There’s a story about an elderly couple that was walking out of church one Sunday. The wife said to the husband, “Did you see the strange hat Mrs. O’Brien was wearing?” “No, I didn’t,” replied her husband. “Bill smith badly needs a haircut, doesn’t he?” commented the wife. “Sorry, I didn’t notice,” replied the husband. “You know John,” said the wife impatiently,”Sometimes I wonder if you get anything at all out of going to church”.
People get different things out of going to church, depending, it would seem, on what they expect to get when they go there. For example, I wonder what the people who were in the synagogue in today’s Gospel reading expected to get out of the service. Certainly they didn’t expect to see Jesus stand and read a portion of Scripture, let alone comment on it. His sermon was and is one of the shortest on record-“Today, the Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”.
What did this message mean to the people in the synagogue? What does it mean to us today? To the people in the synagogue, it meant that Jesus WAS the promised Messiah, the anointed one sent by God to redeem his people. It means the same thing for us today. Christ loosens sinners from the bonds of sin, guilt and corruption.
Luke places this story near the start of Jesus’ ministry because it is the foundation of the Gospels of Luke and Acts. He emphasizes God’s openness to the Gentiles. This favoritism offended the Jews and eventually led to his crucifixion. He was rejected by the multitude, who heard him, and they crucified him because of their sins; however, WE must honour and obey him as our Saviour, the son of God.
By this time, Jesus had already been tempted in the wilderness. He was prepared for this experience because of the foundation built by attendance at services in the synagogue, starting when he was a child. We also need to prepare for our wilderness experiences. The best way for us to prepare is to have a strong faith, especially through regular attendance at church, particularly if we start attending as children.
Isaiah’s commission as read by Jesus is similar to the Great Commission; namely, to bring good news and proclaim release to the captives, restore the sight of the blind, free the oppressed. This set Christ’s agenda, and it is also our commission and agenda today. Jesus’ ministry involved loving the unloved and serving the undeserving. He wants us to do the same today, especially since human weakness has both [physical and spiritual dimensions. What Jesus said about the Scriptures being fulfilled reads like a revolution, especially when it referred to ending the world as people knew it and creating a new one. When the poor hear the Good News, when captives are set free, and when the oppressed are liberated, God is working in their lives and in our own lives. The revolution happens when we walk with Jesus. The narrow focus on the downtrodden does not take away from the broader vision, including the restoration of Israel as referred to in Acts 15.
Jesus knew exactly what the people needed to hear that day, and he knew exactly what he wanted to share with them. All of the people in the synagogue, and all of us today, were the poor, the hungry, the oppressed the imprisoned and the blind. Christ looks beyond the surface to the core of our soul. He wants us to repent-to make a radical shift in how we see ourselves. The doctrine of the Trinity is interwoven here. He, as the son of God, is uniquely qualified to help us. He sets us free because of his death and resurrection. It is a victory over sin and death, but only if we stop trying to solve our problems ourselves and turn to God instead. We are all captives to something, whether it is our jobs, television, radio or something else. All of us can awaken to God’s anointing power. It constantly inspires, enlivens and guides us and also soothes, comforts, welcomes and transforms us.
When he read the Scriptures in the synagogue, Jesus announced a “jubilee”, a forgiveness of sin debt. In Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, which is found in Luke 11:3, there is a sentence that reads as follows: “Forgive us our debts for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us”. The biblical Jubilee was held every 50 years when fields lay fallow, families returned to their ancestral homelands, debts were cancelled and slaves set free. The jubilee restored a rough equality between families and clans. The inevitable increase in inequality and injustice over the years had to be leveled every half century. Faith in a sovereign God was reflected in the structures of social and economic life which, in turn, echoed the pattern of God’s realm. The community started afresh. Jesus “jubilee” allows us to have a fresh start in our walk of faith. The jubilee is a time in which followers of Christ are told that God’s promises shall come true in our midst and that God will favour us with his blessings. The reality of God’s law is that it embraces and welcomes “the least of these” in the community. All we have to do is remember Jesus’ words, “Inasmuch as you do for the least of these, you do for me” .
Jesus was the architect who designed the splendor of a new theology, a new sense of the presence and glory of God found not written in the walls of the tabernacle, but within the structures of our own selves. He treasured the past and honoured the ancient teachings of the Jews. He fed his soul from the sacred rolls of Scripture, especially when he was tempted in the wilderness. He also looked to the present and the future. Jesus’ challenge was (and is0 for today. God is with us today, and his call for action can be frightening. We are often overwhelmed with pleas for support, and we often wonder how we should respond and what good it will do. We must remain steadfast and true to Christ’s will to help the less fortunate. Jesus’ words in the synagogue are words of hope and inspiration for the oppressed the hopeless and the discouraged. We can and must build Christ’s community of faith right here where we are. Caring for people was Jesus’ main concern, and it must be our concern today. In the words of John Walsh, host of the popular TV show America’s Most Wanted, “You CAN make a difference”.
The concern for social justice is exemplified by the world’s response to the current environmental crisis, especially in countries that have adopted the Kyoto Accord. Countries that have pulled out of the accord, especially for “financial reasons”, show their bias in favour of industrial concerns at the expense of equality and justice. What would Jesus do and say if he was asked to preach in our society today? Why would we think that the intensity of Christ’s call would diminish, especially in a culture that is locked in consumerism? Can we say, “The Spirit is obviously upon us because we go to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed”? Can we say that this is why God has anointed us and thus we can dare to be followers? Is that the mission of the church today or do we say, “That was Christ’s mission, but we’re still hammering out our own vision statement”?
Many of you have heard of the TV and radio host Art Linkletter. He used to host a program called Kids Say the Darndest Things. One of the most annoying questions children ask is “Why?” They ask because they are basically curious. Growing minds starve for understanding, but the thirst for knowledge often disappears as they get older. Is it because their curiosity is stifled by impatient adults? Is it because they and we get used to things and stop asking questions? Is that what happens to us when it comes to understanding God? Is out curiosity stifled by impatient peers, or is it because we get used to things and stop asking questions? The Word of God is both exciting and frightening at the same time because of what it says about how we are living and how far we are from God. This is especially true for those who come to church only for weddings, funerals, baptisms, Christmas, Easter, services where a priest is present, or when the service is from the Book of Common Prayer or the Book of Alternative Services
We can refuse to listen, we can refuse to believe, and we can refuse to let it make a difference for us, but it is still true. The Word of God stands forever, because the Word gives us life. Jesus’ obedience to God created the foundation upon which God can build and enter the temple called our heart. Jesus’ one-sentence sermon that day in the synagogue was the shortest in history, but it is also the most powerful.
