Fulfillment
Epiphany 3
Fr. Tim Nunez
We join Jesus this morning at the very outset of his ministry, after temptation in the wilderness. He has begun teaching in his home region of Galilee, and is gathering some early interest. He eventually returns to his hometown of Nazareth, to the synagogue, which literally means “bring together.” The people would come together much as we have this morning. The first half of our service, the liturgy of The Word of God (BCP p. 323 and p. 355), including everything up through exchanging the Peace, is modeled on synagogue worship, which includes prayers, a creed, perhaps sing a Psalm. Someone would read scripture and sermon.
(The second half of the service, The Holy Communion (BCP p.333 and p. 361) is rooted in the Last Supper, of course, with the theme of sacrifice relating to Temple worship, Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice.)
The very first thing Luke records Jesus teaching about is from Isaiah 61. We hear it quoted in brief, a little bit more than a verse, but it is likely he read more. How much more? We don’t know, but I’d like to share a bit further.
Read Is 61:1-4 (p. 620 in the pew Bibles)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
This promise of God’s salvation was over 700 years old when Jesus read from that scroll. Think about that for just a moment. People in a little town of maybe 500 people gathered on a Saturday morning to hear this promise read and to hear someone comment on it. It was that important to them.
Let’s remember that while many people in our community certainly suffer and have desperate challenges today, in their time and place being literally poor, captive, blind and oppressed was much more common and much more difficult than today. The metaphorical implications of being poor, captive, blind and oppressed mattered then as they do now. It was the hope and promise of truly Good News from God that shaped them as a people as much as their way of life centered around their observances of the law.
I should note that this hope and promise are not limited to just this passage. This rolls on for five chapters, right through the end of the book. It appears in other prophetic writings, too. The people would at times find it partially fulfilled, such as when Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. But here they were under Roman rule, waiting again.
Jesus is the preacher that day and he gives the very best sermon of all time. It is short and it is sweet. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) Mic drop? Maybe. He might have gone on, but whatever else he might have said pales compared to this.
We will consider the reaction to this statement next week. We stop here today to focus on the enormous implications of what Jesus said of himself and what it means for us.
At this point, Jesus has done very little. He has taught a bit; Luke hasn’t yet mentioned any healings or other miracles. He’s a long way from his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. That will all unfold in due course, but the fulfillment of God’s promises isn’t so much about what Jesus does, it is all about who he is. It is in his person, his very being, that these promises are being fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand because he is at hand.
His ideas, his teaching, his commands, his miracles, his authority, his example and even his “mighty acts” all flow from the central, core issue that it’s him. And that’s difficult. It’s fundamentally uncomfortable. It’s one thing to ascribe all the good and hope for this world to an almighty God that interacts with humanity in various ways. But now it’s here, all of it, in this one guy, flesh and blood like you and me. He has come to begin the process of the Kingdom of God unfolding in our world. It is at once an earth and heaven-shaking announcement and a call to everyone who follows Jesus.
We live to a very large degree with the fruit of that. Christians have been pushing ever since toward that fulfillment, not alone of course, but the great weight of progress in education, health care, and the construction of social safety nets have been driven by our participation in working that out in practice. In many instances the doing good has become detached from its source. Not if I can help it.
A lot of our efforts, including worship, education, fellowship, hospitality and pastoral care we’ve made to build up the body, to help each of us grow in him. All of that is meant to equip us to be his witnesses to our community and everyone we encounter.
We have opportunities outside the church. Our Thrift Shop, for example, does a marvelous job of collecting, sorting and selling quality clothing, books and other items at extremely low cost. Their profits poured $30,000 directly into our outreach funds last year and they made over $8,000 above that which we’ll work together – Thrift Shop, Vestry and Outreach – to determine where it should go. They need volunteers. Pray on that. Maybe you should get involved.
We’ve also struck out in faith to help the Community Kitchen, which is a feeding ministry done by local churches, hosted and coordinated by our Lake Wales Care Center. We’ve agreed to take four Sundays, one each in March, June, September and December. We’ll be forming teams and hope to involve the Youth Group, but this is something singles, couples and whole families can do. If God is nudging you to do this, contact the church office and we’ll put you in the mix.
Those external ministries, along with the internal ones we have to build up the Body of Christ through education and fellowship, are all invitations for each person to grow in Jesus and continue his witness in our world. If you’re listening to me now there are things you can do starting with a card or a phone call to someone who would be so very blessed to hear from you. (Even someone unable to do anything affects us as we remember them and pray for them. Everyone matters.)
This call will continue until he comes again. But be very clear: This scripture has been fulfilled in him and he is working that out in you. So get on with it. Embody Him. Incarnate Him.
AMEN!