3rd Sunday after Epiphany
January 27, 2019
Luke 4:16-30
“A Hometown Epiphany”
Who is this Jesus? We've heard various
answers in this Epiphany season. We've heard from the wise men who
followed the star: He's the King of the Jews, but also Savior of the
Nations. We've heard from John the Baptist: Jesus is the One Greater
than John. We've even heard the voice of the Father booming out at
Jesus' baptism, “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.”
And then, in a little more subtle way, we see another answer at the
wedding of Cana. He's the true Bridegroom who changes water into
wine, the one who brings the best, the one we ought to listen to and
do whatever he tells you.
Ah, but now, we get to hear from Jesus
himself, not just in actions but in words. Who is he? He goes to
his little hometown of Nazareth after spending some time in and
around big-city Capernaum. His fame had grown. He'd gained
disciples. He'd done miracles, healed many, cast out demons.
And now with his stock rising, the
hometown synagogue invites their local celebrity to serve as a guest
preacher. We want to hear what all the fuss is about. We want to
hear from him too, see what everyone's talking about. He's one of
us, after all.
And so Jesus reads these words from
Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captives
and recovering of sight to the
blind,
to set at liberty those who are
oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.”
This is his text. Everyone settles in,
every eye is on him, every ear waiting to hear what he will say. And
I imagine a pregnant pause before Jesus uncorks his main point:
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in
your hearing”
Now, good news for the poor, sight for
the blind, liberty for the captives and all that sounds pretty good
to the hometown crowd. It sounds like mom and apple pie. It's
comforting. They speak well of him and his “gracious words”.
And if this Jesus really is the miracle
worker they've heard about, then he's got the actions to back up
these words. But they skipped something. They missed something
important.
Isaiah isn't talking about any-old
miracle worker here. He's talking about the promised One. He's
talking about the anointed one. The One, the ONE upon whom is the
Spirit of the Lord. Isaiah is promising the Messiah. And for Jesus
to say, “this is fulfilled today!” is for him to claim to be the
very Christ! We've already seen the Spirit of the Lord anoint him at
his baptism. That same Spirit empowers Jesus and is sent by Jesus in
all his good news proclamation.
These Nazareth-ians were too focused on
the outward signs to hear the word clearly. They wanted some
miracles of their own, and so they heard Jesus gladly, at least at
first. But soon their marveling would turn to madness, their awe to
anger, their welcome turned to wrath.
Jesus anticipates it. He says, “Surely
you'll say 'Physician, heal yourself” That is, “Hey we've heard
about all your miracles in Capernaum. But now we want some, too.
Bring the goods home. What's good for them is good for us! We want
to see miracles here, healings, wonders. Enough with all this
preaching, blah blah blah. We want action!” He knows their
hearts. And their hearts are not right.
And so he compares them to the
faithless people in the time of Elijah. During that time, the
Israelites didn't get the miracles, the outsiders did! Naaman the
leper from Syria was cleansed. The Widow of Zarepheth's son was
raised. But Elijah didn't do all that for the hometown crowd. God
blessed those you'd least expect, with miracles and signs according
to his will and purpose.
But now, here, in Nazareth, they
weren't looking for the Christ, the savior from sin. They were
looking for a showman, a liberator, or a miracle-dispenser. But a
Messiah? Not interested. And that's exactly the problem. The good
news isn't that Jesus came to heal a few people here and there, and
maybe even me. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to crush the
head of the serpent, to rescue the world from the jaws of death, and
to proclaim the Lord's favor. He's the Messiah, not some mere
magician. He's the savior from sin – not just from whatever you
think is ailing you this moment. He's come, not for the symptoms of
whatever diseases, but to treat and cure the root of the problem, sin
itself.
And so before they can hear this, he
has to break down their false expectations. And that's when it gets
ugly. When he preaches the law.
And look how easily they are offended
when he calls them out. No longer are they hearing him with gladness
but they become an angry mob ready to throw him off a cliff. Does
this reaction surprise you? It shouldn't. It's simply one species
of reaction the sinful nature has to the law. It's the natural
rebellion bred into all men rearing its ugly head.
Any time sinners hear the law the
response is either despair or pride. You either agree with the law
and are brought low, or you push back in anger, indignation, false
pride, excuses, blame, or some combination of these.
You didn't do the dishes! “Oh, but
you didn't do the laundry.”
You really crossed the line here. “Oh,
but you think you're so perfect?”
What you are doing is wrong. “Oh,
who are you to judge me?” “How dare you!”
This is against God's will. “Hey, I
think I'm pretty good with God now mind your own business.”
Have you done what God has forbidden?
“Well, it wasn't really my fault, you see.”
And sometimes, the sinner even meets
the law with violence. This is what we see with so many of the
prophets. And no less with the greatest prophet himself. Someone
noted that even with all his enemies and all his opposition, only
here, in Nazareth, did people try to get violent with Jesus, until
finally at his arrest and suffering and cross. Only here, in his
hometown, do they so dare.
So to avoid the mistake of these people
we must first of all simply repent. We must hear the accusations of
the law and say, "Amen. I am a sinner."
And not just in general, but
in specific. I've sinned here, and there, and there. In this
thought, and that deed. By this action and that inaction. Lord,
I've really messed up. I'm helpless and hopeless without you. I
need the good news you bring. I'm a captive to this sin. I'm poor
and miserable in it. I'm oppressed by my own corruption.
And I don't need a spectacle, some
outward sign that you haven't promised. I don't need you to come on
my terms and do my bidding. Rather, open my ears to your word.
Point me and my faith in the right direction – to where you've
promised to be, and be heard. And show me the signs that you HAVE
established: Remind me of my baptism – that washing that sets the
captives free. Bring me to your altar – that this poor soul may be
nourished. Speak to me the absolution, that my oppressed conscience
is made clean. And open my eyes to all you would have me see –
especially your anointed one, your Messiah, your Christ.
In Luke's Gospel it's not really until
chapter 9 that Jesus explicitly reveals the fulfillment of his work –
that is, to suffer, die and rise. Even then it was hard for his
disciples to believe. Though they weren't as violent as the people
of Nazareth, they still couldn't wrap their faith around this
reality. That the Messiah has to suffer, die, and rise. And that
THAT is how he liberates captives, restores the blind, the sick, even
the dead. And the cross is also how Jesus does this for you.
Don't rejoice that you're one of the
in-crowd with God because you deserve him, but confess your
estrangement in sin that Christ might forgive and restore you. Don't
push back against the accusation of his law, but admit where you've
failed, look to Christ for forgiveness, and resolve to do better.
Don't look for the Jesus that you want – but rejoice that he is the
Jesus you need. He teaches you, he washes you, he feeds you. Who is
Jesus? He's the Messiah, and he's your Messiah. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment