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

French Toast, Good Wine, and Grace

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 

Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So they took it.  When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

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I empathize with the groom from our story today. Let me tell you why. We had less than a year to plan our wedding, which was less than ideal for Katelyn. And between other weddings and moving off to seminary, we really only had one date that worked: June 11th, which was a Sunday.

But we had this great idea. We love breakfast, so we thought we would do a Sunday morning brunch for the reception, replete with mimosas, the Sunday paper, and the best brunch spread you’d ever seen. It was a great idea; the only problem was, we didn’t have any money. Katelyn was in her senior year at Valpo, working two jobs as her schedule allowed. I was doing an internship at a church in Milwaukee where I got paid $500 a month. That was hardly enough to pay for the drinks, let alone the food. And food really is the centerpiece of the reception. 

So we had the impossible challenge of finding a caterer who was good and affordable on our measly budget. After searching and searching, I found her: Judy Baker of Chesterfield, IN.  No website listed, just a landline phone number. When we met with her, Ms. Baker was well into her 80s and told us she had been catering weddings longer than Katelyn and I had been alive, combined. We told her what we were hoping for: brunch theme, eggs, potatoes, shrimp and grits, croissant sandwiches, French toast, and mimosas. 

Then we told her our situation: I was just a poor pastor-to-be, and we only had this much budgeted for the food. Without hesitation, Ms. Baker looked at me and said, “Corbin honey,” (that’s what she called me the entire time we planned this wedding") “that’ll be plenty. I’ll have no problem getting all of that. It’ll be a great Sunday brunch.”

Katelyn and I were elated. We couldn’t believe it—we had found the perfect person. We went about the rest of the planning, amazed that it was all coming together. Katelyn planned 90% of the details, but the one thing I put together was our newspaper. I wrote all these articles, and most important to everyone else was the menu: scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, southern-style shrimp and grits, build-your-own croissant sandwiches, delectable donuts (instead of wedding cake), and to top it all off, Ms. Baker’s famous French toast.

On the day of the wedding, it was brutally hot, but Ms. Baker had a team working at full force to get our Sunday brunch ready. At the start of the reception, people made their way to get their food while Katelyn and I said some hellos. Finally, we walked outside, jumped ahead of the line to get our food, and what we saw shocked us. 

This supposedly great brunch was nearly gone! Half the guests still needed to go through the line, and certainly more than half the food was gone! I got no eggs, the croissant sandwiches were picked over, I don’t recall any shrimp and grits, and worst of all, Ms. Baker’s famous French toast was nothing more than French toast sticks, straight out of the box from Gordon’s, accompanied by your own syrup cup like you’d get at Hardee’s. I was embarrassed, humiliated. It was a tragedy.

The food was supposed to be the centerpiece of this brunch. And now all of our friends, who were also planning weddings at the time, were gonna say, “Well, we don’t want to be like the Blackmons!” And to be clear, this wasn’t Ms. Baker’s fault. There is only so much a woman can do with not even $2,000 for all the food and tableware. On the day I was supposed to be the host, to show hospitality, I was found lacking.

The groom from our story today was also found lacking, not in food but, even worse, in wine. The very thing he needed most was gone all too early. Talk about a buzzkill. Now, this problem is much easier to preach about to Lutherans than, say, Baptists, who wouldn’t see that as a problem at all. But in Jesus' time, for a Jewish wedding reception to run out of wine was one of the worst failures that could happen. 

The wine wasn’t just for a good time, though, as the Psalmist tells us, it does gladden the heart. 

Wine was the centerpiece of hospitality; when there was plenty of wine, it was a sign of God’s blessing. The prophets of old spoke of a time when the vats would overflow and the mountains would drip with sweet wine. In fact, the coming of the Messiah would be marked by an abundance of wine. Conversely, when the vineyards didn’t bear fruit and there was no wine to drink, that meant God’s blessing had been removed. And if there was ever an occasion to not run out of wine, it was a wedding, because not only would you be lacking in hospitality, but you’d be lacking God’s blessing, too. And that’s a tragedy.

Somehow Mary, Jesus’ mother, learns of the problem, and she takes it upon herself to find a solution. Why she felt the need, we are not told. But I like to think that Mary really felt for the couple because they were having the reception she and Joseph likely never had. And the last thing she wanted was for it to be ruined by the lack of wine, and for this newly wedded couple to experience any of the social scrutiny that she undoubtedly did.

So Mary found Jesus, and why she thought he could, should, or would fix this problem we don’t really know. But she talked Jesus into it. So Jesus had the servants fill the huge stone jars that had gone empty with water. And sometime in between doing that and filling a cup for the steward, the water became 150 gallons of the best wine imaginable.

Which is absolutely ridiculous! Why would Jesus make an unfathomable amount of the best possible wine at a time when the guests were already shwammied! They had been partying for days by this point; they couldn’t even appreciate such deliciousness. And did they really need that much? Couldn’t Jesus have made just enough to last the rest of the reception? And then to top it all off, when the steward tasted the wine and thought the best had been saved for last, the groom got all the credit! Somehow from all of this, the disciples walk away having seen the glory of Jesus and believed in him.

We all can empathize with the groom because, at some time or another, we’ve all been found lacking the very thing we need. As a parent, your jars of patience and attention run dry. In your marriage, your vats of love and forgiveness go empty. Or just as a person in a world with such pain, your cup of concern for your neighbor gets poured out. 

You will need something, someone besides yourself, to fill you back up because, like the groom and his party, when left to do it all by yourself, the relationship, or the marriage, or your faith, will come to an early end. It is only by the grace of God that comes to us in Jesus that our once-empty jars will be filled back up, and we are given not just what we need but an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit: patience, peace, love, joy, kindness, faithfulness.

That’s what I love about this story. It reminds us that sometimes in this life, the grace we receive isn’t just enough to get us by. No, every once in a while, we experience the grace of God as an abundance of the best thing we’ve ever had, shared with the people we love most. And it’s not just about getting by; it’s about the overflow, the ridiculous generosity, and the joy of abundance—a glimpse of God’s kingdom breaking into our lives.

Where have you experienced God’s abundance in your life? Where has God’s overflowing grace surprised you, exceeded your expectations, or come just when you were sure you didn’t have enough? And how might you share that abundance with someone else— your spouse, your kids, a friend, a stranger—who's jars have all but dried up? And how might we, as Cross of Grace, share our abundance of welcome and hospitality with a community, a world lacking in both?

You’ll be happy to know no one went hungry at our reception. And I’d like to think the abundance of love and joy more than made up for the food’s quality. Months later I talked with one of my good friends about my wedding and told him how embarrassed I was about the food. He turned to me and said, “Are you kidding me? I loved it! French toast sticks are my favorite, and there were so many of them!”

Thanks be to God for French toast, good wine, and an abundance of grace. Amen.