February 1, 2004
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Last week we heard the first part of the story of Jesus in Nazareth. Jesus has gone to his hometown where he was invited up to the chancel to read scripture. Luke tells us that he read from the passage we know as Isaiah 61 and announced the purpose of his ministry. He came to preach good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set the oppressed free, and to proclaim a year of God’s favor. Then he said, “Today you
are looking at the one who carries the truth of these words in him. I am the
fulfillment of these words. I am the one God has anointed to be the source of
your freedom form all that binds you. “The age of God’s reign is here; the
time when God’s promises are fulfilled and God’s purpose comes to fruition
has arrived; there will be changes in the conditions of those who have waited
and hoped. Those changes for the poor and the wronged and the oppressed will
occur today. The time of God is today” (Interpretation
series. Luke. Fred Craddock. Louisville. John Knox Press, 1990, p.62).
Today is where Jesus started and it is where we start. We cannot change the
past, we cannot know the future, though we trust God to lead us into the future
that waits for us, but we can live today. Last week I said that we who
are here are not the leftovers of a once influential congregation. Rather we are
the beginning of the rebuilt, revitalized, re-energized redeveloped church God
has called us to be. That means we have some hard work to do, starting today.
And by we, I mean everyone of us
must do what we can as well as we can to help transform our congregation into
one that is moving in remarkable ways into renewed mission and ministry. I have begun asking a
question of small groups I have been meeting with and I want to put the question
to you. If there was one thing you personally could do to strengthen the
spiritual life of Broad Street Christian Church, what would you do? People with artistic talent
are needed to help this house look beautiful. People who can build and fix
things are needed to put their minds and hands to work. Do you have a gift for
vocal or instrumental music? Pray about joining the choir and then come to choir
rehearsal at 7 o’clock Thursday evening. If you cannot to that, then give
serious thought to sharing your gifts as a soloist. If you can’t sing or play
an instrument there are things you can do today. Will you pray with us, attend
events and activities, join in upcoming book and Bible studies? Will you do all
you can to strengthen and grow Broad Street Christian Church? I know even as I say these
things to you that there is something in a few of us that say, when I come to
church, I just need to sit and be for a while. Don’t ask too much of me right
now, I just don’t have it to give. It’s OK. In fact providing a place to
rest and refresh our spirits is the reason this room is called a sanctuary. It
is sacred space, it is the place where we meet God. In ancient Israel, God’s
presence was known in smoke and fire and the candles on our communion table are
symbolic of God’s presence in this place. We meet God here as we worship, and
God goes with us as we leave this place. We know we are refreshed not to escape
the world but to engage the world as we meet the needs of people around us. Still, I have heard that
there are some people far from here who say of the church, I do not come here to
sing or serve or do anything. Here in the church is my great escape from the
world. I do not want to think, or work, or do anything except have my needs met.
The church is my oasis from all the chaos in my life. It should make me calm,
not make me work. Coming to church should be like a warm, soothing bath, not a
vigorous run through the streets. That’s what they say in a church far, far
away. Beloved in Christ, let’s
proclaim something different here. Let’s announce that we are going to be the
church of Jesus Christ in the world. Let’s say that we are going to act
differently than we have in the past. The time is over when we think of the
church as the great escape. The time is now to claim our mission and ministry,
once we fix our minds and hearts on carrying the good news of Jesus Christ
outside these walls while we also live the good news inside these walls, we will
have some things to do. We will be God’s people in the world, and this
sanctuary will be our place of renewal and preparation, and we will love each
other in this place and go out and love the daylights into the world. That is
what Jesus teaches us to do. As Jesus sat in the
synagogue that day, things would have been fine if he had stopped with “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (v.21). “Who
could be anything but pleased by the news of freedom, of sight, of liberation”
(Texts for Preaching – Year C. Louisville.
Westminster/John Knox Press. 1994, p.129). Jesus addressed people
living in land occupied by the Imperial government of Rome. They likely felt
like people in neighborhoods who feel like they have no control over what
happens to them. A foreign army tells them what to do, when to do it, and where
to do it. They have little ownership of the land, their homes, or their lives. But Jesus didn’t stop
there. Instead he looked out at the gathered congregation, at these same people
he had known growing up. He saw their expectation and their longing. Then he
says, “I know you are thinking physician cure yourself. I know you want me to
do for you what I did in Capernum”. Now all we know is that in Capernum Jesus
had been well received. The folks in Nazareth have heard that he did great
things there and they want him to do the same for them. “If you can do great
things for Gentiles, for people not like us, you can do the same thing here,
can’t you?” “No”, Jesus says. He
goes on to talk about the prophets Elijah and Elisha who in a time of great need
in Israel offered ministry to the Gentiles, a widow in one town and a foreign
leader in another. They met the needs of the people they encountered, even
though they were different than they were. The people of Nazareth did not
receive Jesus’ words well. When he finished speaking this time, his neighbors
were so angry they pushed him to the edge of a cliff – eager to help him leave
town headfirst. But he was able to escape from them. In the chaos and
irrationality of their anger, Jesus simply walked away. He escaped the crowd,
but not his ministry. In fact he went back to Capernum where he exorcised
demons, healed Simon’s mother-in-law and did other acts in the midst of a
faithful people. Our task is to escape the chaos, the noise, the panic, that
surrounds us and claim our place among the thousands of congregation that are
being renewed.
Trusting in God and using
the imaginations God gave us, we can avoid the mistakes the people Jesus
addressed made. They think that God’s love has limits, that the redeeming
power of Christ has boundaries, that the Holy Spirit can only rest in one place
at one time. If you did good things in Capernum, do good things here. If you
have blessed the church down the street with a budget surplus, several staff and
1000 members, do it here. Do for us what you did for them, or don’t you think
we deserve it, God? They think what we think
when it looks like growth is everywhere but where we are. But it is not the case
that if God has a blessing for you, then God cannot have a blessing for me. It
is not the case that all the possible new church members are taken, and so we
are doomed. It is the case that God has all the love in the world for us, that
God has blessings for me and for you and for this church and every church where
God’s people gather. It is the case that people who want to know God need us
to make the introduction. What Jesus said all those
years ago in his hometown is true for us today. God’s anointing spirit is upon
us. We are the bearers of the good news, life-bringing, liberating word of God,
and we cannot escape this opportunity to be the light the world needs. It will
cost us little to bear the good news, it will cost us everything if we do not.
We have what we need to do it. So here we are wanting to
escape whatever it is that would stop us from doing ministry, and knowing that
there is no escape from the call to let our light shine wherever we are. And
there is light enough for us to share. If you have been here on Christmas Eve,
or attended any other candlelight ceremony, you know that the light from your
candle will provide light for the candle next to you without a single bit of
your light being lost. We are called to share the light within us and we cannot
escape the task. You think you don’t have
any light to share or that your light is barely a flicker? Listen to what the
South African leader Nelson Mandela says to us: “Our
deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We
ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does
not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory
of God within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we
let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the
same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates
others” (Nelson Mandela, 1994).
We have in this house the
light of wisdom from long time members, and curiosity from new and soon to be
members. We have here the light of diverse membership and room to welcome others
into our light. We have here a commitment to God and Christ, and with the Holy
Spirit’s guidance we will help others to find the light of their
commitment too. What is that commitment?
There is the commitment to provide a sense of community; we can help people have
a place to belong. We can commit ourselves to educating ourselves about why we
worship God here, and to be able to say why they do. We can commit ourselves to
sharing our faith with others. We are not called to keep a great secret but to
tell the great news we know. We can commit ourselves to serve others. We do not
exist for ourselves, but for the sake of the world and so we can commit
ourselves to celebrating that life has meaning, and that a relationship with the
living God goes along way to making life worthwhile. If we want our congregation to be strong, we will have to know that we cannot escape the hard work before us. We cannot escape the grief of letting go of how it used to be. And we cannot escape the fact that some who are here now will seek safety elsewhere. But I believe that as we are able to say with clarity and confidence that we exist to be living examples of the God’s welcoming presence in the world, and as we begin to tell our own great story, people will be drawn to us. What we have here is an
opportunity; a moment in time to take hold of what God has for us. We are moving
in this place, building this church up again, knowing that God is with us as we
go. We go because if we stand still
we will surely die, and I am about doing all I can as I lead you to do all you
can to let life and light into this church. We gather here today, filled
with the presence of Christ. We have gathered in his name, we have prayed in his
name, we are baptized in his name and God’s and the Holy Spirit’s. We are
saved by his grace and by his tender, endless mercies we find our purpose in and
for his church. Jesus escaped an enraged crowd and walked away to continue his
ministry. We escape our fears and embrace the presence of God whose love can
never be diminished as we walk into the light and hope of God. Today, this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and there is no escape. As it is, may this prayer be
ours: “God of love, in whose name we have been consecrated for discipleship
and service, encounter us [now], that we may grow
in knowledge and actions. Disturb our certainties
so we will be open to new insights. Upset our priorities to make room for faith,
hope, and love. Expand our horizons to encompass
ideas we have not entertained before.
Open our hearts to people we have failed to welcome into our midst. Perfect
among us that childlike trust that allows change to transform us
in the presence of your love. We pray in Jesus name. (Gathered
by Love. Lavon Bayler. Cleveland. United Church Press, 1994, p. 38).
Thanks be to God. Amen. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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