Luke 4: 16-30; 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
February 3, 2019
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, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
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. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’
He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him 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. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. - Luke 4: 16-30
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
My best friend has a five-year old daughter named Elloree. Ell is adorable, spunky, and free-spirited. She has a smile that can win over any frown. Just a few weeks ago Elloree felt like painting. And she managed to rope the neighborhood elementary kids into her project. Mind you the project was not at the kitchen table, or at an art classroom to be announced in the near future. Rather Elloree had a grand vision for a paint the porch party. And when the kids got through the porch looked like it had been vandalized.
I would have had a fit saying, “What are you doing?!? Paint does not go there!” But my bff is a better mom than me. Her cool and collected self just said, “Ell you will rule the world one day. But for now, let’s clean up.” And fortunately, everyone thought clean-up was fun!
A child’s tenacity is both such a precious thing and yet can make us nervous. We want to hold on and preserve such a treasure and yet we know we need to grant this bundle of grace freedom to explore and thrive.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that in the blink of an eye Mary’s beloved son Jesus was all grown up. He had come back to his hometown of Nazareth where he preached his very first sermon. These people had watched Joseph’s boy grow up in the synagogue in God’s wisdom. Jesus was held in both in God’s favor and in human favor (Luke 2:52).
You can imagine how proud Jesus’ hometown was when he stood up in the tradition of worship to read the Scripture that day; Jesus read powerful words from Isaiah. When Jesus sat down, he began to preach. But Jesus’ first sermon was not one of those feel good sermons where the receiving line says, “Pastor, I enjoyed that message.”
Jesus, the Son of God, knew his God-given purpose was to fulfill the Scriptures for God’s plan of salvation and deliverance. He also knew the hearts and minds of those around him. And so Jesus, filled with the Spirit, spoke with spunk and tenacity to claim Isaiah’s words as his vision for ministry. God sent Jesus to proclaim God’s transforming love to the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19).
Jesus knew his home congregation would want to see the miracles of God’s glory through Jesus’ ministry. And so Jesus pushed the envelope. He challenged the people’s mindset of faith with two stories from the Old Testament (1 Kings 17: 1-16; 2 Kings 5: 1-14). In those stories the prophets Elijah and Elisha extended God’s grace of deliverance and healing to individuals who were perceived to be outside of God’s circle of grace. That’s when it hit the fan.
Jesus’ home congregation was shocked. What are you doing?!?! God’s love does not go there!!! The people wanted to hold on and preserve the treasure of God’s grace. There was no way the people wanted Jesus’ ministry to be free to explore beyond the bounds of their community of faith.
You see, God had made a covenant promise to Israel. They had been chosen to be God’s people out of God’s steadfast love. Therefore, Jesus had an obligation to spiritually tend to God’s people in Nazareth first and foremost. The thought of Jesus taking God’s love to paint the world’s brokenness in the colors of God’s hope and love did not leave the people of Nazareth rejoicing in the truth. They were enraged to the point of throwing Jesus off a cliff.
When we come together and worship as a community of faith, we all crave a sense of belonging that brings the strength of unity in community. We all want to find a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in life. The gift of faith gives this to us.
It is an amazing treasure to discover God’s amazing grace and unconditional love. Faith leads us to discover a spiritual center of identity, security, comfort and peace. It gives us a framework to find resiliency in a very broken world. Faith is something we want to hold onto and treasure and preserve.
Our spiritual formation is so very important, but our spiritual comfort is not the underlying purpose for why the church exists. If we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, we must look into his teachings and be honest: Jesus makes us nervous. Jesus’ ministry is on the move to take our faith beyond what is familiar and safe.
You see Jesus’ first sermon had the focal point of opening the people’s spiritual eyes to see very different people in situations that are breaking God’s heart and to love them like God loves. Scripture upholds that God requires us to sacrifice our piety in order to join God’s mission of reconciliation as ambassadors of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 58: 6-7; 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20).
Jesus’ ministry was all about coming alongside the ones whom society is throwing away. Jesus came alongside women, men, and children to hear their names and stories with compassion. Jesus was willing to suffer with them in God’s unconditional and active love that is patient, kind, and rejoicing in the truth that all are made in the image of God (1 Corinthians 13: 4,6).
Jesus’ ministry sets the example of faith and love that takes great risks for the costly grace of the cross. It is a mystery of the gospel to comprehend the fullness of God’s sacrificial love in Jesus Christ.
Ten years ago during my time in seminary, I had the opportunity to learn from a sister congregation in Atlanta. Central Presbyterian Church was located in the heart of Atlanta. And it is right across the street from the state capitol.
The senior pastor at the time shared an unforgettable story with my class. One random day in the church office the pastor received a phone call from the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. It was a notification of a high number of reported instances of human trafficking taking place on the street corner near the church’s location.
Shocked by the news, the pastor and elders quickly began to educate themselves in what was happening literally in their own backyard.
Human Trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery and a federal crime. It is defined as the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation induced by force, fraud, or coercion. Children as young as age 5 are forced into trafficking. It is estimated that 20 million people are enslaved worldwide. Atlanta and Charlotte are main arteries for human trafficking [1]. Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest nights of the year where arrests are made.
Taking to heart Jesus’ teachings of proclaiming good news to the poor and release to the captives, the senior pastor preached on the issue from the pulpit. The pastor felt convicted that God’s Spirit was certainly calling the congregation to step out of their comfort zone to join God in changing the world.
As the service came to a close and the receiving line began the pastor expected some serious push back. In fact, one of oldest members said with a strong tone, “Pastor, I want to have a word with you!” The pastor just knew his congregant was going to throw him out onto the street. Surprisingly enough the woman said with tears of angst, “Pastor we have to do something. Let me know what I can do.”
God opened that church’s eyes to what was breaking God’s heart in their community. Not only did the church learn about human trafficking, they also learned about an unjust state law; a 16-year old youth who should be delivered from such human evil could actually be arrested and prosecuted for prostitution.
Jesus’ teachings definitely made that church nervous. Faith took them out of their comfort zones to not only advocate for children and adults who were being oppressed and enslaved. Faith also led the congregation to intersect the gospel with politics to change an unjust state law. Today a 16-year old youth is rescued from trafficking to receive the faith, hope, and love to recover, heal, and be made whole. God’s love brings justice.
As a result of the church’s ministry, a non-profit agency named Street Grace was formed, which educates the public, advocates for and assists survivors of trafficking. As of this Super Bowl weekend, 65 agencies have worked together to arrest 33 individuals on trafficking charges. Four survivors have been rescued as they journey into freedom [2].
Living out our faith in context of our community and in the wider world is not easy. If we are following Jesus’ teachings, the Spirit will lead you and me into situations that make us nervous.
Take courage knowing that wherever God calls us to go that God is already there. In all things God is at work through Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit to lift the voices of the powerless, the marginalized, and the poor.
God is calling all people to be overcome by love because God’s love rules the world. Christ teaches us that God’s reconciling love on the cross believes, hopes, and endures all things.
Who and what is God calling you and me to see that is breaking God’s heart?
I pray that as our eyes are opened, Jesus will rope us in to paint the world with nothing less than his tenacious love.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Statistics from Lily Pad Haven
[2] Alexis Stephens, “Super Bowl Security: 33 Arrested on Sex Trafficking Charges,” Atlanta Journal Constitution January 30, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment