February 3, 2019

Helen Jacobi

Ordinary 4     Jeremiah 1:4-10     Psalm 71:1-6     1 Corinthians 13:1-13     Luke 4:21-30

Video available on YouTube, Facebook

Today’s gospel reading is like episode 2 of a Netflix series – the story is set up in the first episode – plot lines established and then in episode 2 suddenly the storyline takes an unexpected turn – just to keep you watching all the way through. If you recall last week’s gospel, the scene opener has Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth. Nazareth, his home town where he grew up. 

He has been away travelling and teaching and comes home and goes to synagogue, presumably with his family. He was the reader for the day – I wonder what their roster system was like? He is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and unrolls it to find the piece he wants to read; or maybe it was the piece set down for that day – we can’t be sure. Imagine the camera close up – what will he read this local boy who has suddenly become a bit famous? – a very familiar piece as it happens from Isaiah chapter 61.

“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 favour.” 

Then imagine the camera panning across the congregation as we are told “the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.” This passage was one well known to them; it was a piece which spoke of the Messiah for whom they waited. The Messiah, the one who would redeem Israel and toss out the nasty Romans. And sure enough he says to them “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And the credits roll as people’s faces begin to change from interest and even amazement to anger. And the Netflix audience is left wondering – why? what had he said to bring about this change. Isn’t it great that he might be the One?

Our lectionary is like old fashioned TV, we have to wait till this week to see what happens. With Netflix of course we could roll right on.

Episode 2 opens a bit ambiguously – the next verse sounds like they are still welcoming what Jesus said – “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth – is this not Joseph’s son?” but it can read with a more condemning tone – as in “Is this not Joseph’s son? what a joke! who does he think he is claiming to be the Messiah. And then there is a bit of a rumbling as they realise – hang on a minute he has stopped the reading from Isaiah short – he missed off a crucial line – in fact he stopped half way through a sentence. It should read “I have come to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God.” [1]

Vengeance on the Gentile invaders who sacked Jerusalem in 587 and by implication the Roman invaders now. Isaiah goes on to promise that these Gentiles, these enemies, will be the servants of the people of Israel as their cities are rebuilt. Jesus leaves all that part out. [2]

Then he goes on to give a sermon of sorts – he starts with a bit of a health warning – what I am about to say you won’t like – a prophet is never accepted in his hometown after all. Then he tells a couple of quick stories from the Book of Kings – a kind of flash back scene I guess – There was a famine in the land and who did the great prophet Elijah [3] help – not his own people but a widow from Zarephath in Sidon – that is a nasty Gentile, a foreigner; and what about the great prophet Elisha [4] – who did he heal? a Syrian general Naaman – you guessed it another foreigner. 

Was there any more to the sermon than that? Luke doesn’t tell us but it seemed the people in the synagogue that day knew their scriptures well enough to join the dots; Jesus was highlighting the ways God and God’s prophets even in ancient times ministered to the outsider; and Jesus in editing Isaiah was doing the same. The day of vengeance is not here, but the day of release for the captives is. The day of release for those held captive by their hatred of others; for those held captive by their desire to exclude and to build walls. God’s love is for everyone, no exceptions and no questions asked.

As Susan said last week the people realized they were going to have to change. It was no longer a case of blame the Romans, blame Mr Trump, blame whichever politician is the baddie of the week.

Today, now in this synagogue, in this town, today Jesus wanted to change lives and set people free. From their own oppression of each other; from their exclusion of the outsider; from their own hatred. Especially from their hatred of those from a different religion, or a different ethnic group. [5] They would have to change, let go of power and assumptions.

“When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up and drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of a hill on which their town was built, so they might hurl him off the cliff.” The punishment for blasphemy was indeed to be thrown off a cliff and/ or stoned to death. 

Jesus, in their eyes, was a blasphemer – reinterpreting their understanding of the great prophet Isaiah. How dare he – one of their own – come and tell them they had to change. 

Somehow, it is not really clear how, he walks away. 

So often I think we sanitise Jesus – we turn his preaching into something sweet and nice which we can package up – love one another – of course! Paul’s famous passage about love which we also heard today – so often read at weddings because it is a great recipe for love – is of course not at all about romantic love. 

It also follows on from last week’s episode from Paul about the body – and how we need all parts of the body to be valued and to work together – how? by learning about love which is patient and kind, not envious or boastful or rude. 

Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It is not love with a heart tied up with a bow – it is love that embraces pain and hurt and sorrow; and love that can stand up to and stare down hatred and exclusion. Maybe that is how Jesus managed to pass through the midst of them and go on his way. 

He loved them, looked at them and knew them and they stepped back from killing him; this time anyway.

It wasn’t to be so 3 years later. But even then he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. 

What will be episode 3 in our Netflix series? What if Jesus walked in here to be the reader or the preacher. What if he chose the same passage – and said he has come here to bring good news to the poor; to release us from our captivity; to give us sight; to set us free. To set us free from our hatred; our blindness. 

What or who do we hate – who would we exclude from our midst – from our family, our workplace, our church, our nation. This week as we mark Waitangi Day who would we exclude from our country?

Jesus holds us to account and invites us to lay down our fear, our self righteousness, our racism and invites us to walk with him. He offers to set us free, even when we fail time and time again.

There are lots of examples of the kind of hatred and exclusion Jesus was preaching about in our world – it is easy to see it out there – Trump’s wall; Israel’s wall; immigrants in Europe; refugees in Australia. All issues for us to be concerned about. But Jesus preached this sermon to his own people, in his own town. So let’s start again today with ourselves. And come to the table ready to be made free.

[1] Isaiah 61: 4

[2] Kenneth Bailey Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes chapter 12 p 152

[3] 1 Kings 17:1-16

[4] 2 Kings 5:1-14

[5] Charles Campbell The Word before the Powers p 50