully….just as they are. So...what do you think about that?”
And after that second, longer
explanation of what he was trying to say the people there in Nazareth got it.
And they didn’t like it. In fact, they disliked it so much that they tried to
kill Jesus right then and there.
Yikes.
What is is that is so very offensive
about Jesus lifting up these words from Isaiah?
Jesus’s ministry is about all the
things Mary sang about when he was just a little boy. Freedom, release, new
life, justice, liberation for those who need it most.
When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of
God, he’s not talking about what happens in the sweet by and by. He is talking
about that same radical realm that Dr. King later called the Beloved Community.
A place where prisoners are set free, the lowly are lifted up, the marginalized
sit at the head of the time. A place where the last are first, the lost are
found, and the least are blessed beyond measure.
We’ve been hearing these refrains
for so long that sometimes I fear they fail to shock us the way they should.
What would it look like for this text from Isaiah to be fulfilled today? What
would it look like for the Realm of God to finally break forth here and now?
Good news to the poor would mean a
sense of security for federal workers who are wondering when the next shut down
will happen. Good news to the poor would look like leaders who refuse to let
SNAP payments and tax refunds and the federal free lunch program and section 8
housing vouchers be used as political pawns. Good news to the poor would be
healthcare for all, living wages, affordable housing, access to quality
education for everyone.
Jesus setting the captives free
would probably begin with the 2.3 million people in the United States who are
incarcerated. That number includes over a half-a-million people who are locked
up awaiting trial, 60,000 people incarcerated for immigration offenses, 50,000
youth who are behind bars. [2] Speaking of youth, did you know that the state
of Kansas places no limits on the amount of time youth can spend in solitary
confinement? [3] Jesus might begin setting the captives free by visiting the
tents along our southern border, releasing migrant children and their families.
Jesus brings recovery of sight to
those who are blinded by greed and fear and white supremacy and misogyny and
hate. Jesus offers new ways of seeing, knowing, understanding. Jesus proclaims
the year of Jubilee.
Jubilee - what is that? Jubilee was
an ancient social custom where debts were reduced or forgiven completely on a
regular basis. A chance for people who were trapped by their debts to finally
get a clean slate. Jubilee today would be a Jesus who cancels student loan
debt, crushes predatory lending, shuts down payday loan storefronts and makes
sure that everyone has what they need to flourish.
When he restores our sight and
embraces Jubilee, Jesus turns us towards our neighbors so that we finally see
the resources we able to share with one another. Jesus rids us of that deep
fear that everything is a zero-sum game and that if I help you I might be
putting myself at risk. Jesus ends the stigma of poverty and helps us see that
everyone is made in the image of God.
Jesus brings an end to transphobia.
Jesus welcomes people of all genders into every kind of service
imaginable….including military service. Jesus honors the sacrifices made by
people who are transgender and just trying to do what everyone is doing….find a
job that pays the bills, find work that is meaningful.
Jesus smashes the patriarchy. Jesus
makes sure that women who choose to wear short skirts and women who choose to
wear hijab can all walk freely down streets without fear of harassment.
Jesus creates new pathways for those
who suffer from the stigma of mental illness or addiction. Jesus ensures that
people of every ability know they are beloved and created in the image of God.
Jesus ends all oppression.
God, may your Spirit be ever upon us
and this scripture be fulfilled in our hearing. Today. Amen.
[1] Working Preacher podcast for
2/3/19
[2]
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html
[3]
http://jaapl.org/content/45/3/350
No comments:
Post a Comment