"Time and Place"
Given on January 21, 2007 at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St James’ Memorial Church, Marion, IL
“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Most Fairy Tales begin something like this…..”Once upon a time, in a country, far, far away….”
It’s interesting to think about Fairy Tales….they evoke another world, a make-believe world, even though they can often carry an important moral lesson (one thinks of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” as an example).
Still, even though the moral they might convey is important to living our lives, they are outside our everyday lives….As I think about Fairy Tales, my mind goes to a world that’s far, far away (as the opening lines often say).
I think that’s the world that Jesus was addressing in today’s Gospel reading, from Luke, chapter four, a world that, for His listeners, was “once upon a time, in a country far, far away”….For Jesus had gone to the synagogue in Nazareth, and had been given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read.
No doubt most of those who heard his voice that day knew the passage from chapter 61 quite well….no doubt, they’d heard it time and again as faithful Jews gathered in their local synagogues to hear the Torah read, to hear readings from the Prophets, to recite the 18 benedictions, and to engage in teachings and discussions.
“Catapult” is the word that comes to my mind as I think about the impact of Jesus’ words “today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”, for Jesus’ words destroy the make-believe world of his Jewish audience, catapulting them into the “here and now”.
“Today” Jesus says….
“What do you mean, today?” they might have asked….Maybe their line of thinking went like this: “oh, yes, we know that God was active with Abraham, with Moses, and with the prophets of old.” “We know that He led them out of Egypt with the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, leading them through the wilderness for 40 years into the land He had promised to them.” “Yes, we know that God’s prophets had been inspired to speak on God’s behalf.”
“But all of those things happened a long, long time ago, and today, what we have left”, they might have said, “is His Torah, His law, which we keep as part of our tradition.”
“God can be found in the Temple in Jerusalem, in His Holy of Holies, and to be in God’s presence, we make our annual pilgrimages”, they probably thought.
“What do you mean, ‘today’?”…maybe that thought rolled through their minds….after all, God isn’t active today, is He? Isn’t all of God’s activity confined to a world of “once upon a time, in a country far, far away?
Their question is our question: “Is God active today, and if He is, then two questions arise: 1. How is He active, and 2. where is He active.”
Their outlook on God is probably our outlook on God.
But Jesus says, “Today”….
How can God be active in Jesus today? That’s a central question for us, so that we know what to look for, to see Christ active among us today. Four answers come to mind:
- Holy Baptism: In our Prayer Book (page 308) we say to the person being baptized “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever.” In Baptism, we are claimed as Christ’s own, and are filled with God’s Holy Spirit. A new and personal relationship is established as Christ lives in our hearts. As time goes along, the person begins to understand more and more what it means to have Christ living within us. Eventually, the Church teaches, the person should confirm that relationship for themselves in the rite of Confirmation.
- Study of Holy Scripture: As we regularly read and study the Bible, Jesus’ works and the truth of His ability to save come alive through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ life, ministry, and saving power are created anew in our hearts.
- Holy Communion: Communion is far more than a memorial meal, for, we believe, that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus is actually present. Exactly how that happens is unknown to us (that’s the reason we call it “The Holy Mystery”), but, as we eat His flesh and drink His blood, He becomes one with us in a unique and powerful way.
- In persons around us: I am convinced that one reason the Church exists is to provide the place where we see Christ at work….and oftentimes, Christ is at work in the lives of those we worship with….As we see Christ transforming people’s lives, we can see Christ living in them.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ reading from Isaiah provides the answer, for there’s been no change in the areas in which Jesus ministers over the years: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
There we have it….the area that Jesus is concerned with is everyday human beings and everyday concerns……That remains true today….Jesus is deeply concerned with our everyday challenges, disappointments and failures. He is concerned with the ways in which we are blind to His working, to the ways in which sin enslaves us, to the ways in which we need release from sin, death and disease.
“Today”, Jesus says…..
Lord, help us to see Jesus Christ at work in our lives today.
AMEN.
