Reading: Luke 4:16 -22a
I think it is probably fair to say that preachers really like it when people comment on their sermon, even when the comment is someone disagreeing with what we said. At least we know they were listening. But I think the most frequent complement I get is on is the length of my sermons. One could perhaps argue this is, in fact, not a complement but I have chosen to take it as one. I work hard to keep things within a particular limit so I am glad it is appreciated.
I think most people know I aim for about 12 minutes (give or take). During my formation I attended a lay preaching workshop taught by a previous Uniting Church president, named Andrew Dutney. The course was fabulous and he was fabulous and he said that if you choose to go over this, then you better make sure it is worth it and so I have tried to follow that advice. My education background also informs me that this medium of one person talking at people is not actually the best way of learning for most people, especially with all the other distractions here. And so going on for a long time is not really benefitting most people. And finally, I actually truly believe that the sermon is not the most important part of our gathering and so I try to ensure the time given to it reflects that.
But I have become aware this is actually quite short in the world of preaching (and perhaps some people feel ripped off and I am sorry if that’s you). However, 12 minutes is really quite long if you compare it to Jesus in our reading today. This passage has become known as Jesus inaugural address and I wonder if perhaps it is the shortest inaugural address in history. Now of course there were times when Jesus spoke for a lot longer than this, the sermon on the mount, the obvious example. There are certainly times for long speeches and so as always we need to be careful about making hard and fast rules about things. But it seems to me Jesus is intentional about things and so I think he intentionally chose to keep things very short and succinct for this inaugural address. And it is pretty powerful. It was powerful then, Luke tells us, “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” But it remains powerful now.
Jesus also draws on the words of those before him. These words come from the prophet Isaiah. And in choosing them Jesus aligns himself with the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures who were also about bringing good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and announcing the year of the Lord’s favor.”
This was the mission of God and God’s people throughout the Bible. It was the mission of Jesus and so remains the mission of the church.
There has been a lot of talk about inauguration speeches of late. They do not tell us everything about a political party or person (Jesus talked about more than just these things) but they do tell us something about their priorities.
The relationship between the Christian faith and politics is a contested one, we need to tread carefully. Jesus and his message and the church throughout history do not fit neatly into any political party or movement and so neither the so called right or left should coopt Jesus to their cause.
Jesus had his own mission which he outlined in this passage, it matters and it is short so I will say it again,
To bring good news to the poor,
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free, and
announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And this remains the mission of the church. And so if there are forces acting against this mission we need to speak up against them.
This is not about taking sides. We may even like the people or party doing this but our first allegiance is to Jesus and his mission. We should not do this in a way that is superior or aggressive or abusive or demonises anyone. We believe that all people are made in God’s image and so our aim should always be to bring people together not create further divisions. But the church must stand with those Jesus stood with – the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.
Last week a bishop in Washington did just that. At the National Cathedral prayer service in Washington bishop Mariann Edgar Budde made a plea to the incoming administration for mercy. No matter what people’s opinions are on this administration, the church doing this should not really have been a surprise.
To be honest I do not know if this was a particularly helpful thing to do. It seems like it possibly was just one more thing that entrenched people in their camps. I do not think this was her intent. She did not come across to me as angry or belligerent or disrespectful but the response certainly was. This does seem to be the way these things go.
None the less I think maybe it mattered that it was said. Her plea offered a perspective of Christianity that has been kind of muted in the public discussion that has been much more focused on the Christian support of one particular party.
This week the independent member for Arnhem Land, Yiniya Guyula also made a plea for mercy. In response to the conditions in the NT’s prisons he wrote to the UN to intervene. I know that people here will have different opinions on the crime this town is experiencing, what the reasons are, what the response should be etc. That is fine but again as Christians we believe that all people are created in the image of God and thus should be treated humanely. We must all agree that living through months of over 40 degree without any access to air conditioning is not treating people humanely. This can actually kill people. We also believe that all sin can be forgiven, that all people can be transformed and so should be afforded the opportunity to do so with good rehabilitation programs. This is not suggesting that crime that endangers and hurts people should not be responded too. It should. But in ways that leads to less crime not more trauma.
As I look out I see so many people here involved this mission of Jesus. It reminds me yet again the Spirit of God is more alive among ordinary people, in ordinary lives. While politics does impact people, particularly the vulnerable, so does the way we all choose to treat people.
This a recurring theme in the Bible and we have reflected on it over and over again. As we read through kings last year we noted on a number of occasions that while the book of Kings follows the stories of the Kings of Israel and Judah God was mostly working miracles, healing and transforming lives not through them but through those closer to the ground. Prophets, widows, slave girls. The kings came and went, as they do, yet God remained sovereign.
And then over Christmas, we noted that while Jesus was born at the time of the Roman Empire, his birth is not attended by the Emperors and the governors. Rather it is Mary and Joseph – a young woman and her faithful husband who risked everything on their trust in God – who are there. And it is the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks and Magi staring up at the stars who discern it. It is these ordinary people, poor, humble, often scorned people who are present when the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.
And two weeks ago we reflected on John the Baptist. Luke tells us in the year of Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, King Herod and the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to none of them. Rather it came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
And in today’s passage, Jesus takes the words of Isaiah and announces his ministry in Nazareth, a long way from the halls of power.
And still now, I think, it is more often those, who are not so filled with their own power and privilege, who discern God’s ongoing presence and action in the world. People like Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and Yiniya Guyula who with gentleness, quietness and simplicity share the message and mission of Jesus.
The prophets, Jesus parents, John and Jesus of course had souls of gravity. Unlike the kings and emperors of their time (and ours) they were not defensive, angry or immature. They did not need constant attention and approval. They were solid in who they were as children of God and they changed everything.
Therefore, while we should care about what is happening in politics across the world we should not place our identity, our sense of safety and all responsibility for our common life into the hands of our government. We proclaim a message that is older, deeper, wiser than any of the modern ones.
And we have our own mission. One more time,
To bring good news to the poor,
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free, and
announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”
This was the mission of God and God’s people throughout the Bible, it was the mission of Jesus and it remains the mission of the church.
I wonder what that might look like here in this church, in this time and place and in our lives? Do not freak out this mission is not one more thing you have to do, this is a way of life. A way of life that is lead by the Spirit of we would only ask.
And it is a message of hope. Hope to the poor, the blind, the captives and oppressed of course but also to all those people who have lost a sense of meaning, of purpose, a sense they are part of something bigger than themselves.
This is indeed good news. Good news for all. Amen.
