Fulfilled in Your Hearing

Luke 4:14-21

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and reports about him spread throughout the surrounding country. He began to preach in their synagogues and he was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, the town where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as was his custom. When he stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for 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, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then Jesus began to say to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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Spoiler alert: This morning’s Gospel reading ends right where next week’s Gospel reading will begin. Luke, Chapter 4, Verse 21, is the start of what we’ll hear next Sunday: “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And the spoiler is that what Jesus says next gets him kicked out of his own hometown. What’s coming makes his old friends and neighbors want to hurl him over a cliff on the outskirts of Nazareth. And we’ll get to that … next week.

For now, I want to simply sit with what we’ve been given to wonder about this morning. Today’s good trouble is enough for today, you might say.

See, I’m excited for Jesus this morning. If you look back at what precedes this morning’s Gospel, you’ll see that Jesus is fresh from the waters of his baptism in the Jordan. Maybe you remember. He was washed in the river by John the Baptist, the heaven’s opened, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and he was declared – by a voice from the clouds and before everybody there – to be God’s beloved son.

And then that same Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he spent some time duking it out with the Devil. For forty days he was tempted to turn stones to bread while he was starving; he was tempted to forsake God’s authority for the Devil’s kind of power; and he was tempted to see if God loved him enough to save him from a swan dive off the top of Jerusalem’s temple. Of course, Jesus faithfully resisted each of these tests and temptations, to win the day.

So, by the time we meet up with him this morning, he has celebrated that baptism and he has survived that time in the wilderness, and he has been preaching and teaching his way around Galilee to rave reviews and with great approval – he was being “praised by everyone,” so we’re told. He is on a roll and riding high, living his best life.

So, when he stands up to read in worship, back home in Nazareth … when he gets his hands on the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, he very deliberately finds the thing he wants to share with his people – all that stuff about good news for the poor; that bit about release for the captives; that promise of sight for the blind; a dose of freedom for the oppressed; and a gracious reminder of the Lord’s good favor.

And after he reads it, he just rolls up the scroll, hands it back to the usher, and takes a seat. There is no preaching. No teaching. No clever illustrations. No scriptural exegesis. He just sits down and they all stare at him. They probably make eyes at each other and whisper amongst themselves and, maybe, wonder what’s coming next.

And Jesus breaks what must have been a very awkward silence to make his point … to say what he came to say … to drop the mic, as it were. He says, simply: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And that meant at least two things:

First, it meant that Jesus was a prophet, something like the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, whom he was quoting – only better. He used Isaiah’s words to say something about himself: that he had taken on the mantle of a prophet and declared that – like Isaiah – the Spirit of the Lord had come upon HIM; that HE, Jesus from Nazareth, had been anointed by God to do some pretty great things in and for the sake of the world. This, in and of itself, was very good news.

Which points to the other thing that had been fulfilled, right there in their midst: That good news had been brought to the poor. That release had been proclaimed for the captives. That recovery of sight for the blind had been announced. That freedom for the oppressed was afoot. And that the Lord’s favor was upon them.

And I think Jesus knew that the people in his hometown needed some good news … some hope … some light in their darkness. And I believe God knows we need more of the same, still, today.

So this morning, before we get to the hard stuff of next week – the stuff that may make you want to throw Jesus (or me) off the cliff on the outskirts of town – I’m trying to hear and believe and to trust that Jesus’ words can be true for us, still – that today, we might see that this Scripture of very good news, has been fulfilled in our hearing.

See, Jesus was always speaking good news to – or on behalf of – the poor. And our ministry is doing that, as we’re able. We fed as many as 12 families a week ago Wednesday through our food pantry. And Pastor Cogan and I were able to pay rent and electric bills for some very needy neighbors just this past week with our discretionary fund. That’s some good news for some poor folks who needed a little help in these hard times. “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And Jesus understood what it was to be held captive – literally and figuratively and personally, too. So, when he proclaimed release to the captive, he meant it. And while there are many more yet to come, I hope, God surely rejoices with every hostage that’s been released in Israel and Palestine. “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And Jesus always proclaimed and promised the Lord’s gracious favor, especially for those the world rejects or disregards or denies are worthy of it. So, even though our lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans and queer friends, family, and neighbors have very good reason to fear the loss of their freedom and full regard under the law, these days – very often in the name of Christianity – it’s not nothing that we – as a family of faith and as followers of Jesus – are here to proclaim and to promise God’s favor upon – and deep love for them. “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And we know Jesus came for the sake of those who were being oppressed – to cast the mighty down from their thrones, to life up the lowly, to scatter the proud – in his own hometown who were under the thumb of the Roman empire, and beyond. So his words of freedom that day in the synagogue were like a fist of defiance in the face of that oppression and a rallying cry for those who needed a champion.

Our high school youth are learning how to fight the cycle of homelessness, our Racial Justice Team continues to wonder and learn together about systems that separate us, and our Outreach grant applications go live next week so that we can use our resources for ministries like Exodus Refugee International and others who feel like they’re under the thumb of empire, these days. “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

I guess what I’m saying is that, while there’s plenty to lament and fear and work for in this world, I’m grateful I can point to the mission and ministry we’re up to in very tangible ways to show that – when we get it right – Scripture is being fulfilled in our midst. There is good news for the poor, there is freedom for the oppressed, captives are being released, and God’s favor reigns – even when that’s hard to see and no matter how much more work there is yet to do.

And I’m grateful we are called to keep following Jesus here, the one who’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection are all about delivering some measure of hope and joy, grace and peace, love and mercy, to those who need it most, in a world where those blessings can seem so hard to find.

And in a world that does its best to stand in the way of it all, too much of the time. More on that next Sunday.

Amen

Bob and I Aren't So Different

Mark 1:21-28

Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.

They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out: ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!. And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He* commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’

At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

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Bob was fighting unclean spirits all the time: in himself, at the church, all around. The first time I met Bob I was leading service by myself for the first time at St. John’s in Phoenix. Bob walked onto campus wearing three coates, sports goggles, and had a large buck knife hanging from his belt. He mumbled his first words to me: who are you and who do you serve? What a greeting right?

I quickly, and as kindly as I could, introduced myself and asked him who he was. He said “they call me Bob. I’m a warrior of the Lord.” Okay… Church starts in like 5 minutes. By this time I am sweating bullets, which was normal in Arizona but this was way worse. So I ask Bob if he’s been here before and says, “are you getting cross with me…?” No, no, no Bob. (Please I think to myself, I just want to get through my first service!) Finally I told Bob he was welcome to join us, we’d be happy to have him, but the knife stays out here.

He said “oh I know that, maybe I will or I might be here”.

Bob didn’t join us that day, but he kept coming back. Each time he was a little less threatening and we got to know each other more. Bob felt he had demons, real unclean spirits, attacking him or surrounding him wherever he was. He would patrol the perimeter of the campus to ward them off. He would point at them and curse them; unafraid to walk right up to them. For Bob, expelling demons was a part of his everyday life.

I suspect many of us don’t know what to do with stories in the Bible about casting out uncleaning spirits or exorcizing demons. We think we are so different from Bob or the man in the story. Afterall, we don’t really believe in those types of things, do we? We have science, the scientific method. None of it has proven the existence of demons or unclean spirits, right? In our western minds, demons and unclean spirits exist only in indigenous cultures, or scary movies, or in folks who are seriously mentally ill.

But should we be so quick to dismiss this notion? Just because we don’t understand or haven't experienced them doesn’t mean they aren’t real, does it? I asked our faith formation students if they thought angels and demons existed, and their opinions were across the spectrum from “absolutely i've experienced them” to “absolutely not.”I like what Mary Oliver says in her poem, “the World I Live In”. She writes:

I have refused to live locked in the orderly house of reasons and proofs. The world I live in and believe in is wider than that. And anyway, what’s wrong with Maybe? You wouldn’t believe what once or twice I have seen. I’ll just tell you this: only if there are angels in your head will you ever, possibly, see one.

Can not the same be true of unclean spirits? I am not trying to suede you or convince you to believe demons or angels are real. However, we should not write off others’ experiences so quickly, like the man in our story or my friend Bob. If anything, perhaps our understanding of unclean spirits is too narrow, which means our view of Jesus' power and ministry is too narrow, too.

Jesus, along with his first four disciples, strolled into Capernaum. Then on the sabbath, Jesus walked right into the synagogue and began teaching. He must have been feeling rather confident, maybe from seeing the heavens rip open at his baptism or from defeating the devil's temptations in the wilderness. Regardless of why, he taught with authority, as one who is sure and passionate about what he’s saying. And in the midst of that, the man with the unclean spirit comes up to him.

That’s what we read, “a man with an unclean spirit”. Yet, what the Greek says is a little more terrifying… It reads, a man “in” an unclean spirit… as if the unclean spirit has swallowed up the man, so much so that he could no longer be identified apart from the spirit that’s overtaken him. He was known only by this thing that had taken control of him, running and ruining his life.

So when the man cries out “what have you to do with us Jesus?”, I don’t think he’s referring to all the people in the synagogue, but instead referring to himself and the demon he can’t shake. And asking if Jesus has come to destroy “them” makes it clear: the man is consumed, terrified, and unsure what Jesus will do…

We too know what it’s like to be swallowed up by unclean spirits, so much so that our identity is unknown apart from the demon we have. You don’t call it an unclean spirit, but when you get so angry you can’t see straight, what else is that? Or when you fixate your gaze on a person, or a screen, or on sex. When you obsess about always getting more: more money, more stuff. When you can’t see the good things in front of you and only wish for what others have. When someone knows you not for who you are but only for what and who you stand against. All of these spirits can swallow you up so that no one can see you apart from them. They can run and ruin your life. And maybe you too are consumed, terrified, and unsure what Jesus will do…

This story, the first public action of Jesus ministry, tells us that Jesus is more powerful than any unclean spirit we could face. With as much authority as he taught with, Jesus commands the unclean spirit to shut up and come out, setting the man free. And the spirit does just that, but not without a fight, shaking and screaming until the end.

We’ve all been possessed by unclean spirits: powers that hurt you and others, voices telling you that you aren’t loved, things that seek to divide, disparage, and denigrate. We all want to be set free.

Thankfully, that's what the mission and ministry of Jesus is all about. In baptism, God claims you as God’s own and covers you in the grace and forgiveness only Jesus offers. Rather than a life full of anger and greed, jealousy, and hatred, at the font and at this table we are invited and empowered to live a life of peace and generosity, discipline and love.

But how do we experience this liberation? For some of us, it was quick, like a grace-filled lightning strike and your life was forever changed. For others of us the path of healing and freedom is longer and requires more companions along the way: like the unending support of a Stephen minister, the persistent presence of Al-anon meetings and sponsors, a parent support group, a prayer partner, or a fantastic therapist. We can be confident that God works in all of these ways, and more that we may not even notice, to liberate us from unclean spirits.

What is the unclean spirit that swallows you up? What’s the thing trying to run and ruin your life?

Often we are too scared to name it, to examine it, in case it takes greater hold of us. How’s that going for you?

Instead, what if we take a cue from my friend Bob; rather than ignore or deny it; point at, curse it, be unafraid to ask God to free you from that which threatens you, trusting that Jesus is still more powerful than any spirit we face.

Maybe we aren’t so different after all.

Amen