A minister managed to run out of fuel in his car just 100 metres from a petrol station. He looked in the boot only to realise that he’d left the petrol can at home. All he could find was his baby’s potty. So he took it, walked the 100 metres to the garage, filled it with petrol and returned to the car. As he was pouring the fuel from the potty into the petrol tank one of his congregation happened to pass and said to the minister ‘I do admire your faith.’
What is the faith we have? Is it about hoping for unbelievable things, things that just can’t or won’t happen? Is it pie in the sky, thinking about a heavenly glory, a future with God? Or is it about something that is rooted and grounded in real life? I think that the gospel reading set for today sets out clearly the kind of gospel Jesus came to bring, the message he proclaimed in what he said and what he did.
We need to picture the scene of this passage from Luke’s gospel. The passage comes early in the ministry of Jesus. Before this passage we are presented by Luke with the birth of Jesus, his presentation in the temple at 8 days old, his visit to the temple when he was 12.
Then we have John the Baptist preparing the way, Jesus’ baptism and then, immediately after his baptism he goes out into the wilderness where he wrestles with how he is going to carry out his ministry – what it’s all about, why he is here, how he was going to carry out the work he was called to do. In that time in the wilderness Jesus rejected the way of power and prestige and fame. Instead Jesus committed himself to the way of humble service.
The fruits of that time in the wilderness are set out when Jesus returned to Galilee and went into the synagogue in Nazareth where he had been brought up, and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah which was given to him. And we heard that earlier.
In the passage Jesus quotes from Isaiah some profound words that Isaiah used and which Jesus makes his own. He, like political parties before an election, is setting out his manifesto, letting people know where he stands, what he stands for, what he’s about, what his priorities are. This is why Jesus came, this is his message. So what is it? Listen again to the central part of what we heard:
18The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. 20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
I want to look at this message before having a look at the reaction to those who listened to him speaking. What should we make of the message? I’m not going to look at each of the things he said in turn but rather look at them with a broad brush approach because what Jesus said sums up his message.
At a fundamental level the message is of a gospel that speaks to people where they are, a message that speaks into people’s hearts, that has meaning and relevance to people in their daily lives. It’s a gospel that speaks to the pain and the suffering of the people of the world as well as to its joys and celebrations. It’s a gospel that speaks into poverty, injustice and oppression as well as to wealth and plenty. It’s a gospel that speaks into the heart of family life, community life, national life, the workplace, the home, hospital, hospice and school.
Spiritual Gospel
At its heart the message of Jesus is a spiritual gospel. The good news that Jesus came to bring was something different, something new, something from God, words from God and not from human beings. The pattern of his ministry is set when he says ‘the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me …’
His life is rooted in his heavenly Father and throughout the Bible you can read of people who were rooted in God and whom God used effectively.
Moses, busy minding his own business looking after his father in law’s sheep when he saw the burning bush and, being the inquisitive type, went off to investigate. As he approached the bush God revealed himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then he heard a voice calling him to a task top lead the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses work for God was founded on a spiritual experience.
Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord calling him when he was in the temple and he had an experience of the presence of God. Out of that came a call to which Isaiah responded ‘Here I am, send me’.
Jeremiah heard the voice of the Lord calling him as a prophet to the nations. God called him, saying that he had been set apart for the task. Jeremiah protested that he wasn’t equipped, wasn’t ready, too young. But he was equipped for the task. His ministry began with a spiritual foundation.
The ministry of Jesus began with an experience of the presence of God through his baptism as we thought about last Sunday evening. He was baptised by John in the river Jordan and as he came up from the water God spoke to him ‘This is my Son with whom I am well pleased’
Down the years many people have begun their ministries of various kinds in a spiritual way. C S Lewis began his journey of faith with a spiritual experience as he was travelling on a bus in Oxford and felt something inside him saying that he was resisting a pressure. Later he offered himself to Christ and began a wonderfully effective ministry which, through his books, continue today.
To be effective as individuals and as a church for Christ we have to be founded, rooted in the living God. The starting point for the gospel is this rooting in God. And we can do this in many ways. If we are serious about our faith, if we think the church should be more than a social club then we need to be serious about our attendance at worship and receiving communion, our reading of the Bible, attending Bible study, fellowship groups, sharing and discussion groups, house groups. Serious about our prayers.
Pastoral Gospel
If the gospel has a spiritual foundation it must then issue in action through our concern for others. The words of Isaiah, quoted by Jesus are grounded in compassion for others, especially for vulnerable people, those who are oppressed and hurting. Remember what Jesus said – good news for the poor, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the prisoners, release for the oppressed.
Through the life of Jesus we see his ministry worked out in practical ways in concern for those who were vulnerable.
Remember the leper who came to Jesus and asked him if he was willing to make him clean again. Jesus reached out and touched the man and made him clean. Jesus showed compassion and care, he healed the man, he enabled to man to re-enter society and community, he restored relationships.
Remember Zaccheus, when no-one else would have anything to do with him, Jesus went straight through the crowds to the man up a tree, he picked him out from the crowd and invited himself round for tea. Blind Bartimaeus found his sight restored.
Jesus also told stories that showed what it meant to care, what it meant to love our neighbour – the Good Samaritan amongst others.
Jesus met with people where they were, on their terms. He didn’t require them to come to him on his terms but went where the need was. He didn’t expect them to come to church before he would have anything to do with them. In fact Jesus spent more time with the ‘un-churched’ than with the religious people of the day. And that’s a challenge for us in care for others, in our care for the needy, the poor, the vulnerable as we seek to show compassion.
All down the ages people have done just that. It was William Booth who experienced the poverty of people’s lives which led him to form the Salvation Army, initially in a small east London mission growing to span the whole world. He was too radical for the Methodist Church which rejected him.
It was Robert Raikes who began the Sunday School movement having experienced the poverty of children on the streets.
And churches and individual Christians today through their care continue that work. As we root our faith in God we work out our faith in pastoral care and concern for others.
Political Gospel
So we have a faith which is spiritual, which is pastoral and which is political. It is a gospel that issues in action and challenges society. It is a political gospel. In reading from Isaiah Jesus uses the words freedom and release.
Jesus was always concerned with the weak and the vulnerable. He was concerned about political change that would help them. He often had arguments with the religious and political leaders over petty rules and regulations. He challenged the status quo. The life, words and actions of Jesus were very political.
Jesus challenged the leaders about the position of women in society where they were classed simply as objects, one of many possessions that a man had. Jesus tried to change society.
It was from a faith basis that William Wilberforce attempted to abolish the slave trade. It was the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer whose faith made him stand out against National Socialism in Germany which led to his death after being forbidden to preach, teach or publish by the church.
And it is faith today that leads Christians across the world to stand out against evil, against corrupt governments and regimes, against injustice.
We are approaching a general election sometime in the next few months. The politicians from all sides are clearing the way, beginning to set out where they stand on various issues. Maybe, as Christians we should be prepared to challenge all the parties about how they meet the manifesto that Jesus stood on.
How will their policies help the poor across the world? How will their policies bring relief for the oppressed across the world? How will their policies affect people who are blind, or with a disability? How will their policies help people who are caught up in some form of imprisonment?
A Gospel for All
And finally the manifesto of Jesus showed that he brought a gospel for all. Jesus read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. But interestingly when Jesus quoted it he left out some bits. He skipped parts of the phrase as we have it in Isaiah. And what he leaves out is as important as what he left in. He left out this bit:
‘ and the day of the vengeance of our God’ after he said ‘to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ He also left out a mention of Zion, of Israel as the chosen people but opens the passage up to a wider group – to Jews and gentiles. Jesus makes sure that those listening to him in the synagogue understand that his mission is to minister to everyone, regardless of race.
And Jesus makes sure that they understand he hadn’t come to hand out God’s vengeance. He hadn’t come to be exclusive, or to hurt, or to humiliate, or to lay blame. Jesus came to bring love.
And that’s what caused the problem. You see Jesus was saying to these religious people in the synagogue who thought they were the best, thought they were God’s chosen people, the only people, the people who would rule the world with power while all others were untouchable and unclean, that they were wrong. The Israelites had been brought up to believe that they were God’s chosen people, it was drilled into them. So hearing Jesus say they were wrong turned their belief upside down. They were not best pleased.
And then he said ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your sight’. Now initially they spoke well of Jesus. It’s Joseph’s son, he’s done well. But when Jesus drive the message home their view changed. Jesus said that when Elijah was around he didn’t go to Israeli widows but to a Gentile widow in Zaraphath. Then he said Elisha didn’t go to an Israelite leper but to Naaman the Syrian.
That did it. They were furious and drove him from the synagogue, out of town to the brow of the hill and tried to throw him off the cliff. But Jesus walked away through the crowds. Those in positions of power couldn’t take it, they couldn’t bear all being equal. The gospel we proclaim, the faith we have is about all being equal.
Summary
Jesus says that he has come to turn everything upside down. He had come with a spiritual, a pastoral, a political and an inclusive gospel where captives can find release, oppressed can find freedom, the poor receive good news. Jesus challenges us to a radical mission and ministry. With vision we can take the gospel message Jesus brought and bring his vision into reality as we embrace the words of Jesus and make them our own.
