December 15, 2002

How Do You Hear This News?

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 (NRSV)

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes good news is also bad news.

Imagine that you are the manager of a retail outlet of a large national chain. Your store is enjoying a record year of sales and profits. The remarkable turnaround of this particular franchise has attracted the attention of headquarters. You get the announcement on Monday morning: the CEO from Kansas City will be in town on Thursday for interviews and inspection. She is known to be a no-nonsense manager and leader, who rewards those who do well, but is tough on those who cut corners.

The regular employees are overjoyed by the news of her visit. Surely her visit means good news for us! She has heard of our hard work and is ready to reward us for our sacrifices. Management, however, is nervous about this visit. They know that the books are not in order and that some have been fudging on company policies – this upcoming visit cannot be good news for those in charge!

Sometimes, good news is also bad news.

In Israel, every 50 years a remarkable event occurred – the year of Jubilee. According to Leviticus 25 this was good news for those who had suffered years of misfortune and debt. Property was returned, slaves were set free, and those who had experienced years of “have not” now enjoy the privileges of “having” once again. This is good news for the slave and the debtor.

But what if you were the master, or the creditor? Jubilee does not mean gain for you, but loss. The slave belonged to you – was a valuable part of your labor force, and now, because of Jubilee, what once was yours, is lost. The land belonged to you – you have tilled it and harvested it for 25 straight years – but now, because of Jubilee, what once was yours, is lost.

Sometimes, good news is also bad news

On the hillside of Bethlehem, shepherds watched their flocks by night, when suddenly, the angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone around them, and the song of the Lord announced to them, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy – for all people. To you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, Christ, the Lord.” Good news for lowly shepherds!

But how does the king in Jerusalem hear this news? Visitors from the east come announcing the birth of the king of the Jews. Two kings in one kingdom – that doesn’t sound like good news! King Herod is troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. He seeks to learn where the child is to be born – and when his initial plan is thwarted, he goes into a murderous rage seeking to destroy the child.

Yes, sometimes good news is also bad news!

SITUATION

It was a beautiful, balmy sabbath morning in Nazareth when Jesus arrived at the synagogue. Luke tells us that it was Jesus’ custom to attend worship, so he was well known by the Nazareth faithful. But on this particular sabbath, he was invited to read the Scripture, quite an honor for this young man who had just returned home from his first preaching tour.

“Good to see you, Jesus! We’ve been hearing great things about your ministry! We’d love to hear you read the Holy Writings in service today.” And they handed him the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. Jesus took the scroll and opened it to the place where it was written “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”

Oh, how the congregation loved this passage of Scripture: God’s good news of salvation to those who are down and out. “This is our story – we were poor, captive, blind, and oppressed. That was true of us when we were slaves in Egypt – and God brought us out. That was true of us when we were battling the Philistines – and God delivered us. That was true of us when we were in exile in Babylon – and God brought us back home. How we love to tell the old, old story!”

“Thank you, Jesus for reading this passage! And you read it so well.” This is good news – or is it?

COMPLICATION

As soon as he had finished speaking, he rolled up the scroll of Isaiah, returned it to the synagogue attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of the whole synagogue were fixed on him, waiting to hear what he would say or do. This was, after all, Joseph’s son – everybody in town knew Joseph and Mary and their family. They had also heard about Jesus’ ministry around Galilee. “Can this really be Joseph’s son? Listen to him speak – such grace and authority. Wonderful! Amazing!”

But it was what Jesus said next that shocked them: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” “Now wait just a minute! What do you mean Jesus? Are you implying that God has anointed you to deliver us? Do you mean to say that we are the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed? Surely you do not mean us, do you? You are not claiming to be God’s prophet, are you?”

Jesus knew their hearts. He knew the fickleness of their faith. He knew how easily this people would believe when the words were in their favor, and how quickly they would turn away when the words cast them in an unflattering light. So Jesus replied, “No doubt you will tell me, ‘Doctor, heal yourself.’ Or you will say, ‘If you really are a prophet, do some miracles here in your home town like you have supposedly done in other places.’ I tell you the truth, no prophet is welcomed in their home town.”

Now, the good news from Jesus lips is beginning to sound like bad news. “This Scripture sounded good when it was about our ancestors – but you seem to be pointing the finger of God’s word at us – as if we are no longer the insiders… the recipients of God’s blessings… the privileged people of God! But the way you are talking makes us sound like outsiders… like we are the ones in need of God’s salvation… like we are the ones who reject God’s prophet”

“You’re catching on,” said Jesus. “Remember the days of Elijah the prophet – there was a bad famine in the land of Israel.” “Yes,” said the people, “three years of famine – no water, no crops, bad times!” Jesus continued, “Yet who was it that received the relief and help from God? … A Lebanese woman!” “Well, yes, yes, you do have a point there, Jesus, but…”

“And remember the days of Elisha the prophet – there was a lot of people suffering from leprosy in those days!” “Yes,” said the people, “there were a lot of lepers in those days – it was bad!” “Yet who was it that received the healing of God? … A Syrian commander!” “Well, yes, yes, that’s right, but…”

Jesus read to them one of their favorite scriptures: Isaiah 61 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… One to which they could always say, “Amen!” Jesus also told them two of their favorite Bible stories – everyone knew the stories of Elijah and Elisha – they learned them in synagogue school, and loved these stories. Their scriptures reminded them how God had loved them and worked in their history.

But Jesus has turned the tables on them – with their own stories. God’s salvation, God’s deliverance, God’s healing is not reserved for insiders only. God’s blessings are not given to Israel so that they may sit back and be blessed. God’s healing word is for the whole world – and if God’s people ever take this word seriously, all kinds of outsiders will begin to be joined to this family of faith.

That means that those who once enjoyed the privileges of insiders will have to move over and share their place at the table! And how did the congregation in Nazareth hear this “good news”? At the end of the service, just after the benediction had been announced, they concluded, “Kill the preacher!”

Sometimes “good news” is like castor oil. You know it must be good for you, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. To be a messenger of “good news” can be a dangerous profession indeed!

RESOLUTION

So Jesus invites the congregation at Nazareth – and the congregation that gathers here at University Boulevard – to see ourselves in a new way. We are invited to see ourselves as God sees us – humble, poor, and totally dependent on God’s gracious intervention in our lives. We are always in need of God’s mercy, always the recipients of God’s grace, always.

We are here by invitation only. We are not the best and the brightest. We are not the bold and the brave. We are not the beautiful people of this world who are getting their just rewards. We are, as Isaiah 61:9 proclaims, “a people whom the Lord has blessed.” Prior to God’s choice to bless us and pour grace upon our lives, we were not much to brag about.

Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1: “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” That is our story!

And we must never lose sight of the truth of who we are – a people whom the Lord has blessed! What does it mean to live as a “blessed” people? Could it mean that we live under the constant awareness that what we have we have received as gift? Could it mean that we can begin to be free from the anxiety and stress that always emerge when we live like it all depends on us? Could it mean that we begin to live every moment of our lives, every breath we take, everything that comes our way in humble gratitude?

To see the world in this way also frees us to see others as candidates and recipients of God’s favor. To live under the reign of God’s grace is to realize that grace is big enough to include others

Forty-nine years ago, a child came into the world, firstborn son of Dave and Ginny Jackson. From the very beginning of my life, I was the center of Mom and Dad’s universe – and the sole object of their parental devotion. Everything they had was mine. I was loved, cared for, protected, well-fed – in every way I was blessed.

Two and a half years later, an outsider, a foreigner, an “other” entered my secure, blessed world – a sister. I was not sure how to feel about the presence of this intruder. We had to make room in our house, room at our table, room in my playroom for another. Was there enough love to go around?

You know there was – especially if you are a parent yourself! There is room in your heart for all of your children – no matter how many there are or how different they are. Because they are your children, there is room at the table for each one of them.

And so it is with God – there is more than enough love, grace, and mercy to share with anyone – with everyone who would be called a child of God.

CELEBRATION

The story of Christmas is the story of a God who loves all the children of the world… a God who welcomes, a God who delivers, a God who heals, a God who restores, and a God who blesses. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son that whosoever believes in him might have everlasting life.

The good news is – God brings good news to the oppressed, binds up broken hearts, proclaims liberty to the captives, and comforts those who mourn – yes, we are a people blessed of the Lord!

The better news is – there is enough of God’s love and mercy for everyone – we do not exhaust the supply when we partake of God’s grace, the well does not run dry when we plunge into mercy’s waters, there is no shortage of God’s love – no matter how many people draw on the divine resources – there is more than enough!

That is why the prophet concludes in song: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

And so must we! Congregation sings together – O Come, All Ye Faithful!