Reflection on Luke 4:14-21

 

Once while I was away on vacation, a certain lay preacher filled in for me (whose name I will not mention…suffice it to say that his first name resembled the mouth of a duck and his second the plumage of a bird).  He had the wonderful opportunity to preach on Jesus’ very first sermon.  This is a golden piece of scripture that would be worthy of memorization.   

“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 then Jesus preached: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

As I understand (I was not there, of course), the nameless lay preacher read Jesus’ sermon, stood there staring at the congregation, and then said something to the effect of:

“You heard Jesus, now go do it.”

And, that was it!  He went and sat down.  Oh, how you yearn for the day for one of my sermons to be so concise!

What a great way to get you thinking about what Jesus said!  What a great way to shove you out the door into the ministry of Jesus Christ!

And, I promise that I will end with your ministry in the world this morning, but this short, simple sermon of Jesus is so vital to the rest of Jesus’ ministry, and the words reverberate so much throughout the stories recorded in the gospel of Luke that we need to take a closer look.  After-all, if we did not, we would miss Jesus’ idea of freedom.

So, what exactly is it like to be freed by Christ?

It is like being literally blind to the beauty around you…being blind to the curly hair of your new baby and suddenly, by God’s grace, you rub your eyes and you are able to see the little red curls and the giggling smile of recognition on your baby’s face.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is like you are a server in a restaurant who keeps making mistakes all night (wrong drink orders, dropping plates) all because your mind is distracted and concerned about how you are going to pay rent the next day, and a group of five teenage boys who have sat at a table for over an hour and ordered little more than nachos and couple of cokes ends up leaving a $250 tip. It is enough to keep you in your apartment for another month.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is like being trapped in a school where you are not able to go to the bathroom because you fear the beating from bullies that might take place, and then coming home to find out that your family quite suddenly will be moving, to a new place, a new school, and a new chance at having real friends.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is being jailed up, confined, unable to convince anyone you are a person of worth; unable to convince anyone that you are not your past, and then someone comes, unlocks the door, and says, “I believe in you. Now go be the person God created you to be.”

Jesus lays out his purpose quite plainly in his first sermon recorded in right here in Luke. Spoiler alert: Jesus’ purpose has to do with freedom.

Reading from Isaiah, Jesus proclaims, “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" (NRSV, Luke 4:18-19).

If you have ever wondered what salvation is all about in this life, I will give you a hint: it is about freedom.

It is about the poor having worth.

It is about freedom from all that binds you and holds you back.

It is about all of your debts being wiped out in a year of jubilee and having the opportunity to start again fresh with no obligations weighing you down.

It is about being able to see; to truly see the world and its need to be loved.

According to Luke Jesus’ entire purpose of coming down, to be born in the flesh, is to go around and free people from whatever holds them down.

He does it you know...frees people.  Just read in the Bible how this simple sermon echoes throughout Jesus’ entire story.

Jesus frees a boy plagued with a demon and frees him from his past.

Jesus' power heals an unclean woman who has suffered from bleeding for 12 years.

Jesus heals a man who was out of his mind, living out in the cemetery like a wild dog, and, thus, frees his community from the fear of the man.

Jesus feeds more than 5,000 hungry souls who are searching for something more in life.

Jesus tells the story of an outcast in society who is the only one to stop and help a poor soul, beaten on the side of the road.

And, Jesus forgives a criminal with a death sentence who merely asks to be remembered, (because, quite frankly, no one wants to remember a criminal). Jesus says to the criminal, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As we work our way through the book of Luke this year we will see how Jesus makes it his mission to ensure that we are freed from all that keeps us bound, captive, hostage, and unable to move.  Jesus wants freedom for you.  Jesus desires that you might truly live.

But, your freedom is not the only one Jesus cares about, of course.  There is the rest of the world out there too.  So, Jesus cares deeply that this work of freedom continues. It did not stop when Jesus died. It did not stop when Jesus rose up into heaven. The Holy Spirit did not stop working when it came upon Jesus, but the Holy Spirit also descended on Jesus' disciples. The Holy Spirit still descends on us, and sparks the holy desire of freedom within us, his followers.

Jesus, after reading this text of freedom of Isaiah, sits down and declares, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, this task of freedom does not stop with Jesus.

Now, for all you Bible nerds out there, or Bible nerd wannabes, the grammatical tense of Jesus’ words, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" is not the present tense which indicated that Jesus' work is once and done. Rather, it is the perfect tense which, for all you non-Bible nerds out there) means that this fulfillment of scripture is ongoing, even repetitive. This scripture, just like the energizer bunny from years ago, is just going to keep going and going and going.  This scripture is going to keep being fulfilled through the work of the Holy Spirit in his followers.

Yes, I am talking about you…and me.

We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are a people who have been baptized into a life of freedom. We are a people who care about the poor no matter what got them to that place. We are a people who care about the blind, both physically and spiritually. We are a people who care about the detained and imprisoned and thrown away. We are a people who care about the world being restored to the way God intended it to be.

We are a people who have been freed and who set free.

“I have been freed, and I set free.”  Say it with me: “I have been freed, and I set free.”

And, if you are feeling stuck in the faith, if you need to be pointed in the way to go in your life of faith then ask yourself, “Where are people trapped?” “Where am I trapped?”

And, when you ask those questions, you will see that Jesus has found you and your purpose has also found you.

I have a very practical question to ask you. Which of these items sparks a sense of interest in you? Pay close attention to the one that is calling to you:

Good news to the poor.

Release to those held captive.

Sight to those who cannot see, either physically or spiritually.

Healing to those who are hurt.

Giving voice to the voiceless and freeing the oppressed.

Forgiveness to those indebted.

Which one seems to stick with you? Which one causes you more questions? Which one does God want you to see?

Focus on that one. Write it down. Keep it on your nightstand. Be open to how Jesus desires to use his Holy Spirit to create freedom through you.

Be set free by Christ, and set free through Christ.