The Good News: The Ministry of Jesus

Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee and news about him spread throughout the whole Countryside. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

Jesus went to Nazareth where he had been raised on the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read.

Synagogue Assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unscrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. Yes. It me to preach good news to the poor to proclaim the relief to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind to liberate the oppressed. And to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

He rolled up the scroll give it back to the synagogue assistant and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him.

He began to explain to them today. This scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.

Everyone was raving about Jesus so impressed. Were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips? They said this is Joseph son, isn't it?

Then Jesus said to them undoubtedly, you will quote the same to me doctor heal yourself do here in your hometown what we've heard you did in the perineum.

He said I assure you that no Prophet is welcome in the prophets hometown. And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah's time when it didn't rain for three and a half years and there was a great food shortage in the land yet. Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a widow in the city of their effect in the region of sidon. There are also many persons with skin diseases in Israel during this time during the time of the Prophet Elijah, but none of them were cleansed instead Naaman. The Syrian was cleansed. When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was filled with anger. They rose up and ran him out of town. They let him to the crest of the hill on which their Town had been built so they could throw him off the cliff. But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.

Hearing the reading.

Interesting side effect of being the one interested in the ministry for a long time and infant with other family in in children, is that your family and your children have been a lot of time in church, but they get to see a side of church that the most people don't see this is certainly the case with my daughter. The church. We went to church. My daughter grew up in was First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin. And we joined the church when she was very very young. I think I think she was 5 years old when we join the church. And we joined largely to give her a place a community to be a part of but there was a bit of drama. Almost immediately after we join the church not even six months have gone by and the board put up a vote to dismiss the pastor. Over not living up to his contract. It was a hugely divisive thing if the car gation and the Carnation which was about five or six hundred people split over that and you half of them left the car gation. The pastor was was was at let-go and they went into still in the person to interim Ministry for two years and then to search before they found their current password has been there ever since he was fantastic. and so it was only six months after we were in the car gation that we found the car gation to be in desperate need of people to help because we have Carnation leave a lot of things a lot of experience goes with it a lot of a lot of history a lot of volunteers and so my wife and I pitched in and we joined the religious education department, which is Sunday school if you will. Anyone with a car gation of six other people, you've got more than a hundred kids in Sunday school every every Sunday and so it was a big was a big deal and I I like to work with the older kids. So I helped out with the middle school and high school kids and my wife helped out with the elementary school kids and and younger And we just kind of evolved from there. It was during my time as a youth advisor that that I became into the ministry like to eventually took on a job at the church of tired there to be the youth advisor on my wife was hired to be an assistant in the Army department. And then when the person in charge HR department left she she took over that job eventually and became the director of religious education that that carnation. And I left to join the team to start my Ministry preparation. I switch to the UCC but then I threatening other churches and and serving other churches but none the less my daughter fell a lot of time growing up at that church and other churches and she was very used to being asked to do things. They have to stand and read being asked at the last minute to take over some part. If you feel very comfortable doing so because she even raised that way. and so when I hear this story of of Jesus

Coming back to his home Church. And getting up and saying something I think about my daughter my daughter now she grew up in that church, you know all the way until she was in Middle School. And they High School actually and I was in her first year part of the universe your high school that we moved to Japan. And so I'll through then she was she was at that church Tipton. 10 years I guess. and yet I know that it was a problematic thing for her that

that that she has difficulty with the church because of how people treat her there because they thought of her as as my daughter or as my wife's daughter more often than as her own person and I see that's in the story of Jesus coming back to his home church and not being welcome. in the place he grew up because he didn't say things that people liked and people asked him. If this isn't this isn't this Joseph sound like a dope deal. We know this person. This isn't somebody specialist is just Joseph son.

the story about Jesus in the synagogue it placed right at the beginning of of Luke's gospel and especially at the beginning of Jesus's Ministry in Luke's gospel the first we have a chapter about the birth of Jesus the angel coming and telling Mariah that Jesus is going to look when we worn and then the birth of Jesus and then we have a chapter about John the Baptist and John preparing the way. I for Jesus's Ministry and then we have this chapter we talk about Jesus's early Ministry Loop that rent. The beginning place is all of Jesus's Ministry. It should be noted firmly within the the rituals and practices of Judaism, you know, very faithful Jew every week and takes part in the religious life of the community in a regular part of the life in the community. It was to read and then discuss the meaning of the scripture the synagogues were talking about during the Babylonian exile because The temple was only in Jerusalem until when the people found themselves in them in places where they couldn't travel to the temple. They had to have some kind of religious community in today. They start have any synagogues and the synagogues didn't have a priest so they had on they had teachers by teachers but not priests so to speak and so you couldn't do your your offering something synagogue people would come and they would study the scriptures and they would learn and then teach and discuss and so a religious community that have been very focused on ritual and sacrifice became one that was focused very heavily on on the scriptures a religion of the book. I told Jesus. In the middle of this tradition when we find him, he's grown up in the in the in the in the synagogues is used to to discussing the scriptures with the teachers. And so he comes back home after having traveled around other parts of the area other parts of Galilee and Luke doesn't say that specifically but you Matthew in place this story much later in there gospel the loop with her at the beginning and my end but yet he he alludes the fact that he mention that that Jesus had been traveling around and then that other people have been hearing Jesus speak and have been impressed by him before he came back Nazareth and I think that the reason it's at the front if not because Luke had a different or standing of the of the timeline. I think it's at the front because Luke wanted to emphasize the the the underlying reason for Jesus's Ministry. He wanted to put that right the beginning as of a theological statement about who Jesus was and what he was focused on doing I'm so he gets up and reads an in-service. This is this is a really common thing. We doing and Christian churches. And again, my daughter's been asked to do this before we need somebody to read the Old Testament reading can you can help with that? You'll kind of roped into it. And so it was the same kind of thing that you were expected to read on a regular basis. If you were an adult male in the synagogue and so Jesus is is I reading in the normally what it was done as a year Ed from the law and from the prophets and the reading from the from the law rotated at the ring for the prophets was allowed to be kind of up to the decision of the reader. And so There was a an assistant we might call a Sextant in in our church has a person who's in charge of maintaining all of the things that belong to the synagogue that including the scroll and and where they're kept the check for the cap and everything. And so Jesus would have asked the system to prepare the scroll for Isaiah. And then when it's his turn to read this is enhanced use the scroll and she just opens to Isaiah 61 and he reads this quote from Isaiah. I just to be termite the quote is

The spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor to Proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind to liberate the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Now that quote in Isaiah have a line immediately after that in the line after that is and a day of vindication for our God and yet Jesus leave the fan.

That might have really upset some of the people who really think we're lifting to him because that that you went hand-in-hand to proclaim the day of the Lord and day of indication for our God. The Jewish people wanted the Messiah to come and punish the people who have been against them punish their enemies to have God punish their enemies. Vegeta's leaves without very purposely leave this out. And the reason for this is the Jesus's Ministry is one of universal reconciliation. Jesus is going not just to the people of Israel. Not just the people who have been worshipping God all the time. but also to their enemy Jesus is going also to the Gentiles also to the Romans going to all people bring all people to God not just The Jewish people not just the Israelites. and Lux description of Jesus ministry follows the same kind of pattern first Jesus preaches locally. Preachers to the the Jewish people the people the religious leaders the religious leaders above his gay rejected teaching and so then he turns out and teaches I feel outside of Israel and we see this theme repeated over and over and over in in the gospel of gospel. And so it makes sense for you to begin with the same idea at a very very local for so here at a very micro-level Racine that Jesus goes to his hometown the people, you know in the best and preaches to them about about reconciliation and they are offended by his teaching and they run him out of town and he says he no profit will never be popular in his own hometown. And your other places in Galilee. We're very excited to see him and we're saying good things about him.

Does not like all of the Jewish people were against him or anything. It was the religious leader of the day who had a problem with what he was saying.

We see this also. list of universal reconciliation idea in what Jesus says he says that the the quote that he reads from it says he's come to bring good news to the poor release of prisoners liberation of the oppressed and the day of the Lord and the day of the Lord reminded them that you believe the day that it all debts will be forgiven that you know that everything kind of resets. So we saw that they also in our reading much earlier in the lectionary from Jonah where Jonah was angry. That God sent him to Nineveh because Jordan knew that God was forgiving and tuna caught that God was too forgiving God should not be forgiving of these people who are not part of the Party Zone community and yet God sent him specifically to people outside of Israel to warn them into Santa to preach in to save them and join with angry about this because he thought it was not fair. So here we see this kind of played out again in the people around Jesus the what happens next after he gets up and says it will he says I bet you're going to tell me that I should do something to prove who I am. I bet you're going to stay I need to show you signs. Like I've shown my other places cuz I'm not going to do that because you'll never believe me. Anyway, just did the gist of what he says.

And they get angry and they and he he points to these two readings one from Elijah and rum and and the other from a lot from Elijah and Elisha life could be sometime in the past who were sent out to people outside of Israel Elijah was not since the one in trouble with spinta there a fact and reason to fight an end and Ally show is not sent to Israel. It was sent to Syria. I'm so you eat pointing out that got often stand profit outside of Israel to bring in people, to help people who were outside of of the Jewish community. Until he was really angry at this will see his real his you know, he is leaving out of the of the day of Vengeance of God's vengeance is his unwillingness performing sign the fact that he grew up around among them in the end. He came from a poor family and had kind of a sketchy past and they're not really sure what to think of him, Now, he's quoting these the scriptures to them that if the to prove a point and they did get angry and they decide to to to kill him to to throw him off the cliff and so they chased him out of town at the cliff, but he's able to escape for the clutch blew through the crowd and kind of the pier in and I get out of the situation.

What is the scripture have to do with our lives at Christians today? And why is it important? Why did the port in Luke's gospel also, you know over the the life of the church. I think Christianity has changed a lot and I personally think that a lot of that change began began very early in the church, but I really took up pick up speed in the fourth century. When the Roman Empire made Christianity the religion of the Empire has it changed how how people interacted with are understood Christianity changed Christian his role in society. But at the sermon for another day and all this is really an oversimplification. I think that you could say that the Christian that has a bad people that the groups can be divided into broadly into two categories in the two groups of Christians. And this doesn't happen along denominational. I'm just letting you know, this doesn't happen along any particular.

Yeah, there's a racial or ethnic or aspects of the you can find people in in most even in in a single church. You can find people who fall into both these categories. The first group is largely focused on the afterlife. Usually they're their first priority is to get into heaven and usually that because they want to escape some kind of eternal torment in hell.

The second priority is to get their family into heaven so that they can escape eternal torment in hell and their third priority is to get as many other people into heaven to escape eternal torment in hell.

And I also would like to go to better place by helping the poor in the Preston and doing living the way Christ would want them to live but this is often driven more by a desire to get into having them self because this is expected of them as Christians.

the second group is focused primarily on the Here and Now they're working in Christ name to feed the hungry to care for the sick to liberate. The oppressed to create a world that is closer to what Jesus described as the kingdom of God and his ministries. this group is putting the afterlife only at the second priority behind all of this.

And this reflects very much. I think the reality. Of the Jewish people at the time of Jesus's Ministry. I think we had very much the same kind of groups then. the the religious Elite the religious

Hierarchy, I guess I was focused very much on doing what you were supposed to do to please God in the end doing Yo Side sacrifices in rituals things like that. Whereas is other group that was coming up in and Jesus and John were both members of the tradition, but they weren't the only members of this tradition. They were more focused on on helping the poor and freeing the oppressed in all these kinds of things. we still have it today and desertion I want to make and for me, this is Court Ruth of my faith. Is that after reading the Bible several times and taking classes in Biblical history and languages and reading Regional languages and paying very close attention to the words of Jesus. Even if I didn't didn't think about the social contract surrounding it or or the narrative that is placed in work or which you know, which Author of the particular thing of a particular book really not even paying attention to that just a simple reading of the text. but taking into account perhaps translation error

I think that the second group the ones are focusing on the Here and Now. Are the one who actually listening to the message? I think that this focus on the afterlife and I'm getting into heaven in escaping eternal torment is a corrupted version of Christianity. and I think that this idea started to become. more popular in the church after going to get it earlier Christianity was made the the state religion of the Roman Empire things existed, even before that mean we can shoot we can see the people the same kind of concerns existed even in in the religious communities of Jesus's day, but I'm just saying this idea that we should focus on getting into heaven and what we do to get into heaven how we don't go to hell became more and more a focus of the church as time went on and in the Middle Ages, especially it was It's an extreme focus of the church.

And this fear of eternal torment brought a lot of people into Christianity because it's a good it's a it's a compelling message. If you go somewhere where there are the caches on around and you say look. Angry at you and if you don't do what you're supposed to do you're going to burn in hell for all eternity. That's a powerful message. If you can get people to believe it, it's a powerful message because a lot of people into the church and he gave the church a lot of power over people's lives, but it also corrupt the goals in the motivations of those same people because when compared to an eternity of suffering a lifetime of suffering is not really a big deal.

Eternity is forever. If it's such a long. Time to our mind can't even comprehend of what it means.

Touchbanking can easily convince someone that if you have to choose between convincing someone to accept Jesus are providing them with proper food or with Healthcare or with housing. or close that it's better to get them to accept Jesus. Even if they go on being hungry or cold or homeless. Or sick or the die.

This leads to people throwing their kids out of their homes because those kids come out to them as lgbtq. For example. because of those parents it's more important to get those kids to be right with God as they see it then for those kids to be healthy or to be happy or to be in a loving home or to have food. and that's terrible that is a complete Corruption of the Gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ complete corruption and

When we look at the at the texting we see what Jesus is really focused on what his ministries really focused on it is what he says here when he quotes from Isaiah. It is feeding the hungry and taking care of the orphan. It is Healing The Sick and liberating the oppressed and freeing the prisoner. That's what it is. That's what the ministry of Jesus about that. The good news. The good news. Is that God loves you and forgive you. And there's not going to be that day of Vengeance that they wanted the Messiah. There's a reason why Jesus stopped after saying proclaiming the day of the Lord doesn't go on to the next line.

Get the good news of the Gospel that God loves you the Way You Are. And sure we all make mistakes. We all have problems. None of us are perfect. We all sin as it were we all turn away from God every now and then choose ourselves over our fellow human beings choose ourselves over God. And for those things we should repent and turn turn back and I'm not saying is I need to know for my thing. There won't be correction, but there won't be a time of Correction in learning and and dealing with the dealing with the outcomes of our actions.

There has to be accountability there have to be

some response for the ways that we have have wronged people. What is my Eternal Night eternal?

When one comes to understand this message of universal salvation within Jesus's Ministry within the ministry of the early church one can then focus more on what Jesus actually asked us to do. Feed the hungry and care for the sick Liberate the oppressed and now none of the future now, she's doesn't stay. This will be this will come true in the future. This will come true in a thousand years. Jesus says this has come to pass today in your hearing it it had happened.

Cuz you got this week. I invite you to think about this think about how Jesus has already brought into being in the world the kingdom of God and that he continues to come that we continue to work on the we must work together to make the world a better place to make the world more like the kingdom that Jesus preached on the king of Jesus's Ministry was focused on It's up to us to make that happen but not coming a thousand years from now. If not coming after we die not coming. We're raptured. We need to stop focusing. on hell and start focusing on making life better for a fellow human being

I'm in.