Proclaiming the Lord’s Favor

Proclaiming the Lord’s Favor 

Jan 23, 2022

Luke 4: 14-21

Jesus and John the Baptist were two prophets speaking for God to the Jewish people in the late 20’s of the common era as we now count time. How much they were related and for how long they were connected is hard to determine from the records that we now have.

This morning’s lesson from the Gospel of Luke raises this issue again.While Luke – only Luke – reports that Jesus and John were perhaps second or third cousins, he also presents John as not knowing Jesus when Jesus was associated with his baptizing movement. Luke’s record is rather confusing at this point. His sequence of events has John already in prison – not yet killed –when Jesus is baptized along with others of John’s followers. Yet, he reports meeting Jesus on the street and identifying him as the one who is becoming greater than himself.

Since Luke is writing 55 or 60 years after the events he is presenting, that kind of confusion can be understood.The Gospel of Mark, which seems to be the only source of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and his inclusion into John’s movement simply states that John baptized Jesus who then sensed the spirit of God descend upon him like a dove and heard a voice saying [1:11[ “You are my favored son – I fully approve of you” (SV). Matthew greatly expands

[2] Mark’s text, having John question his baptizing Jesus, recognizing Jesus as the greater prophet. Luke apparently has Jesus baptized by John’s movement by not by John. The Gospel of John doesn’t report Jesus’ baptism at all. (As I have noted before, in the first century’s context, John’s baptizing Jesus was a problem because the one doing the baptizing was considered to be greater than the one being baptized.) Our lesson this morning begins after Jesus’ baptism and what we call his Temptations in the dessert wilderness east of the Jordan River. Jesus returns to Galilee “in the power of the spirit.” Interestingly, Luke says that Jesus [15]used to teach in the synagogues and “was acclaimed by everyone.”

And [14]“news about him spread throughout all the surrounding area”.Jesus’ travels among the synagogues in Galilee led him to his hometown or village of Nazareth.As was his custom Jesus went to the synagogue on the sabbath and he stood up to read the scripture lesson. Having been handed the scroll of the profit Isaiah, Jesus unrolled it until he came to the place –now identified as Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6 –“where it was written: “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 announce pardon for prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed, 18to proclaim the year of the Lord’s amnesty.”

3You remember the story, then Jesus sat down –to preach on the lesson: I stand up to preach, in those days the preacher/teacher sat down to address the congregation.Jesus’ opening remark was, 21Today this scripture has come true as you listen.”That is, he is saying to that congregation:The spirit of the Lord had commissioned him--to do what?

To Bring good news to the poor.

To Announce pardon for prisoners.

To Announce recovery of sight to the blind.

To Set free the oppressed.

To Proclaim the year of the Lord’s amnesty.

The early Church had a number of interpretations of Jesus and his ministry.

Gradually an institution was developed with the help of the Roman government that defined orthodox Christianity and got the authority to rule other interpretations heresy and, in time, to drive them underground. But the biblical record was written before that process was little more than started. Some of the books and letters that were ultimately included in the Bible include ideas from alternative understandings of Jesus’ teachings and ministry. That has led to many theological studies and discussions of the “Historical Jesus” versus the Christ of the orthodox Christianity.

[4]Especially during the last three or four hundred years there has been much debate about Jesus’ basic teaching of the kingdom of God. Was Jesus teaching what his mentor, John the Baptist, taught that soon God would break into the worldly order to terminate the human-based kingdoms and to establish God’s direct rule of the earth through God’s selected representative, the Son of Man, who became named by the early Church as Jesus, the Christ?

In the thirteenth chapter of Mark we read that Jesus said, [24]“But in those days, after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give off her glow, [25]and the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly forces will be shaken! [26]And then they will see the son of Adam (or the son of man) coming on the clouds with great power and splendor. [27]And then he will send out messengers and will gather the chosen people from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the edge of the sky! . . .[30]“I swear to you, this generation certainly won’t pass into oblivion before all these things take place.”Earlier in chapter 9 of Mark we read Jesus saying, [1]“I swear to you: Some of those standing here won’t ever taste death before they see God’s kingdom set in with power!”

5But the gospels also carry another set of Jesus’ statements that speak to a different kind and process of the kingdom of God: Luke 17:20-21”You won’t be able to observe the coming of God’s kingdom. People are not going to be able to say, “Look, here it is!” or “Over there” or Look there!” On the contrary, God’s kingdom is right there in your presence.”Thomas [113]It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, “Look, here!” or “Look there!” Rather the kingdom (of God) is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it.”Luke 11:20 “But if by God’s finger I drive out demons, then for you God’s kingdom has arrived.”

To help us consider these substantially different words reportedly from Jesus, let’s go back to that Isaiah passage that Jesus read in our lesson today from Luke 4.Very early in his public ministry Jesus chose this lesson to read in his home synagogue. It, therefore, would seem to be his focus for teaching and living God’s will. Hence, it would be an excellent basis for our following Jesus, taking on his mission as our own.

[6]The spirit of the Lord had commissioned Jesus and thereby commissions us as follows: To bring good news to the poor.In Jesus’ day good news to the poor probably was the possibility of having the opportunity to grow food enough for the family or in some cases to earn enough money to provide adequately for the family. And, along with that freedom from the Roman occupation that was maintained by violence and force.In our day, good news for the poor would likely be experiencing the reality of adequate nurture, education, and support to be prepared to pursue the opportunities available the more affluent families in the community.

That, without the kind of occupation by the police and the other structural barriers that crush the positive initiatives of most of the poor of our time. To Announce pardon for prisoners.In Jesus’ day many of the prisoners were locked up because they could not pay their debts. Release for those prisoners offers them forgiveness and opportunities for a new try at living successfully.

Today many of our prisoners are incarcerated because of illegal drug usage while trying to cope with societal situations that don’t work well for them. And we still have what amount to debtors’ prisons: holding people in jail because they cannot post bail while waiting for trial for non-violent offenses. And, I feel sure, that many of today’s prisoners, with counseling, education, and training would be able to live successfully back in the community, but the Department of Corrections does not offer such resources; it mostly locks people up until their sentences are completed and then releases them back into the situations that got them arrested in the first place.

To Announce recovery of sight to the blind. Jesus likely meant literally restoring sight to blind people. Yet he often suggested that seeing permitted people to sense or realize what God is doing and offering them for their lives here and perhaps later.In our experience our society frequently offers handicapped individuals special services. It then is for us to welcome the handicapped into our churches and homes and work places so that they can significantly be recovered from their handicaps rather than housed out of sight with other handicapped persons.

[8]To Set free the oppressed.In Jesus’ experience 80 or 90 percent of the people, the common people, were oppressed by Roman occupation and taxation as well as by their own institutions. He claimed that we need to set free all of the people who were oppressed by the circumstances in which they had to live.Our Country’s history, too, is filled with oppression of many sorts. African heritage people were enslaved, then controlled by “Jim Crow” legal discrimination and unofficial lynching. Native Americans were certainly not treated much better. Mexican and Chinese immigrants were similarly oppressed.

Today’s minority communities so much need to be freed from the present and residual effects of historic oppression.To proclaim the year of the Lord’s amnesty or of the Lord’s favor.That Jesus did –even though it interfered with the customary patterns of the local governing processes of the Temple authorities and of the Roman occupation. It caused him to be arrested and killed for resisting the Roman rule. Proclaiming and seeking to implement the time of the Lord’s favor for the poor will cost us, too. But we have set our mission to lead our neighborhood – rich and poor and everyone in between – into God’s dream our for humanity; that is surly the time of God’s favor.

[9]This was, as it were, Jesus’ Mission Statement. And, it is pretty much our Mission Statement established last June. Whether we talk about the year of God’s favor or God’s dream for our human community it includes good news for the poor, release for the captives, recovery and acceptance for the handicapped, and freedom from oppression.

That is what the year of the Lord’s favor is all about.

That is what we are all about.Let us join Jesus’ ministry and mission.

Let us proclaim and lead our neighborhood into the Lord’s favor –into God’s dream for humanity. Let us be followers of Jesus, our Christ.

Amen

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