3 Epiphany, Year C

“TODAY (PART I)”
A sermon by: Fr. Gene Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, January 24, 2010
Nehemiah 8:2–10; Psalm 113; I Corinthians 12:12–27; Luke 4:14–21

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Today.”

Today is very important to Luke. In fact, the word “today” appears in Luke’s gospel account no less than eight times.

The word “today” focuses our attention on the things of this day, of the present, of the now.

Perhaps that’s why those who heard Jesus in the synagogue that day in Nazareth got so angry with Him….they’d figured out that He was equating Himself with the promised deliverance of which the prophet Isaiah spoke many centuries before. (But, lest I get ahead of myself and the story, let me say that we will defer our consideration of that reaction to Jesus’ comment until next Sunday, when we will hear Part II of this mini-series on the word “Today”.)

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61: 1 and 58: 6 in the words Luke records for us.

So if we can assume that Jesus’ claims are genuine, that is to say, that He isn’t a madman, egomaniac, or a tireless self-promoter, then just what sort of deliverance is He to bring to all peoples, everywhere?

A reflection on Jesus’ reading from Isaiah in the synagogue that day, and the account of Jesus’ work, teaching and healing that will unfold in the pages of Luke’s account, seem to indicate that the deliverance Luke seeks to remind us of is a deliverance for people here and now, or, in other words, today.

Luke’s concern, in writing his gospel account, seems to be a very practical one. Luke seems to be asking the Church to reflect on what it should be doing, day-by-day, in living out the Gospel.

(In fairness, we have to remind ourselves that other gospel accounts are more concerned with Jesus’ divinity, His projection of the perfect image of God the Father, and so forth. That would be John’s concern, for example.)

But returning to Luke, we see a very down-to-earth focus in his gospel account. Surely, that’s the sense in which Jesus’ message is to be seen, I think.

So, as we look at the text Jesus cites as being applicable to Him, let’s look a little closer, phrase by phrase:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor: Where might the Spirit have been given to Jesus, and when was the anointing accomplished? Alas for those present in the synagogue that day, they had not been present at His baptism in the Jordan River, most likely. For it was there that the Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father was heard, saying, “You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” There is the descent of the Spirit and the anointing. But notice that the anointing and the bestowal of the Spirit is for a very specific purpose: the proclamation of good news to the poor. That will be the focus of Jesus’ ministry as Luke sees it. Ministry to the poor, provision of hope to the poor, these will be hallmarks of Jesus’ activity as Luke records it.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed: All throughout Luke’s account, we read of role reversals, of just the sort that we hear in Isaiah’s word, cited here. Consider just a few with me: 1. The healing of the leper in chapter 5 (verses 12 – 16)….a healing which released the leper from the captivity of exclusion from the community; 2. eating with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5: 27 – 32), people who were captives of their social status, by virtue of their sinful status, were drawn out of their oppressed state into one of acceptance by Jesus; and 3. delivery of those who were possessed by demons (Luke 8: 26 – 39).

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord: Here, the reference might be to the Jubilee Year, although Luke conflates the text from Isaiah a bit. The Jubilee Year was the 50th year, coming after the seventh repetition of seven years. It was a time when debts were forgiven, and slaves were set free. (See Leviticus 25: 10 for the provision of the Jubilee Year, part of whose text reads, “You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” )

How might Jesus’ message of liberation be encountered in our lives? How might release be ours, and how might we recognize it?

Offered for your consideration are the following:

Release from sin: Any of us who’ve lived for awhile most likely recognize that there are some areas of our lives which fail to meet God’s standards of holiness. Perhaps it’s our attitudes toward God and toward others, as much as anything, where we might see this sort of bondage. And, if we’re honest about it, we cannot help ourselves out of such a condition, much of the time. But faith in Christ allows us to break free of those things that elude our best efforts to correct. Add the Holy Spirit’s power to faith in Christ, and the impossible often becomes possible (I think of my father’s life experience in this regard, a story I’ve told many times before).

Freedom from addictions: God’s power is an integral part of victory over addictions, no matter what form they may take.

An outsider no more: God’s perfect love, seen in Jesus’ life, teachings, passion, death and resurrection, calls each of us, regardless of our social station, our background, ethnicity, economic situation, or our educational or racial background, into the perfect community of love, self-giving love, that is what the Church is called to be.

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.