| Luke 4:14-21 "The Radical Gospel of Jesus Christ" |
|
| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 20 January 2007 | |
|
Our Gospel reading comes from Luke chapter 4, verses 14-21. Please stand for the reading of the Gospel. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 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 let the oppressed go free, 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.” Prayer: Gracious God, open our eyes, our ears, our minds, and our hearts to the Good News you have for us today. May we more fully embrace the radical nature of your love in Jesus. Amen. The church is often accused of politicizing the gospel. I find that fascinating given Jesus’ own mission “statement” spelled out in our Gospel reading. His mission involves: -Concern for the poor (body and soul) -Advocacy for the incarcerated -Healing for the dis-eased -And the embodiment of “the year of the Lord’s favor,” a reference to the Jewish “Year of Jubilee” as recorded in Leviticus 25. Every fiftieth year was dedicated to restoring both land and people. They were to: refrain from sowing and eat only what the land produced on its own. -Debts were to be forgiven, -land was returned to its original owners, and -every person who had been forced into indentured service was to be set free. Concern for the poor, the forgiving of debts, giving people a 2nd chance, setting the imprisoned free, Sabbath rest and worship; this is how “broadly” Jesus interprets the meaning of the words “Good News.” And it is this Christ identity that is uniquely “our” identity, as his church. So if being political is caring about the impoverished, whether its: -working to get uninsured children affordable health care, -feeding the homeless, -speaking to legislation that actually holds employers accountable to pay someone enough to actually live on, then, Jesus by self-definition was political, and in turn, so is the church that bears his name! That said, Jesus’ radical gospel is very spiritual. It is concerned with the whole self. It resists the temptation to ignore either one’s dire circumstances or the needs of the human soul. Turn with me in your Bibles for a moment to James 2: 14-17. It reads: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. The Gospel also states “What will it profit us if we gain [food, and clothing, and then some] but lose our souls? Mark 8:36 So the Gospel shares a concern for both the human soul and social justice. The “Christ identity” is a life of radical compassion. The word compassion comes from the Latin to suffer with. And I can think of few words that better summarize the life and ministry of Jesus. I bought myself a Christmas gift this year, Richard Bowen’s “Mei Mei: Portraits from a Chinese Orphanage. Sponsored by the Half the Sky Foundation, an international organization that provides nannies, nurseries, classrooms and teachers to 3,000 orphaned children in China. The book includes the portraits of orphaned Chinese girls who are victims of China’s “one child policy” and an age-old Chinese family system with a traditional preference for sons. Author Amy Tan writes in the forward: As I take in the one hundred faces-shy smiles, laughing cheeks, and turned-down mouths- I try to intuit the feelings behind each. This one who’s staring seems so serious, uncertain, even scared, or maybe she is simply shy. And what a look that one girl has! So saucy, the little prankster who easily wins people’s hearts. Surely she’ll find her way in the world. But what about this dull eyed girl, and this one here and that one there? A few of them seem passive and detached, without protest or wariness, curiosity, or demands. I sense that for them this moment is neither better nor worse than what came before or what will follow. Many of the babies I saw in the orphanage had this same passive look, despite a cheery environment and loving caregivers. And I’ve come to think that this is the look of a little girl who has never known that her face is the most beloved of anyone else’s in the entire world, that her teary needs matter more than anything else, that she has a never-ending supply of hugs she can claim at any time for warmth, or consolation, or bliss. Oh, but they are still so lucky to be in such good orphanages! I say this to comfort myself…. I also wonder what the purpose of our looking at such photographs is. These are girls we will likely never meet, whose stories will remain for us forever incomplete, mysteries if we choose to think about them. It seems at times too painful to look at these abandoned girls if we cannot directly take them into our arms and make their lives instantly better. Yet I think it is important to look. As with any photograph one might see in a history book or a family album of snapshots, they are portals to another’s consciousness in a particular time and place. For as long as we look, we can imagine. With a bit of imagination, we can inhabit that moment over and over again, that mind and heart, that smile or frown, those desires and needs. We can look and hope to know more. That is the start of compassion, I think. The rest just naturally follows. And before we’ve even finished turning the page, those girls are already part of our lives. P.8-9 Compassion is God’s Spirit within pushing us into the suffering of others. And from where I stand, there’s a poverty of compassion today. -People do not forgive; -they do not return what belongs to someone else; -they do not set free; -they do not make the connection between worship of God and how life is lived. So what Jesus is proclaiming here is radically subversive. And this is the first sign in the Gospels that Jesus will not be warmly received by others. By the end of the narrative scene, his own community is prepared to throw him off a cliff! Jesus says elsewhere that he did not come to abolish but rather fulfill the law and the prophets. So when Micah 6:8 states that the Lord requires justice, mercy, and humility before God, this too speaks to the Christian identity! Injustice, intolerance and pride that exalt personal agenda; all mock the sovereignty and reign of God! In his 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Jesus radicalizes religion by defining it in terms of: -bringing “good news” to the poor, instead of making it a “perk” of the privileged, -as advocacy for the imprisoned instead of the rewarding of the righteous, -as healing for the afflicted instead of health as a sign of blessing. God is calling us to fulfill a radical identity as a Church founded in Jesus Christ. What does this look like? Well, for one, 1) We speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15 says, “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Too often church people don’t speak at all…we’re worried about hurting someone’s feelings, we justify. In fact, it’s much easier to talk about someone behind his or her back. We call it “venting” but its gossip, and even at times, slander. “Venting” is mining terminology. Vents are used to release potentially lethal gas from mines. Of course, the last place you want to vent poisonous, highly inflammable gas is in a populated area. The resulting explosion could level a community! That’s exactly what gossip and slander do to a relationship; a community; even a church. Gossip is unkind, unchristian, and damages the witness of the church. James 1:26 states, “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues, but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.” As a church, if we gossip or refuse to speak in a truthful and loving manner, (as if the other is a precious gift from God), then we are guilty of being unfaithful to who we are and whose we are. This is why dialogue in the church is so crucial to maintaining our Christian identities. Desmond Tutu once said, “It is easy to be against. It is not so easy to be clear about what we are for.” The other night on American Idol Simon Cowell was ripping contestants right and left. Let me tell you, he was definitely speaking the truth! JUST NOT IN LOVE! Some of our marriages are headed for disaster because we simply fail to speak, and when we do, it isn’t truthful or loving. And if someone is able to speak the truth in love, it is our responsibility to listen with an open heart. Even if that means you have to respond, “Give me some time to think about what you have said…” and then prayerfully, honestly reflecting on how God might be speaking to you in this situation. We are to speak the truth in love. 2) Secondly, this radical identity as a church founded in Jesus Christ requires us to be good neighbors. In the movie, “Night at the Museum,” Larry, the night-watchman is advised, "Some men are born to greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them.” Church, I think greatness is being thrust-ed upon us! There is a growing racial divide in Carrollton! People are feeling more and more threatened by neighbors who don’t often look like us or speak the same language, or honor the same customs or eat the same foods. Why there’s even talk “some Asian businessmen are going to build a strip center catering to the Asian population in Carrollton! Well, there goes the neighborhood!” Is that what people are saying?! Let me speak the truth in love here: Jesus is needed here! That’s what this church is about! We are called to a ministry of radical compassion…to fulfill our Christian identity. And every child of God deserves to be oohed and awed over; from the Chinese orphan who has never known her face is the most beloved of anyone else’s in the world, to the elderly Asian businessman who just moved in down the street. As racial diversity floods into our neighborhoods, and many residents flee north (and someday they’re gonna wake up and discover their Canadians or Oklahomans)! We’ve got a choice to make here! As a church, we’re either going to dig in and refuse to flee, and accept the greatness that God has thrust upon us through this opportunity for radical ministry in North Carrollton, or we’re going to follow the flow north, or, gradually shrivel up and die. And I say… We accept the challenge! We have got to get to know our neighbors. Do you know who your neighbors? Do you know who they are? And we need to find a way to be Christ to them. “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus was once asked. His reply, the parable of the Good Samaritan turns the question on its head. “The good neighbor is the one who shows mercy.” And Jesus says to his Church, “Go and do likewise!” |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
