Luke 4:14-21
14Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18“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, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
August 28, 1963, 56 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stood before thousands on the National Mall for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and delivered a speech—a sermon, really—that would become one of the most famous of Dr. King’s messages for the people, laying out his hope for the future of our country, one where unity and justice would become lived reality for all. It is still today common household knowledge. I bet most of you already know what I am thinking of. Say it with me now: I have a dream.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This might be considered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s keystone address, in which he provided the core focus and hope and purpose for all of the ministry he had done, and all he was to do, during the 10 years or so that he led in public life.
Some 2,000 years before Dr. King spoke those famous words, another preacher stood before a crowd gathered in a synagogue in Nazareth, and gave what might be considered his keystone sermon, in which he provided the core focus and hope and purpose for all of the ministry he would do, over the three years or so of his public life.
When Jesus entered the synagogue that day, he had just come out of the desert, where he had spent 40 days and 40 nights getting really clear on who he was and what his purpose was. The devil had tempted him, trying to get him to focus on being popular, on having great power, on being seen as relevant, even spectacular, throwing himself down from a mountain cliff so the angels could catch him as he fell. And in all of it, the Spirit was with him, and Jesus kept saying that it was about God, and not his own glory. About trusting, and not testing, God. It was about knowing that the Word of God is what is most important. 40 days and 40 nights later, hungry, thirsty, exhausted, Jesus comes out of the desert, goes to Galilee, and begins teaching, and soon after gives the first sermon recorded in the Gospel of Luke.
The Word of the God has been given to us as our guide, to lead us forward together. Jesus lived and breathed that Word. The text he reads for his first sermon is from Isaiah: "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." After reading his keynote text, he tells his listeners, and us, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
As we hear in our portion of Luke today, the initial reaction is favorable, and they ask themselves if this can really be Joseph and Mary’s son. Then, Jesus makes sure that they understand just how challenging these words are. Because as always, Jesus’ first concern, and God’s first concern, is for those who are oppressed, hungry, imprisoned, poor. For those impacted by the injustice of the world. Just as Dr. King spoke hope to those who needed it most, the Spirit has anointed Jesus NOT to be a golden hometown hero, but to bring hope to the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. And after Jesus makes this message clear, they try to throw him off a cliff.
Because this message is not necessarily the easiest to hear and embrace, for those of us who have privilege in this world. It is, however, a message that can give us focus, as followers of Jesus, as people of faith who strive to live in the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” says Jesus. The Spirit is on Jesus. And we know, as we claim in our baptisms, that the Spirit of God is on us, too! We too are anointed to bring good news to the poor. We too are sent to proclaim release to the captives. We too are called to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind. We too are called to let the oppressed go free, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
In the midst of this time of change and transition that we of Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Parish are in, it is the perfect time for us to hear Jesus’ first sermon, as he tells us who he is and why he is here. As we go into our Annual Congregational meeting, and reflect on the past year and dream together about the next, it is the perfect time for us to claim, as Jesus did, that we are anointed by God to serve and live into God’s kingdom, which as Dr. King said, is a kingdom of freedom, equality, justice, abundance for all of God’s children.
So, as we wonder together where God is leading us, and what the future will bring, we do not wander alone in the desert. The Spirit is with us, the Word of God guides us, and we can dream together with courage and faith in the one who has anointed to share in bringing the good news. Thanks be to God!
14Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18“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, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
August 28, 1963, 56 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stood before thousands on the National Mall for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and delivered a speech—a sermon, really—that would become one of the most famous of Dr. King’s messages for the people, laying out his hope for the future of our country, one where unity and justice would become lived reality for all. It is still today common household knowledge. I bet most of you already know what I am thinking of. Say it with me now: I have a dream.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This might be considered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s keystone address, in which he provided the core focus and hope and purpose for all of the ministry he had done, and all he was to do, during the 10 years or so that he led in public life.
Some 2,000 years before Dr. King spoke those famous words, another preacher stood before a crowd gathered in a synagogue in Nazareth, and gave what might be considered his keystone sermon, in which he provided the core focus and hope and purpose for all of the ministry he would do, over the three years or so of his public life.
When Jesus entered the synagogue that day, he had just come out of the desert, where he had spent 40 days and 40 nights getting really clear on who he was and what his purpose was. The devil had tempted him, trying to get him to focus on being popular, on having great power, on being seen as relevant, even spectacular, throwing himself down from a mountain cliff so the angels could catch him as he fell. And in all of it, the Spirit was with him, and Jesus kept saying that it was about God, and not his own glory. About trusting, and not testing, God. It was about knowing that the Word of God is what is most important. 40 days and 40 nights later, hungry, thirsty, exhausted, Jesus comes out of the desert, goes to Galilee, and begins teaching, and soon after gives the first sermon recorded in the Gospel of Luke.
The Word of the God has been given to us as our guide, to lead us forward together. Jesus lived and breathed that Word. The text he reads for his first sermon is from Isaiah: "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." After reading his keynote text, he tells his listeners, and us, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
As we hear in our portion of Luke today, the initial reaction is favorable, and they ask themselves if this can really be Joseph and Mary’s son. Then, Jesus makes sure that they understand just how challenging these words are. Because as always, Jesus’ first concern, and God’s first concern, is for those who are oppressed, hungry, imprisoned, poor. For those impacted by the injustice of the world. Just as Dr. King spoke hope to those who needed it most, the Spirit has anointed Jesus NOT to be a golden hometown hero, but to bring hope to the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. And after Jesus makes this message clear, they try to throw him off a cliff.
Because this message is not necessarily the easiest to hear and embrace, for those of us who have privilege in this world. It is, however, a message that can give us focus, as followers of Jesus, as people of faith who strive to live in the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” says Jesus. The Spirit is on Jesus. And we know, as we claim in our baptisms, that the Spirit of God is on us, too! We too are anointed to bring good news to the poor. We too are sent to proclaim release to the captives. We too are called to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind. We too are called to let the oppressed go free, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
In the midst of this time of change and transition that we of Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Parish are in, it is the perfect time for us to hear Jesus’ first sermon, as he tells us who he is and why he is here. As we go into our Annual Congregational meeting, and reflect on the past year and dream together about the next, it is the perfect time for us to claim, as Jesus did, that we are anointed by God to serve and live into God’s kingdom, which as Dr. King said, is a kingdom of freedom, equality, justice, abundance for all of God’s children.
So, as we wonder together where God is leading us, and what the future will bring, we do not wander alone in the desert. The Spirit is with us, the Word of God guides us, and we can dream together with courage and faith in the one who has anointed to share in bringing the good news. Thanks be to God!
