‘Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” Luke 4:14-21
You went back to where you grew up? You found things were no longer the same there anymore, the shops, the playground, the local Church and that local pub where Dad used to go and meet up with his friends for a nice pint or two have all disappeared and replaced with other modern buildings and flats and a new big Supermarket – what a Surprise!
However, some of the locals are still there, and like you, they still recognised the old faces but with changes of course. You left when you were young, and today you are a big man – a grown up, with a lot of a change in appearance, they knew you were coming and they looked forward to hearing your grown up voice.
This is usually the case with a lot of people when they go back to their home town. They have changed, everyone had changed, even the environment and the street furniture had changed, but the desire to hear each other’ stories always remain the same. We love to hear each other’s stories because as a people we are not only a pilgrim people, we are also a story people. Our whole life is a story on its own worthy of telling everyday.
So what’s your story today? If you went back home, the home, the town you left when you were 12 years old and now that you are considerable older and presumably wiser, what would be your story. All Christians must have a story to tell, would your story be good news?
Jesus told a lot of stories because people learn a great deal through stories. Christians must therefore learn to tell their stories, don’t keep your stories to yourselves. One of the reasons we are not so successful in making disciples for Christ today is because we are trapped in our comfort zone. A renowned psychologist felt the reasons people of all persuasions and walk of life don’t meet with a lot of success in their endeavour is because they procrastinate. He felt that they procrastinate because they have what he calls low frustration tolerance (LFT), as they feel they ‘must’ not have to go through hard and difficult experience in order to do things. They then find another job to do or an excuse not to do, or to postpone what they ought to do which they feel is difficult for what they want to do which is less tasking and brings them immediate comfort. I thought he was describing me, my family and my congregation! But all members of my congregation promised they haven’t spoken to any psychologist.
The point is Christians today are trapped in that comfort zone, we find all other jobs to do except the most important and that which we are called – to tell stories. We are into this ministry and into that ministry as we solve all social problems of immigration and divorce, yob culture, education, medicine and poverty. We are chaplains here and chaplains there, prison and hospital, college and universities and the list of good Christian endeavours and enterprise is endless. These are all good things that we must be engaged in, yes, but as we are engaged in these places, how much of our stories are we telling? And that’s the bottom line. Where ever you are, wherever you go, whatever you do, Christians must remember that they have one mission –to tell our stories and tell it’s worth. And our stories are different, but all Christian stories have the same stem. The stem of our stories is Christ in the world, bringing God to a world of darkness in the light of His word. So we have someone who can’t stop telling His story. The word of God becomes His story –His-story that is History of God is in Christ.
In our text, (Luke 4: 14-21) the people of Galilee haven’t seen Jesus for a long time since he left as a young boy, but now he returns to them a man. When he left, he was a shy carpenter’s son, but now a bold ‘son of Man’. When he left he was often on his own and led by his parents, but now he returns to them with his twelve ‘family’ and led by the spirit. When he left he had no news or little tales to tell, but now he returns to preach the good news to all. What a transformation! Our God is a God of transformation! Our God has in everyone a good news to tell, we must find the hero inside us and tell His story to others.
Jesus, now a teacher (Rabbi) entered the synagogue (where he sat as a boy) in his hometown they handed him a scroll to read. This is customary for the Synagogue leaders to hand a scroll to a Rabbi to read to them and talk to the people about the law and prophets. Jesus accepted the custom and read out from the book of Prophet Isaiah:
“The spirit of the Lord is upon. He has sent me to bring good tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners and to announce a year of favour from the Lord.” Ref: (Isaiah 61:1-2 ) When Jesus finished reading the scroll he handed it back to the steward and took his seat – which signifies that the rabbi want to speak.
Jesus however surprised his audience, against popular expectations, and in an unprecedented rabbinic manner, Jesus made one sentence and left it at that, ready to take the questions from the people. “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” verse 21
Let us look at those words: ‘the spirit of the Lord is upon me’ recognising that Jesus was coming out from the wilderness where he fasted, and where the spirit of God had descended upon his as a dove, declaring him to be “my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” He also passed the test from the devil immediately before that which is a demonstration of God’s presence with him.
Fasting is still one of the prerequisite of cleansing ourselves and preparing for the presence of God in us. Ref: 2 Chronicles 20:3, Matt 4:2. We need to rid ourselves of the dirt in us, in our thoughts to allow God to come and dwell in us. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Sin bring darkness in us and we fast and pray to bring light back into us. No one has the spirit of the Lord unless he is prepared to accept it, and use it to challenge the devil around us first. The devil and his agents are all around us, listen, the truth is this is the devil’s domain, this world that you and I reside and if you like we are tenants here to that awesome and gruesome landlord. He doesn’t care much, he wants his rent and doubles it every day with interest. If you pay him you are his favourite tenant, and he uses you all the time. The other way is to accept the invitation of the Owner and creator of the universe, on that note you are adopted child in the family, and you pay no more rent to that Landlord, you come back home and live in him, with him and free forever.
The spirit of the Lord is not dormant either, it is an overwhelming power of the Almighty, so you can’t hide it if you have it, you can’t sit on it if you have it – it’ll burn you so much you‘ll have to speak daily of his love and tell of his might. If you refuse to use it, it will leave you. Just as Jesus return to Galilee to tell His-story, so we Christians must always do the same, tell our story, think and count our blessing as we share his love with others.
That gospel, the good news was fulfilled in the hearing of those who were listening to Jesus, and today that same message is still being fulfilled. The power in Jesus’ message still transforms generations today. A generation that is held in captivity to the world order today, a generation that is trapped in its own comfort zone, a generation that praises hedonism as a way of life and the ultimate reason for existence. Jesus good news challenges all that and gives people a choice of lifetime away from life of deceit and fantasy. The good news of Jesus offers a new and innovative way to escape the trap of comfort into the joy and happiness that lasts forever.
Setting the captives free goes far more than the efforts of Jubilee 2000, a great campagne made by some good people but was thwarted by lack of follow –up commitment by our world leaders. Spring to mind is also Live-aid concerts that raised millions in money to help the poor in poverty and war ridden countries of our world. Again these efforts were made by great people who have the love of God and humanity at heart, however were helpless as heartless world leaders refuse to implement even the basic resolutions to alleviate child poverty in a world full of richness.
The good story still remains the same, despite the poor showings of some of our world leaders, that we bring through Jesus and the love of God; good tidings to the poor – that they have hope. We proclaim liberty to the captives – that they are free from the captivity of the false comfort that the world of media advertisement lure them into. We have good news for the prisoners, through our own stories of release, that they also can be released as their year of the Lord’s favour is everyday. Keep the good news and tell it everyday, It is your story His-tory.
