Fill My Plans with Purpose

Luke 4:14-21 NRSVue

14 Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

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 set free those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

INTRO

This week, we continue our worship series “Six Stone Jars:  The Economy of Jesus.” As Rev. Dr. Marcia McFee reminds us, the accurate measure of Jesus’ economy is abundance, fullness, and wholeness for all. Last week, we began with the wedding at Cana as we named our reliance on God’s abundance as we trusted God to take our old religious things and give them a new purpose. In this, we allow the Spirit to work within us as we share God’s abundance with all. This week, we continue our journey as we ask God to fill our plans with purpose.

Our Gospel lesson this week takes us back to Jesus’ hometown. Prior to our text, Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and was tempted by Satan. After his temptation, Jesus traveled around Galilee and the surrounding area, teaching in the synagogues. Everyone was receptive to his teachings, and word began to spread. 

As our text begins, Jesus returns to his hometown and stands up to read. Reading the scriptures and proclaiming a Word from God to your relatives is never easy. It takes a lot of courage to share a Word from God to the people who know you best. They’ve seen you grow up, they know your mistakes, and often, those who know us best struggle to hear God as they look to our humanity and our flaws instead of the Spirit working within us. Yet, in this Gospel lesson, Jesus enters the temple and offers to read the scriptures. It is the tradition in the synagogue for scripture readers to volunteer. When they volunteer, they pick the text that they will read from. They often deliver a short sermon on the text they choose to read from. So, as Jesus stands up in his hometown synagogue, he intentionally chooses these verses from Isaiah. 

“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 set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He quotes Isaiah 61. Still, interestingly, he omits some of the words found in verse 2. He tells us that God has come “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” but he leaves out the words “and the day of vengeance of our God.” Then he says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That’s it…we can end with “The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.” This might be the world’s shortest sermon! 

Yet, it is a loaded sermon; Jesus’ words are intentional, and the omission of some of the scripture was intentional. How we hear the Gospel and how the Word of God takes shape in our hearts also shape how we look at the world. Luke and Jesus want our central concern not to be vengeance but mercy, hope, and reconciliation. Luke wants us to know that Jesus’ ministry began when the Holy Spirit claimed him in baptism, sent him out to be tested in the wilderness, and filled him with power to proclaim a ministry of Grace. These words of reconciliation and the proclamation that the time has come is the mission that Jesus has been empowered to fulfill. 

At the same time, these were not easy words to proclaim. In addition to proclaiming these words in his hometown in front of family and friends, Jesus speaks these words aimed directly at the government. Baptist Theologian Robert Parham frames it up this way, writing, “Jesus was announcing that he came to liberate from real oppressive structures the marginalized—the impoverished, the war captives, the poor in health, the political prisoners. Jesus came to turn the economic structures upside down, instituting the year of Jubilee when crushing debts were forgiven and slaves were freed.” 

In other words, Jesus spoke words in direct opposition to the government and the hierarchical structures of society. Jesus was declaring that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, he came to undo the damage that the Roman Government and the Temple had inflicted on the poor and marginalized in society. Those in Jesus’ hometown knew that this was dangerous. A messianic-like revolt in AD 6 resulted in the Roman Empire coming and destroying the nearby town of Sepphoris. In speaking these words aimed directly at the government, Jesus’ words could have powerful consequences. Jesus wasn’t just announcing that this might happen but that today was the day it would begin. 

But today does not end at the time of Jesus. Today continues across time and into our time as Christ has not returned in final victory. This means that as the body of Christ, our call is to proclaim those same words in our day and age. Our job is to speak out directly and proclaim, “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 set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

This means we speak directly to a world in division and proclaim, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” It means we speak out and defend the least and the last and the lost. It means that we don’t stop building up the kingdom of God, inviting all in until Christ returns in final victory and all is made whole again. If we do not speak up to protect the least among us and the vulnerable, to advocate for kingdom ideals, then who will?

This is where my Pastor’s heart comes in. This week, my heart has been saddened by the controversy in the church over Bishop Mariann Budde’s sermon in which she directly asks President Trump to be merciful. The Bishop and we stand in a tradition that has dated back thousands of years in which prophets have been sent to publicly speak a word against or a word to a ruler or a nation. Jonah walks the streets of Nineveh, calling a whole nation out and calling for their repentance. Nathan comes to King David, Isaiah to the people…all of them demanding mercy justice, and publicly doing so. In our gospel lesson, Jesus stands in the long line of prophets who have come before him, and he speaks directly to the Roman Government…echoing the words of the prophets like Isaiah and Amos: “Let justice thunder down like a waterfall; let righteousness flow like a mighty river that never runs dry.” He lets Rome know that he is going to turn the world upside down….and he won't stop until there is justice and equality for all…until righteousness flows like a river that never runs dry.

This is Jesus' mission: that all might find hope and purpose, love and peace, and know the Savior! The same Spirit that Jesus proclaimed is upon him also rests on us. Just as the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus, so too are we empowered by the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry. Our call is to bring about the Kingdom of God as we continue to proclaim the release of the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed until Christ comes in final victory. We hear this missional call at the Eucharist table: “Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.” May we be Christ to the world, and may we live out the mission and ministry of Christ.

Jesus did not come to proclaim comfort to the comfortable. At the same time, this work is not ours alone. As Paul reminds us, each of us is just one part of the Body of Christ. The work of speaking proclamations to the powerful, of protecting the vulnerable, is meant to be undertaken by the whole church so that we may work together to bring the message of Jesus Christ to extend Christ’s mission to the world around us. 

Beloved, the world is a divided place. The world splits us up into categories based on race and gender. The political world splits us up based on political party. I could go on and on. Yet, in the church, it is not this way. Paul writes in Galatians, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:27-29). What Paul is writing here isn’t about eliminating gender or other things. Paul means that in the kingdom of God, the world's divisions do not matter anymore. For in Jesus Christ, we are all made one, brothers and sisters, children of God. 

What breaks my heart is that there is division in the church over a sermon because a politician said so. This is just not right. I don’t care who you voted for; I don’t care what your political identity is. In God’s kingdom, none of this matters! Unity does not mean uniformity. It does mean that we do not let a politician influence our theological understanding. Whether you like Bush, Obama, Trump, or Biden…we cannot let a politician influence our faith. 

However, we can and should have loving debates that are theological, debates that come from tradition, reason, and experience. Debates where we discern where and how God is working in and through one another. We can have holy contestations where we discern how the Holy Spirit is calling us to live out our faith in the world. We can talk about and debate the appropriateness of Bishop Budde’s sermons so long as we come at it with theological reasons. 

The purpose of separation of church and state is to prevent the government from dictating our faith to us. It is so that the government does not influence what it is that we believe. I am always willing to listen and engage in theological discussion, even if we do not agree. I love to know and hear your heart and come to understand how God has called you to live out your faith.  I’m not standing here this morning to tell you what to believe about Bishop Budde’s sermon. However, I am telling you to search the scriptures, talk to others, hear others, and listen for the Holy Spirit. Do not let any politician of any political party influence what you believe about Jesus Christ. 

Today’s theme for our sermon series is “Fill our plans with purpose.” The purpose of the text is to recognize that Jesus’ ministry had a theme. It is reaching out and working for a world where all are made one in God. Friends, this is the purpose of our plans: that we continue to work until Christ returns in final victory. As we work, we try to create a world where there is no less than, where there is no least, and last and lost. This is why we take part in the backpack program, work alongside Just Kids, and partner with Habitat for Humanity. This is why we are revamping our library and talking about how to connect more fully with one another. The mission of the United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is not just a catchy little slogan. We gloss over this as a nice catchphrase. Yet, the people called United Methodists believe we will transform the world alongside Jesus. The call from Jesus in our text today not only serves as the theme of Jesus’ mission to the world, but it is the literal way we will be in the world, transforming the world and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

So this morning, our call is to stand together as the body of Christ present in the world today. We are called to stand in our baptismal vows as United Methodists “to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” We are called to proclaim, just as Jesus did: release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. We are called to advocate for a more equal world and not stop until Christ comes in final victory. We are called to continue offering a space where all are welcome.

This week, there was a service in Arlington for the Week of Prayer for Christian unity. In the closing of his Homily, Father Don Rooney proclaimed, “The baptism of Jesus is the beginning of all that the Father intended for us, members of his body, when the Son took flesh: the return of all to God, the gathering up and the making new, that everything might become one in him, and he in all: these mysteries began at Jesus’ baptism and continue to be our life and our hope today, and our mandate to restore a creation where no one is more or less, where there is no minority, a kingdom already but not yet built on the foundation of The Son’s love and generous gift of divine life.” 

Saint Luke’s, no matter who you are, what you believe, or how you live your life, you are welcome here. You are welcome to this space where we strive to build up God’s kingdom. Where we acknowledge each of us has different beliefs, where we can and do hold theological discussions and debates not for the sake of arguing but for the sake of edifying the body as we discern God’s Spirit and grow more in love with each other. Church, we are called to stand firm in the unity of Christ, who calls us to focus on those who need a word of love, hope, and peace. We are called to build a more just world and kingdom here in Danville and beyond. Our purpose is to live according to the vision of Jesus Christ. The time is now. The mission is clear. Let our plans be filled with God’s purposes as we build God’s kingdom in the here and now.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.