If you are coming to the induction service tomorrow (3rd February) then do not read on. However, now that I have locked the sermon away (baring a move of the Spirit) I thought I'd post it, and open it up to comment (he says with knees knocking). So, here it is - please receive it in the spirit it was intended.

Text: Luke 4:16-30

When I was in high school back in the dim darkness of last century, I decided to study History as part of my final few subjects of years 11 and 12 SACE. I do not know that I could have told you there and then, why I wanted to study history – perhaps it was because it was seen as easy as opposed to your pure Maths and Sciences – it was not – perhaps it was because of the classic Split Enz song, History Never Repeats – which incidentally, it seems that it does – however, for whatever reason in those final years of high school I became, a fan of history. I was very fortunate in my decision, because our history teacher in year 11 offered our class the opportunity to collectively decide what particular epoch of history we studied. He gave us a number of historical eras from which to choose, each accompanied by a piece of oration – a quote from an important speech or declaration, which defined the age. Amongst other times, we were offered Medieval Europe and the Dark Ages, including the Kings, Queens and many battles of England, the French or Russian Revolutions, either of the World Wars, or the Cold War Arms Race. I distinctly recall hearing my teacher quote from the various kings and queens of England, France and Russia, and a few political leaders around World War 1 – but then when he came to those events that occurred during the dawn of audio technology, he let the voices of the era speak for themselves.

We heard Winston Churchill in his opening speech as Prime Minister tell the House of Commons, that he had “nothing to offer them but blood, toil, tears and sweat” and then later the same year we heard him say, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few.” We heard John F. Kennedy in his inauguration speech request of his fellow Americans, that they “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” We then heard a snippet from Martin Luther King Jnr’s unforgettable speech, “I have a Dream.” Our imaginations were stirred by these very familiar words, spoken by the people who possibly wrote them, but at the very least loaded them with their accepted meaning and inaugurated themselves into a future direction and impetus. Their words are remembered as being great, as age definitive and has having a profound influence on not only their time and their context, but on future generations who were inspired by their words to take up the call.

The words that we heard this morning from the Gospel of Luke have followed a similar course down through history. Some scholars have called Jesus first recorded sermon in Luke’s Gospel as being where he launches his campaign, announces his manifesto, inaugurates God’s mission with humanity.

So in Luke’s account we find Jesus, who was of course a good Jewish boy from Nazareth, back home in his local synagogue on the Sabbath – as it seems, was his tradition to do. Before his home coming, so to speak, Jesus had been teaching in the synagogues of the Galilee, where people were praising him highly for his mighty words and deeds. The Synagogue comes to order – the women on one side of the divide – the mechitzah the visual barrier separating the sexes, and the men on the other. At once, the assembly quieten down their chatter, as the attendant opens the case which houses the sacred scrolls. Seeing as though it is his home town synagogue, we can imagine that perhaps Jesus’ Father Joseph is there, with his brothers – and on the other side of the divide Mary, and Jesus sisters. The attendant, who perhaps remembered Jesus as one of Joseph’s carpentering sons, or perhaps now knows of his preaching in the Galilee, hands him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Now, like the words of Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jnr and JFK in our time, the words of the prophet Isaiah, particularly the words that Jesus chose to read, would have been remembered and celebrated by the people. Luke remembers Jesus as reading from both Isaiah 61:1 and 58:6 as we know them now. Of course, when Jesus read these texts, they were not divided neatly like we have them, and if we had more time this morning, perhaps we could explore the verses that Jesus chose not to read, and their implications. Nevertheless, Luke says that Jesus, having been offered the scroll of the prophet Isaiah from the attendant stood and read, : “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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Or, a better translation of the Greek in verse 19 would read, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Jesus then rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. And then, waiting for the teaching as was customary, all the eyes of the assembly turned upon Jesus, and he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Now, I do not know about you – but I would suspect that if you had been in that synagogue on that fateful Sabbath to hear those word spoken aloud, you would have been sporting some serious goose bumps. Hearing Martin Luther King Jnr’s “I have a Dream” speech in preparation for this sermon brought a tear to my eye and a goose bumps to the back of my neck, but can you imagine the impact that hearing these words from the Prophet Isaiah, spoken by Jesus of Nazareth would have had?

It was in preparation for this sermon, reflecting over my call into ministry, my time spent at college, and my previous ministries that I came to realise the profound impact that these verses from Luke’s Gospel have had on the shape of my ministries. It seems fitting that inaugurating something new, Jesus looked back, because today as I was inducted into your community to journey with you as a minister, I looked back to where this all began for me. As I spoke about last time I was with you back in August last year, my call to ministry began on a cold winter’s night over in the lounge room of the church house, where I was asked to commit myself to loving a bunch of strange people – and trust me, they were very strange – and it is great to see so many of them here today... The DDP was good news to me as I am sure it was to those others here who have been a part of the journey, it released me from my cultural captivity, it gave me the gift of sight, and set me free. And yet, having survived the DDP I still entered my college formation years with a fairly naive idea of what ministry was actually all about. But over the last 6 years of action and reflection I have come to appreciate just how much ministry is entirely Holy Spirit enabled, it is all about bringing good news to the poor, fighting for the release of those held captive by injustice, empowering the blind to see, and setting the oppressed free. But more than that, it has been verse 19 and its scriptural connections that have formed me, my gifts for ministry and have ultimately brought me back here today.

Verse 19 reads, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Or more precisely, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Most biblical scholars agree that this text, quoted from the prophet Isaiah, is a direct illusion to the Year of Jubilee, as detailed in the laws of Leviticus 25. Succinctly put, the idea of the Lord’s Jubilee was to be a re levelling of the playing field. Using the perfect number 7, the Lord’s number, The Jubilee Year was to be proclaimed every seventh cycle of seven years, so with seven times seven being [pause] 49, so the Jubilee was to be decreed in the 50^th year. At that time it, was to be proclaimed by the sounding of trumpets, and all of God’s creation was to experience release and renewal. The Earth was to be left fallow, no sowing, and no reaping – the farmland was to be released from its burden of supply– a touch of environmental theology from Leviticus. Another big facet of the Jubilee Year was that lands which had been sold were to be returned to their original owners, people who had been sold into slavery – which was a viable option to clear a family debt – were to be released, and all debts – financial of otherwise were forgiven. The people who had become rich, and the people who had become poor, were made equals in the ideals of the Jubilee Year. This was God’s plan for keeping the earth and its people viable – the land, the people, and the financial burdens of society were given release. It is unfortunate, therefore that there is no evidence to suggest that the Lord’s year of acceptance – the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated by the people. Do you remember the Jubilee campaign of the late 90s, which developed into the Make Poverty History campaign? This is where it all started – Leviticus 25, and it is something that Jesus announced at the commencement of his earthly ministry as being a priority.

However, there is also a sense of irony to be had in the wording and alternative meaning to verse 19, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Because as we read on in Luke Chapter 4, we see that what is acceptable to the Lord, tends not to be acceptable to God’s creation. After Jesus had sat down, and had told the gathered assembly that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing” they were impressed. They were probably very excited that finally something good – a prophet – was coming out of Nazareth. They heard his words as being gracious, and were amazed with him. A local boy done good.

Then Jesus reminded them of the unique history that Israel has in regard to its prophets and its ability to hear from them and head their warnings. He tells them about how the Prophets Elijah and Elisha sent by God to the people of Israel, were then sent by the same God of the people to those on the outer – those who were not perceived to be part of God’s Kingdom. Perhaps when they heard these things, they could see their grasp at fame and notoriety slipping through their clutches. No one is going to follow this prophet who is preaching God’s acceptance to outsiders, to Gentiles. The people in the synagogue, after hearing Jesus first recorded sermon in Luke’s Gospel – his Holy Spirit filled vision for his ministry, the mission of God on earth – after hearing this, they were filled with rage and took him out to throw him off a cliff. The very one who came proclaiming the Lord’s acceptance, was treated with the polar opposite by those who knew him best. Just like the Year of Jubilee, which seems to have never been accepted by God’s people – so too, Jesus of Nazareth – the human manifestation of God’s acceptance was rejected. Those of you, who are familiar with the Gospel Story, know that this trend of rejection continued, right until his death on the cross. The message of the Lord’s acceptance was met with rejection.

One of the things that drew me to, and excites me about the potential of ministry here with you, the community at Mount Barker Church of Christ is your Mission Statement. I am not going to ask you all to recite it here, but it reads:

By the Grace of God and with the Guidance and Power of the Holy Spirit, we seek to be an open and inclusive community, desiring that all should know and grow in relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

And it was the part, “we seek to be an open and inclusive community” that spoke to me about the Lord’s acceptance. Often groups tend to define themselves by who they are not – by clearly stating who does not belong, who is not welcome – like the world does to Jesus, and like we as humanity do to each other – but here in the community of the Mount Barker Church of Christ you have written it into your mission statement, as something you aim to achieve, that you will seek to be an open and inclusive community – accepting people for who they are, modelling the grace that we have received from the Lord towards others – and that enlivens me.

On behalf of Casey and myself, I would like to thank you for calling, welcoming and accepting us into your community. We really look forward to the many opportunities that shall arise, such as at the shared lunch here today, where we can spend time getting to know each other, and sharing in our life’s journey together. In particular I look forward to joining you in your ministry and mission to the community of Mount Barker and beyond. Your vision for a cafe/op shop and men’s shed shows that you are a community who are on a journey to fulfil your mission statement in your local context, and I hope and pray that I can enable and empower you to continue this calling.

Jesus proclaimed “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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” My prayer for this new beginning, and for my joining with you in ministry, is that we can continue to mirror the proclamation of Jesus of Nazareth, that has echoed down these past 2000 years, and will continue to change lives long after the memory of Churchill and Kennedy have faded.

Let’s Pray.

Creator God,

We give you thanks for the opportunity to come and worship you. We ask that you go before us in all that we do, and remind us of the call you place on all our lives, to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you, our God.

Amen.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 02, 2008 at 2/02/2008 10:14:00 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.