January 25, 2025
Many of us who will worship tomorrow will hear the gospel reading from Luke 4, verses 14-21. This is Luke’s account of the beginning of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee, his reading from the scroll of Isaiah and proclamation in the Synagogue, and his rejection in Nazareth. These are the verses we will hear in worship:
Luke 4:14-21
14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When 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, 17 and 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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And 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. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The gospel story doesn’t end at verse 21. The story will go on to tell about the reaction from those who heard Jesus speak the gospel and when we read that part we learn that Jesus (and the gospel) makes people anxious and angry enough to become “filled with rage.” The hometown mob led Jesus to the hill on the edge of town so they could throw him off the cliff. “But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” (Luke 4:39)
The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been challenging! I have told my congregations that the gospel makes each of us squirm in our pews if we read it closely and pay attention to what Jesus is teaching. Discipleship in Christ calls each of us to enter into a new life and a whole new way of living with one another. The call is to a way of living that prioritizes others rather than ourselves. That is not an easy calling! It’s very challenging! Jesus came as God’s love incarnate, to teach us how to love boldly. His whole life and ministry calls us to mercy and kindness and love for the widow, the orphan, the outcast; our call is ask ourselves who is most in need, and then to love them boldly in Jesus’ name. It is transformational work to love our neighbor. It begins with our passion for the 1st commandment –honoring the Lord our God (who created each of us) and not having other gods before God, and it continues through the 8th commandment which calls us to put the best construction on our neighbor’s actions and to speak well of one another.
It is challenging for God’s people to hear the gospel, and from the text we hear tomorrow it is evident that it was hard even to hear the gospel from Jesus, our Lord. Discipleship doesn’t seem to be easy in any time or age of Christian history, and yet this is what we are called into. Our mission from God is to spread the love and kindness and mercy that we have found in Jesus. We certainly have a lot of work to do in carrying out this mission, but I am convinced that we can do this work because the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us. Jesus is Lord of the church and God is in the midst of us. I pray that, like Jesus, we can move forward, “on the Way,” with the Lord, and focus our work together to continue the mission to which we are each called.
I am grateful for our pastors and deacons who work diligently and faithfully to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed, even though the gospel word is challenging. I pray that they are honored for their works sake and that though the gospel is challenging, we will all do the work to have open ears and open hearts toward God’s word, and we will find our way forward in mission to be the people of God that Christ Jesus calls us to be.
Dear Pastors and Deacons, You are doing an amazing job proclaiming the good news and walking with all our brothers and sisters in faith in a very challenging time in history. Thank you for your faithful ministry.
In Christ,
+Bishop Ginny
