Thoughts on "Today"

Have you ever thought of what it be like to be famous; I mean really famous, like your favorite movie star or sports celebrity? What would it be like, for instance, to walk into a restaurant and instantly have everyone's eyes turn toward you, perhaps even cheer when you showed up? Imagine people crowding around to get your autograph or to have their picture taken with you. I’m sure there are days when famous people grow weary of all the attention. But there'd also be something very nice about it, don’t you think? Think of how it would make you feel to know you were held in such high esteem by so many. Think how special all that attention would make you feel.

It makes me think of TV show, Sabrina, the Teen Aged Witch. It was a fun, light-hearted show from the 90s written to bring some smiles and a few good laughs. In one of the episodes, Sabrina ends up staying with a relative of hers, an extra aunt who wanted all of the best of life, and who was also a witch.

In this other worldly apartment, Sabrina’s aunt had this door in her that she would open whenever she started feeling down or depressed, which was about every few minutes. It was an instant picker-upper, because all that was behind this door was a crowd of people who would cheer her on and offer her loud praises and compliments. It was a great remedy for those down in the dumps times of life. Even Sabrina couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear when she’d crack open the door.

I think it must be like that for some of those famous people we hear about. Wherever they go, there’s a crowd cheering them on and telling them how wonderful they are, pouring out compliments and words of praise. Everywhere they go, they become the center of attention, with all eyes fixed on them.

In this morning's gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry in front of his hometown crowd. He gets up and reads from the prophet Isaiah. We are told that when he sat down, "The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him." The verse that follows today’s gospel adds, "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth." Jesus was just getting started with his ministry, and it seemed like he had the hometown crowd behind him all the way. It must have felt good, like being a celebrity in a crowd of fans who truly loved and appreciated him.

But, before we jump to conclusions, we need to realize that this story doesn't end here. Next week, we'll hear the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey likes to say. And the “rest of the story” is a lot different from this happy beginning. In fact, the turn around couldn't be more dramatic!

We go from "all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth" -- to the last verses of next week's text which reads, “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove [Jesus] out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.” Wow! What happened? What did Jesus say to change their cheers to this deadly rage?

What did Jesus say to change their _________ to this deadly _______?

You’ll have to come back next week to get the full scoop on it—but it does begin with today’s message. And it begins with a scandalous comment.

He was famous and he had come back to town. He was likely invited to be their special reader of the day—possibly because they couldn’t get anyone else to volunteer to do the reading—and it turns out to be from Isaiah. This is what the reading was:

18The 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 favor."

This text brings back to mind what was known as the “year of jubilee” in Jewish tradition. It was a law to designed to protect the balance of power amongst the Israelites. Each family had a certain amount of land that they owned—but occasionally financial trouble would hit and families would have to sell off their properties to their neighbors. The rich tended to get richer and the poor tended to get poorer. The year of jubilee would reverse such tides.

According to Leviticus, every 7th year times seven (in other words, about every 50 years), all of the properties were supposed to be restored to their original owners and on top of that all debts were to be cancelled. We talk sometimes talk about wishing the good old days were still around—this was a revival of the good old days. It was about the restoration of finances; restoration of land-holdings; restoration of family legacy and standing in the communities. The Year of Jubilee meant restoration to the way things were supposed to be.

The Year of Jubilee meant restoration to the way things were _____________________.

It was a unique idea to help everyone prosper—and as you might guess this Year of Jubilee was something that was rarely if EVER actually practiced. And yet, these words from Isaiah would have been familiar to the people in the congregation that day. Simple words of a great idea that they knew would likely never be acted upon.

That is, until, Jesus completes the reading with an addition of his own.

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

That's what came in between. Those are the words that got everyone so bent out of shape. Why? Because they understood all too clearly what Jesus was saying—or at least they thought they did--and they didn’t like it. Many of those who would have been attending temple that day would have been the elite of society. Many of those attending would have been amongst the rich and powerful of the town.

This text from Isaiah—these words about the Year of Jubilee—though perhaps harmless when just spoken becomes a threat when brought into reality. To the poor person on the street whose parents or grandparents had run into hard times and had to sell off their estate, it would be wonderful news. It would be a chance of finally making ends meet again. It would be a restoration of all that their family had originally owned prior to the mistakes or hardships of ancestors past.

But to the rich… there was much to lose. Those lands being restored to proper ownership were lands that they rich held. For those to return meant for them to give up that which either they or their ancestors before them had earned through hard work and careful management of resources. It would seem totally and completely unfair.

This is what begins to set the people off—this is what begins to stir the pot—this is how Jesus starts to get himself into trouble. And next week you’ll see that he digs the hole much much deeper!!!

But here’s the kicker—what the people do not realize is that the scandal that Jesus is speaking from the pulpit goes much deeper than the congregation realize. And our hint to it is the word, “today”. Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Ok, I gotta break out my pastor geek in me for just a minute—bear with me. There’s a curious thing about the phrasing in the original Greek texts. When we think of the word “today” we tend to think of this particular day—this Sunday—January the 27th, 2019. When today is over, it’s over. And so as we hear this, it’s easy for us to hear that Jesus is saying that on that particular day, all of those things are going to happen.

But when we look carefully at the Greek where it has been translated that “Today, this scripture HAS BEEN FULFILLED in your hearing....” the Has been fulfilled is in the perfect tense.

In other words, it’s an ongoing action. It keeps happening continuously from that point forward. It’s the difference between dribbling the basketball down the court and dribbling the ball for eternity.

So as Jesus says “Today” this scripture has been fulfilled...” he’s not just saying this is a once in a 50 year event. He’s not -just- talking about the Year of Jubilee where the rich and poor become more equalized at least for a time. He’s talking about a restoration of ALL of Israel that goes beyond who owns what and extends to who they are in God’s eyes.

Jesus is saying to the people, though they do not hear it, that they are being restored in God’s eyes as children of God. And it is through the hearing of the Word that brings about that restoration.

It is through the __________ of the Word that brings about that restoration.

And even though we will soon see the people rejecting Jesus and turning against him—his words of restoration for them still holds true. The ball of grace and forgiveness keeps being dribbled despite the fouls being committed against the ball handler.

So there are two big takeaways for us that I would like offer you today.

The first is that we are restored through hearing the Word. When we come to church and hear God’s Word, it makes a difference in our lives whether or not we realize it. Being a part of the church community and engaging in scripture on a regular basis is important to our innermost nature. It has the power to truly transform us and bring us joy. And no, I don’t mean the kind of feel good happiness that Sabrina the Teenage witch got when she would open that closet door and receive magically created compliments—I mean the kind of joy that stays with you even in the midst of difficult times. It is through the hearing of the Word that we find ourselves restored.

The second takeaway is that God’s Word sticks with us whether we accept it or not. Neither the congregation 2,000 years ago nor those of us here today can undo the work of God. We simply do not have the power to overcome it as much as we might try sometimes—likewise, we also do not have the power to make it happen.

Christ continues to dribble the ball of grace and forgiveness whether we are sitting on the sidelines watching, trying to steal the ball for ourselves, or running the other direction.

Today, scripture HAS BEEN fulfilled. You have heard the Word of God. You have confessed your sins—you have received forgiveness. You are a redeemed Child of the one who created the Cosmos—the one who was nailed to a cross. And no popularity contest can ever change that God has claimed you.

God’s peace to you—let us pray.

Amen.