This text announces “good news of great joy” (Luke
2:10). The third Sunday of Advent is propelled by the theme of joy. We sing
“Come, Thou long-expected Jesus / Joy of every longing heart!” (Charles
Wesley). As Christmas Day approaches, we find despair swallowed up by hope,
barrenness broken by blessing, and mourning hearts surprised by joy. And so
we sing, “Good Christians, All Rejoice!”
Yet, it is nigh impossible to hear this text without remembering
Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Nazareth with its earth-shattering announcement:
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke
4:21). Did Jesus’ proclamation of the “year of the Lord’s favor”
evoke joyful “hallelujahs” from the Nazareth crowd? Rather, they
were filled with rage, determined to throw this preacher off a cliff. Not
everyone hears “good news” in the same way!
The announcement of the “year of the Lord’s favor”
suggests the Old Testament image of jubilee (see Leviticus 25), that radical
year of release, where property is restored, debts are canceled, and those
held in economic bondage are set free. Certainly, this was a year of joy for
the liberated. But what about those who oppressed? For them it was a time
of judgment, vengeance, loss, and rage.
John’s Gospel speaks of the Christ as “light . . .
coming into the world” (1:4-9). However, light not only brings life but
also exposes the sinfulness of human hearts. Hence, many spurn the light and
run from it (3:19-20). So, our text is good news and bad news, gospel of hope
and caveat of judgment. Advent announces that the Christ of God, endued with
the Spirit of the Lord, is coming to our captive world. How do you hear this
news?
The people to whom God’s salvation comes include a great
spectrum of human need: oppressed, brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, mourners,
faint-spirited. These marginalized folks hear the news of a Spirit-anointed
Deliverer and the “year of the Lord’s favor” as good news indeed.
But how is this news heard in congregations of affluence and comfort, among
privileged people who live far from the margins? How is this a word of “gospel”
(Hebrew basar, verse 1) for us? Perhaps the word we most need to hear is a
prophetic word that disturbs and disrupts us out of our status quo of numbed
consumerism and acquisition, reminding us of our own need of grace. Perhaps
our eyes will be turned away from the anxiety of giving gifts to those who
need nothing to the joy of sharing the gracious abundance of our God with
those who are truly the oppressed of this world. Perhaps this word could enable
us to see God, ourselves, and our world in the light of gospel newness. Perhaps.
The most striking element of this passage is the sovereign initiative
of our God to transform the world. It is God who anoints, binds up, sets free,
comforts, provides, clothes, and causes righteousness and praise to spring
up before all the nations. All is of God! This God intends to bless, redeem,
lift up, and level out the injustices of present arrangements. The humble,
poor, and oppressed will rejoice. Those who are exalted, well-off, and powerful
may resist such news of reversal. Yet nothing will stand against the redemptive
purposes of our God. As Handel’s majestic chorus shouts, “For the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth / And He shall reign forever and ever / Hallelujah!”
The year of “jubilee” means good news for some, bad
news for others. The news of Christ’s coming was greeted with joyful
reception (shepherds in the field) and murderous rage (Herod in the palace).
Jesus came preaching, making this text central to His ministry (Luke 4). When
the people of Nazareth heard it, “All spoke well of him and were amazed
at the gracious words that came from his mouth” (v. 22). But when He
dared suggest that the blessing of God was intended not only for them but
also for hated outsiders, a widow from Sidon and a Syrian general, they were
filled with rage and determined to kill the preacher (vv. 23-30).
Christ is coming. This news demands a response. We are invited
to see ourselves in a new way—humble, poor, and in need of God’s
gracious intervention. We are invited to see the world (outsiders, even enemies)
as beloved of God and fellow recipients of the good news. We are invited into
a world of God’s sovereign intention to place all creation on level ground
(every valley exalted, every mountain brought low). All creation will see
the glory of God displayed (Isaiah 61:3) through a redeemed people whose lives
are marked by righteousness, praise, and joy.
(For a complete manuscript of this sermon, go to www.preachersmagazine.org.)
Open the sermon with a contemporary analogy. Your store is having
a record year of profits, and the CEO announces her visit next week. Tension
builds immediately. The regular employees rejoice and see this visit as a
sign of blessing and reward; but management fears the worst, knowing that
store practices are not in line with company policies. What is good news for
some is bad news for others.
This tension drives the sermon. Isaiah announces the coming
of “jubilee.” Some gain and others lose. Jesus is born. Some worship,
others rage. Jesus comes preaching in Nazareth. Some welcome His message,
and others seek His life. “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ is
coming again!” How do we hear this news?
The gospel is the good news of God’s relentless desire to redeem us, bless us, and reshape us into a community of grace-filled people. Joy comes when we see ourselves in light of this story—humble, poor, and needy. Joy abounds when we see others, even “despised outsiders,” as fellow recipients of the goodness and mercy of God. The text invites us to reimagine life under the reign of God—where all is of grace, and all are invited to the table of blessing. Hallelujah!
