“Living into Who You are Created to Be”
Luke
4:14-21 (CEB)
January 27, 2019 (3rd Sunday after
Epiphany) (youth at Resurrection)
Fort Oglethorpe UMC
Luke
4:14-21 (CEB)
14 Jesus returned in the
power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole
countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was
praised by everyone.
16 Jesus went to Nazareth,
where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he
normally did and stood up to read. 17 The synagogue
assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
20 He rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the
synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to
explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been
fulfilled just as you heard it.”
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THIS
IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS BE TO GOD.
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Two
weeks ago we celebrated Baptism of the Lord Sunday, talking about Jesus’
baptism and we remembered that we are baptized with a calling into serving.
Last
week’s Scripture passage reminded us that we all have gifts to share from the
Holy Spirit. At the other two churches I
reminded them that since I have served this appointment, we have spoken about
spiritual gifts quite a bit. In fact,
when I first came in, you all were just starting to study about spiritual gifts
and we had several sessions on spiritual gifts, from learning what they are, to
learning what ours are by taking a spiritual gifts inventory, to following up
with what we do with our gifts once we know what they are. We’ve had several sermons along the way about
them too.
We
know that the gifts are given by the Spirit and are for the common good.
Today’s passage shows us Jesus living into who he
was and who he was created to be.
Let’s look at the scene again for a moment and
think what it might have been like to be there.
Jesus went into the synagogue as he normally did
and stood up to read. The attendant
handed him a scroll to read. Much like
we read from the lectionary, they had certain portions of Scripture that were
read at different times and seasons.
Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61 from the scroll. Everyone would
have known it well.
Pastor Ed Visser says this about Jesus reading
the scroll: “As we read in this passage, Jesus was in the habit of attending
synagogues in Galilee, often being asked to read the Bible and preach. In those
days, that entailed reading a prescribed Torah passage & a self-chosen
portion from the prophets, all done standing. Then the reader would sit in
Moses’ Seat and share what the Scripture meant to him (the sermon).
One Sabbath Jesus was invited to do
so in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. We don’t know what the Torah portion
was for the day, but Jesus chose to read Isaiah 61:1-2, changing the reading in
a couple of important ways: 1) he dropped the last half of Isaiah 61:2, “the
day of vengeance of our God”; and 2) he added a phrase from Isaiah 58:6, “to
release the oppressed.”
Jesus made it clear what his mission and calling
were.
What about us today?
What is our individual mission and calling?
What is our collective mission and calling as a
community of believers?
Can we take the same scroll from Isaiah and apply
it today? Is it still applicable?
V. 18-- The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
As a baptized child of God,
remember, the Spirit of the Lord IS upon you.
You are anointed and gifted. In
today’s setting, who are the poor to whom you are called to preach the good
news? Who are the prisoners to whom you
will proclaim release? Who are those
that need recovery of sight? Who are the
oppressed?
As you reflect on those
questions, what comes to mind?
We are reminded in Luke’s
passage that Jesus is called “to be an agent of mercy to the downtrodden in
this world: he will be good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight
for the blind, freedom for the oppressed.” (Robert M. Brearley, Feasting on the Word, 286)
Just as Jesus was called to
be an agent of mercy, so are we.
As we tune our listening to
the Holy Spirit to hear what we are called to do, then we can act upon it. Because we are all gifted by the Holy Spirit,
we might be called as a church community to do a multitude of things.
We already know that God has
placed ministry in our midst through the opportunity to show hospitality to Son
Servants, Weight Watchers, our Cubs and Girl Scouts, the Jam, Line Dancing,
the YMCA programs.
In addition to hospitality,
we have opportunities to serve through the YMCA with backpack blessings and
LINK at the Y.
Then, there are the
shut-ins, our connections with schools…
But, what else has the Holy
Spirit given you to do?
Let me share something
“else” I feel the Holy Spirit has given me to do.
Last year I had a day apart
at Reflection Riding with the SoulCare Project.
Part of my day was silent and solitude, wandering around the
property. I found a bamboo patch. Inside that patch, it felt like a
sanctuary. Though I didn’t realize the
significance of it then, a seed was planted for an outdoor worship
service. Through several situations and
conversations, it looks like the Holy Spirit might be opening up the
opportunity to try a once a month service outside, for folks who desire to
worship the Creator in creation. I’m
still in the discerning process, but I’m also following through with
conversations to see if this is truly something that the Holy Spirit is opening
up for me as an opportunity in a new way, in addition to the other ways God is
nudging me to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world.
“The Holy Spirit gives us
something to do for God.” (Robert M. Brearly, Feasting on the Word, 286)
A quote from Tom Harvey, a
missionary in Singapore: “Mission catches you up in the life and vitality of
God, for it is God who relentlessly draws men and women to himself in love and
compassion. Moreover, when we step away
from mission, there is a corresponding depletion of the life and vitality in
the church.” (Feasting on the Word, 286)
“How can we know that we
have the power of the Spirit? We know
because the Holy Spirit gives us something to do for God, and a time to do
it. There is a sense of urgency in Jesus’
mission. He finished reading, rolled up
the scroll, gave it to the attendant, sat down, and with all eyes upon him
said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The time of God’s Holy Spirit is today, right
now.
Only you can use the gift
the Holy Spirit has given you.
Therefore, live into who you were created to be, and know that the Holy
Spirit will guide you each step of the way.
As we live into the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit,
participating in various ministries and activities for the common good of the
community, think about what can be accomplished for the kingdom of God.
The potential for kingdom work grows exponentially as we
allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.
May the Holy Spirit guide us as we seek to know our gift, to
grow as mature believers, sharing the gifts given to us, so that we can live
into the unique person we were created to be.
May we be disciples of Christ so that we can make disciples
of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Amen.
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Recorded sermon
May there be something in the Scripture, the transcript, and/or the recording that encourages or challenges you.
May the journey be adventurous,
Debra
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