Sunday 23rd January 2022
Matthew Mark and Luke all
recount the story of Jesus teaching in the Synagogue of his hometown Nazareth
and being rejected by the people. But Luke’s account is more detailed, and
unlike in Matthew and Mark, Luke’s version of the story comes at the very
beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. In Luke, the story comes following Jesus’
baptism and his 40 days of temptation.
An American preacher called
Fred Craddock explains:
“Luke places the Nazareth
visit first not chronologically but pragmatically. That is to say that this
event announces who Jesus is and of what his ministry consists. What his church
will be and do and what will be the response to both Jesus and the church.”
We have a pretty good idea
of what a service in the synagogue might have looked like. It would start with
a recitation of what was called the Shema – two passages of scripture
from Deuteronomy and Numbers. Then there would be prayer whilst facing
Jerusalem. This was followed by the “amen” response from the gathered
congregation. After this there would be reading from the Torah (the laws
of Moses) or the Prophets. Then a sermon and a benediction.
Any male could volunteer or
be asked to pray or read portions from the Torah or the Prophets. Likewise, any
male could be asked to give a sermon.
On this particular Sabbath,
Jesus volunteers to read. He would have stood on a special platform as was the
custom. He would have been given the scroll that he requested – the scroll of
Isaiah. Then he would have unrolled the scroll, found the place and began to
read:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to
bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to
let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ Luke 4: 18 – 19 NRSV
Jesus presents these verses from Isaiah as a description of
who he is and what he is about. They form his Mission statement, the agenda for
his ministry.
In these verses Jesus was announcing that the Gospel he was
bringing, the Good News, was for the poor and oppressed, those at the margins
of society. Jesus was announcing that he came to liberate the oppressed from
everything thing that oppressed them. He came to release those held captive.
And we might think that is about those held in prison. Of
course, Jesus wants to set free those kind of prisoners. To set them free from
the sins of the crimes they have committed. But freedom for the captives and
the oppressed means much more.
In his ministry Jesus released people from all kinds of
bondage and oppression. Economic oppression – the poor. Physical oppression –
the lame, the crippled, the disabled.
Political oppression - the condemned including let’s not forget one of
the prisoners on a cross next to him on Calvary. He brought freedom to those
oppressed by demons. And through the forgiveness of sin Jesus released everyone
from the bondage sin has on our lives.
We didn’t hear the continuation of the story this morning. But
Luke tells us that the people in the synagogue that day, the people Jesus had
grown up with in Nazareth, did not like what he had to say. No doubt they
thought of themselves as oppressed – they were poor, they no doubt had health
needs, they were subject to Roman rule. And yet here is Joseph’s son telling
them that not only is Scripture fulfilled through him – yes Joseph the
carpenter’s boy – but that they needed to be bringers of Good News too.
For the most part we are not amongst the poor, the
marginalised, oppressed or imprisoned. What Jesus is saying should mean that we
too should be shocked and outraged by what he is saying. But because like so many of Christ’s followers in
the church in the Western world we are comfortable the message doesn’t shock
us. We tick along. Jesus’ words should make us feel uncomfortable. But do they?
In this passage Jesus sets out what OUR mission should be.
His plan of ministry should be our plan
of ministry too. If we truly seek to be Christ like, we must try to do as he
did, live as he lived, spread the good news in the way that he called us to
share the good news.
I’m sure we all try to do these to some extent.
We seek to do all the things listed by Isaiah that Jesus shares here. But I
must admit my own guilt - my ministry is more comfortable than challenging.
Sure, you are a challenging bunch of people!
I'm busy with meetings left and right. Is
that bringing anyone Good News? And I ask myself when was the last time I
brought the good news to the poor? Perhaps only through the monthly direct
debit to a homeless charity I support. Or the extra tins of baked beans I buy
and put in the Foodbank collection at the supermarket. Is that what Jesus is
getting at? I can't say yes without kidding you and myself. When was the last
time I proclaimed release to the captives? When did I help the blind to see?
Have I freed those who are oppressed? Who is oppressed today? At best, I have
tried to proclaim the year of God's favour - but how can I convince people of
God's favour when they are poor, captive, blind, and oppressed?
The
story is told of a Franciscan monk in Australia was assigned to be the guide
and "gofer" to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales.
Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he
dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But
during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her,
the friar never had the opportunity to say one word to Mother Teresa. There
were always other people for her to meet.
Finally,
her tour was over, and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In desperation, the
Franciscan friar spoke to Mother Teresa: If I pay my own fare to New Guinea,
can I sit next to you on the plane so I can talk to you and learn from you? Mother
Teresa looked at him. You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea?
she asked.
Yes,
he replied eagerly. “Then give that money to the poor,” she said. “You'll
learn more from that than anything I can tell you.” Mother Teresa
understood that Jesus’ ministry was to the poor, and she made it hers as well.
She knew that they more than anyone else needed good news.
I think there is a real danger in the
Church today – certainly in the Church in the comfortable Western world - that we
forget what we should really be about. We’re so hung up with our buildings for
example that we overlook what we should really be doing. I always feel that
John Wesley wouldn’t be the easiest person to get along with. And I think he’d
have some harsh things to say to the church that grew out of his ministry were
he around today. We all know how his ministry was largely spent meeting the poor
and oppressed where they were out in the fields surrounding the coals mines of
Kingswood or the fields near the Cornish tin mines.
Wesley’s New Room in Bristol was built
not just to be a place of worship but a place where the poor and oppressed
could come for education, for healing, for welfare. In fact, I’d go so far as to
say it’s use as a place of worship was ancillary to its prime purpose.
Yet over the almost 250 years since his death,
we seem to have lost sight of that purpose, that mission. We get so hung up on
jobs that we forget what we should be about. Oh, it’s not just a Methodist
problem. It’s a problem of the Church everywhere.
I was talking to a Methodist colleague in
another part of the country recently. She told me that one of her churches has realised
that the church building they use will need significant money spending on it
before too long. The there aren’t enough people willing and able to take on all
the jobs.
They have realised that although they are
still an active worshipping congregation with a heart for mission, they are
being dragged down by a large building. They are actively exploring selling the
building and then continuing their mission work and worship elsewhere. It is
early days. But they are determined they will continue to meet as people called
Methodist, bringing Good News to those who need it but not to be so building
focused.
It is a brave and radical step and I wish
them well. It is not the solution for every place. And our buildings can be a
useful resource for mission. But we all need to think about our priorities.
Jesus
says he comes to turn everything upside down and confuse everyone's
expectations of how things are supposed to be. Those who are captive find
release, even when we still seek to hold them guilty. Those who are oppressed
are freed, even when it means we must give up our role too often as oppressors.
Those who are poor receive God's good news, even when it means we must share
from our abundance, even when we want the good news all for ourselves. Jesus
challenges us to a radical ministry that defies the normal order.
The
question is. Can we do it?
