Fulfilling Scripture
Pastor David Hansen
3rd Sunday after Epiphany (January 21), 2007
Luke 4:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
After his first preaching tour, Jesus returned to his home of Nazareth, and on his return he was asked to preach in the local synagogue. That’s no big shock. Everyone had heard about Jesus’ career as a Rabbi by now, and it made sense for him to preach in Nazareth. I imagine the people who gathered together, waiting to hear what Jesus had to say, talking among themselves, sharing memories of young Jesus.
Maybe one of them was his teacher at shul – the Jewish equivalent of Sunday School –
and was sharing with the others how well Jesus new the stories of the Bible. Maybe another talked about how he and Jesus were friends as they grew up together. Maybe some talked about Joseph, who tradition tells us had passed away before this event.
Regardless of what they said, I can imagine their excitement. The hometown hero was returning, and now was their chance to hear firsthand from him. Mary was probably even there, and I like to imagine that she was bursting with pride to hear Jesus preach in the synagogue where she had brought him as a boy.
Everyone was waiting with bated breath as Jesus unrolled the scroll, and found his place in the prophecy of Isaiah. He then read to words of the prophet:
“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Jesus rolled the scroll back up, and prepared to preach. Now, sermons weren’t very much back then. There were no educated clergy, and the best rabbis and teachers always wound up in Jerusalem. In a town like Nazareth, one of the elders would usually get up and say a few words about the Scripture passage – maybe something he remembered another teacher saying long ago.
And so, after all of this build up for the sermon preached by the Rabbi Jesus, he spoke: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” he said.
That’s all.
Not exactly the most eloquent sermon ever! Even people who like short sermons would describe that as a being a bit too brief. But it sure did get everyone’s attention: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Scripture Jesus read from Isaiah was about the arrival of the Kingdom of God: Good news for the poor, release from captivity, and sight for the blind – these were all understood to be signs of God’s kingdom, and the person who would fulfill these things had to be the Messiah of God – the anointed one.
And Jesus said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”I am pretty sure that the people of Nazareth thought Jesus had gone off the deep end. In fact, next week we will hear about how they immediately begin to argue with him, and then try to kill him, because of what he has to say about this Scripture.“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The people of Nazareth did not realize it at the time, but the coming of the Kingdom began with the ministry of their hometown hero. As in the prophecy from Isaiah, Jesus gave sight to the blind, gave food to the hungry and good news to the poor, and freed us all from the captivity of sin, death, and the devil.
For hundreds and hundreds of years, the Israelites had waited for a Messiah to come and save them. Yet, when Jesus began his ministry, so many people were unable to recognize his work and deeds as the coming of God’s kingdom. They could not recognize what was right in front of them.
I think we all have this tendency to not recognize what is right in front of us. Of course, I probably think that because I am prone to losing things. I will wander through the house, until I finally have to ask Julia if she has seen whatever it is that I have misplaced this time. At that point, she usually will reach right in front of me and pick up my key or the book or whatever and say something to the effect of, “Are you looking for this, that was right in front of you?”
The people of Nazareth could not see the Scripture being fulfilled right in front of them by the life of Jesus.
We recognize that the life of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament, that by his life and death Jesus initiated the coming of the Kingdom of God. We recognize that, but still we often cannot recognize what is happening right in front of us, that those words of Jesus are as true today as they were that day in Nazareth:
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Think about it for a moment: What do you usually think about what we are doing here?
We often talk about what we do or don’t get out of Sunday morning worship.
We often talk about how much we enjoy the fellowship we share.
We often talk about what we learn, or what our children learn, through our Christian Education program.
But how often do you think, “Here at Saint John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill, we are bringing about the Kingdom of God”?
Saint Paul reminds us that we are the body of Christ. Not that we should be, or that we will be, but that we are the Body of Christ. That ministry of Jesus, started two thousand years ago and unrecognized by the people of Nazareth, continues today. Only now, we are the hands that are ministering, we are the heart moved to compassion, we are the feet walking from one person in need to another, we are the Body of Christ.
It’s a huge task – bringing about the Kingdom of God. It can seem overwhelming if we look at the big picture – feeding all the worlds hunger, bringing justice and peace to the whole world, bringing the message of the Gospel to the whole world – how can we possibly do those things?
But God enables those who are called, and God has called Saint John Lutheran Church to be the Body of Christ.
I want you to do me a favor this week. Set aside ten minutes a day to talk to God about how you can help further the Kingdom, how you can help those in need. Ask God, “What can I do?” and then wait and listen for the answer.
But don’t stop there! Talk with God about how we, as a congregation, can bring about God’s Kingdom. Listen for how God is calling the family of Saint John Lutheran Church to be the Body of Christ, and how we can best bring about the Kingdom of God in Prairie Hill.
If we will do that, I think we will be surprised at the ways God will use us individually to be a blessing to others. If we can give those ten little minutes to talk with God about our mission as a congregation, we will be amazed at the exciting things that God can accomplish here in Prairie Hill.
If we all will do that, we may be surprised to realize that:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,
because he has anointed us
to bring good news to the poor.
God has sent us to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Thanks be to God.
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