Epiphany 3

February 1, 2016 in Sermon by Scott Landrum

Luke 4:14-21
14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” Jesus said. Most preachers enjoy what’s called the honeymoon period when they first begin to preach in a new call. Everybody is filled with expectation. The preacher is new to the people and the people are new to the preacher. Of course the new wears off and the people realize the preacher isn’t the greatest thing since microwave popcorn and the preacher concludes that the sheep of this pasture have teeth and they aren’t afraid to use them! This normal process usually takes a few months or even years unless you’re Jesus. His honeymoon period lasted about five minutes. We’ll see that more clearly next week but the sermon he preached in the gospel passage for today was a problem for the people. What Jesus said didn’t set well with the people but before we get to that we need to provide some context. Jesus was in the Galilee when he began his ministry. He grew up there.
Now the Galilee is like taking a right at Braxton and driving until the daylight disappears. The Galilee is way out there in the woods, and the people talk funny too, just ask Peter. This is significant because the Galilee was quite a ways from “uppity” Jerusalem. The Galileans weren’t much concerned with doing things by the letter of the Law. They didn’t have a lot of fondness for the Temple, the priests, and the whole sacrificial system. They also happened to live on a trade route crossroads so they saw different people and different things often. All this made them different, unique, and not necessarily in a good way. So, to have in their midst a rising star preacher who also happened to be a hometown boy was impressive. That’s the context in which this passage takes place. Now Luke tells us that it was Jesus’ custom to worship on the Sabbath. I’m glad it’s your custom too. Far more than just a day to sleep late, the Sabbath is the one time each week designated by God for us to take a time out from everything else in order to hear the gospel because all you hear the rest of the week is law, law, law. Alarm clocks, teachers, bosses, husbands, wives, parents, jobs and all the rest don’t operate by unconditional forgiveness do they! God knows this and that is why we have the third commandment which is given for our sake not for God’s. So there in the synagogue Jesus takes the scroll and he reads from Isaiah who, as we heard last week, couldn’t keep silent about God doing exactly what he says he will do. At the synagogue that day the proof of Isaiah’s preaching was staring those folks right in the face. God had fulfilled his promise and his name was Jesus. It is truly incredible that Emmanuel, God with us, would be found in a place like the Galilee. It is comforting to know that if a place like the Galilee can be God’s hometown then there isn’t any place on the planet he won’t go. But anywhere God goes on this planet starts trouble. Today our college campuses are dotted with safe zones and text books that contain trigger warnings. Both are designed to prevent students from being offended by what they may hear in the educational process. What these students and all the rest of us are trying to escape is the biggest perpetrator of offense . . . God. It’s a thing called his law and it doesn’t come with a trigger warning and there is no safe zone, just ask the people of Galilee. It became clear to them quickly that Jesus was calling them out. His wasn’t a sermon about economic justice, the inequality of the penitential incarceration, lack of access to medical care, and social justice. Instead, Jesus was telling those who thought they had much that when it came to God they were poor and had nothing to offer. Those who thought themselves free were bound in sin and couldn’t even see it much less do anything about it.
Then offense of all offense, Jesus preached himself as the long awaited savior revealing the Lord’s favor. Well Jesus sermon didn’t end there. If you’ve listened aright you know that he wasn’t just talking to First Century Jews in a synagogue out in the woods. Their condition is your condition and my condition. So is the fact that no place is off limits to God, not even Brandon, Mississippi. It is Jesus Christ who has sent me to you this morning to tell you this is the time of the Lord’s favor. By the authority of Jesus Christ and for his sake I forgive you the entirety of your sin. God spoke and the savior has come for you. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Amen