Epiphany III

By The Rev. Martha Frances+

Year C Epiphany III

24 January 2010

Text:  Luke 4: 14-21

Other Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a 

      Last week we revisited Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana in Galilee, & today we continue with Luke's version of Jesus' inaugural teaching in his hometown of Nazareth.  As we listen to Jesus' important "firsts" during the Epiphany season, the "showings forth" or "manifestations" of Jesus' wisdom & action can guide us to recognizing epiphanies in our own lives.  When we see Jesus touching our lives in new ways, just maybe we will also learn ways to share Jesus' love & manner of life with others, heeding Jesus' call at Epiphany to let our light shine before others, even to the ends of the earth.

      Immediately before this passage in Luke's Gospel, Jesus has been baptized, received the Holy Spirit, & then undergone temptations in the wilderness.  We're assured that Jesus is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit upon returning to Galilee, specifically to his hometown of Nazareth.  Jesus has been praised early on for his teaching in the synagogues, & don't you imagine he's excited & just a bit apprehensive when he enters the synagogue where as a youth, he first sat at of other rabbis' feet to learn the Law & the Prophets, the lore of the Jewish holy men? 

      Jesus went to the synagogue, as was his custom, the text says, because it was Sabbath, &, as a good Jewish man, he participated in worship & study.  In one synagogue visit, Jesus affirms 3 of the most important Jewish traditions: Sabbath observance, the centrality of Scripture, & the importance of Synagogue worship.  As a visiting adult male, he would normally have been invited to read & elaborate on the Prophets, so there's nothing unusual about this day's actions. Still, I'll bet the hometown rabbis recalled what a good student he had been. 

      Notice that he stands up to read, just as we do in worship, & the people would have stood in reverence & affirmation for the scripture reading.  At least when you stand for the Gospel reading & when Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, the people didn't have to stand all morning long like when Nehemiah read in our first lesson for today!   Jesus reads one of the Servant Songs from Isaiah, one you're probably familiar with, that which we [sang & then] read today.  This passage celebrates the hope of Israel for a Messiah they had anticipated for centuries, yet note how Jesus emphasizes that it applies to him, that they are seeing & listening to the fulfillment of their hopes & dreams for a Messiah, a Christ.  Just in case they don't snap to his self-description as he reads Isaiah's prophecy, he ends the reading by stating clearly, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  You'll have to return next week to find out how the people responded to his proclamation, or perhaps you'll want to read the passages during the week.

      However, we have much to encourage us today in seeing how this servant song describes Jesus so aptly & also how the same actions of Jesus described in Isaiah relate to us today.  Looking back upon Jesus' life, death, & resurrection, we can say, "Of course, the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus.  Jesus was God's son."  But we can also appreciate how his old neighbors might say, "Who does he think he is?  I remember when he used to work in his father's carpenter shop.  He was a good kid, but going off to Lord-knows-where has certainly made him think a lot of himself." 

      We miss the next part unless we remember that the word "anointed" means either "Messiah" or "Christ," so Jesus is telling them right here who he is.  They don't "get it," at least not yet, but Jesus has declared he is the one set apart & anointed for his role as Savior but also he calls not only Israel but all the world to a new relationship with God.  He doesn't come to wipe Israel's enemies off the face of the earth as many had hoped a Messiah would do, but he comes to challenge the way things are in society & to call everyone to live a more giving life.  In fact, we can read all the rest of Luke & Acts in light of Jesus' self-revelation here.  In reciting Isaiah's words, he sets forth his own mission statement—what his intentions are in his ministry.  Might they also be an effective mission statement for us?

      Jesus says he has come to bring good news to the poor, & for countless poor in the following centuries, Jesus' Gospel, the word that means good news, has lifted up millions of people who are poor in lots of ways.  "The poor" includes not only all on the bottom economically—including the impoverished & homeless—but also those outcast for any reason:  race, gender, physical or mental limitations, color of skin or slant of eyes, degree of education, sexual orientation, cleanliness or manner of dress.  We humans are amazing in the ways in which we can separate ourselves from others & set ourselves above or below other categories of people.  Jesus doesn't set those barriers; he is convinced his purpose is to extend the Gospel to ALL.  That's enough to make nervous anyone who believed the Messiah was to come to save only the Jews.  We need to be very careful when we think we're smart enough to figure out who belongs in God's kingdom & who doesn't.  No wonder Jesus told us that God is the judge & we aren't.

      When Jesus says God sent him to proclaim release to the captives, his word for "sent" means he has a commission from someone else, in this case God, to free people from whatever keeps them captive.  "Release" originally meant the forgiveness of debts.   Many people then & certainly now find themselves trapped in a web of debt & accompanying hopelessness with no chance to get out of debt.  In today's economic downturn, debt is at crisis proportions.  A Jewish concept called Jubilee may have actually happened from time to time.  The idea was that people should be released from debt every 7 years so that they could start from zero instead of constantly trying to pull out of a hole.  Some times in my life, the idea of "Jubilee" would have given me very-needed hope.  Right now, think about what keeps you captive from which you would like release.  Perhaps it is debt, or perhaps cigarettes or fatty foods, scratch-off Lotto tickets or alcohol, addictive relationships or hopelessness which keeps you from believing you can accomplish anything better.  What are you captive to?  Are you willing to let Jesus release you from it?

      Who is blind in our society?  Perhaps I ought to ask you who is NOT blind, at least about some things, in our society?  Recovery of sight for many of us means the ability to break through the denial of our addictions.  Someone once said Denial is not a river in Egypt.  We can ignore character defects for a long time before they destroy enough of our lives that we must face them head on.  Education doesn't solve all our society's blindness, but it certainly helps us see things we haven't paid attention to before. We can all benefit from Jesus' removing the blinders from our eyes.  In studying the Word of God & other good literature, layers of denial can peel away from our eyes.  What have you been trying to ignore or avoid that you finally need to face squarely & look at in your life?  What person or group can aid you in doing that? 

      Who in this congregation has ever felt oppressed?  Oppression is sometimes only in our minds, but breaking through that oppression to the offer of new life which Jesus makes is part of what we are about in the Christian community.  When we think about what oppresses us, we need to ask what part of that do we have some control over, & then begin to work on that.  Sometimes the only thing we have some control over is the way we think about a difficult situation in our lives, but a change in our attitude can make all the difference.  We open ourselves to an attitude shift in the Serenity Prayer that many of us say regularly:  "God, grant me the serenity to accept those things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, & the wisdom to know the difference."  What we can often change but resist doing is our attitude about it.  Seeing something as an opportunity to grow instead of something which oppresses us may make all the difference in the world.  The ability to figure that out & act on it is wisdom!

      Finally, Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favor! The passage begins & ends with proclamation, & anything which Jesus proclaims is surely Good News, don't you think?  Remember the concept of Jubilee is a time each 7 years when things go back to their rightful owners & debts are cleared so people start over, even-steven as my kids used to say.  It's like starting a new game & forgetting who won the last one.  Everyone starts from square one!  This concept of Jubilee was never practiced as much in Hebrew society as it was preached.  But it is such a strong & healthy idea that we still talk in terms of Jubilee when we think of Jesus' desire for everyone to belong in society & all to live life abundantly. 

      Your vestry will be on retreat this Friday evening and during the day on Saturday, making plans for the ministries of Hope for 2010, & I urge you to commit to praying for them at least 30 minutes during that time, trusting they will use Jesus' mission statement in this gospel to focus their decision-making.  In addition, all of the parishioners of Hope can note the passage from I Corinthians reminding us that our spiritual gifts are many & varied but are given us in order that we might accept & celebrate our diversity while recognizing the essential nature of our being unified in fulfilling our mission.  Please keep the vestry in your prayers this week.  Also, consider faithfully & generously what of your time, talent & treasure you are willing to covenant with God for 2010 and fill out your covenant letter, seal it with the "For God's Eyes Only" golden seal, & return with it next week to place it in the ark on this altar as your solemn promise to God of your intentions toward God and toward this congregation.  Bless you in your holy prayer and meditation time this week.