There is a common thread in the readings from
Nehemiah 8:1-10 and Luke 4:14-21, and it is freedom from
slavery. In the case of the reading from Nehemiah, the story takes place after
the Israelites have returned from captivity in Babylon. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus
mentions that he has come to free us from the captivity of son.
Jesus came to give us our jubilee-our freedom. We are all captives to our sinful, human
nature. The readings from Nehemiah and Luke show us that we as Christians have
to come together to hear God’s Word and be taught what it means and how it
applies to us. The only way the passage from Isaiah that Jesus read can be
fulfilled is if we all come together and work together. We are all part of the
one body of Christ that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians. We are stronger when
we are united and work together. Locally, we are stronger when we work with
other churches in such ventures as the recent Shepherd’s Walk and the annual
Good Friday Walk of the Cross.
The story from Nehemiah is part of a story about
rebuilding. In the reading we heard earlier this morning, the temple has just
been rebuilt, following the Israelites’ return from captivity in Babylon. There
were roughly 50,000 people in the congregation that day. They were hungry for
God’s Word. They were not anxious for the service to conclude-unlike many
churchgoers today. God gave the Israelites some wonderful gifts: land,
security, abundance and prosperity. The memory of those gifts bound the people
together; but over time they grew cynical and careless about their faith. The
people called on the prophet Ezra to read from the Law of Moses, and they
responded to God’s Word. They were eager to hear the Word of God. When they
heard the Word of God, they cried because when they looked at their history and
compared it to God’s Word, they realized that they screwed up big time!!!!
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the
congregation Jesus preached to in the reading from Luke’s Gospel. As we will
see in the Gospel reading next Sunday, the crowd was ready to kill him after he
said that he was the long-promised Messiah. They could not accept that he was
the Messiah. To them, he was just a gifted preacher who was the son of a
carpenter. They were ready to hear God’s Word, but in contrast to the
congregation who heard Ezra’s preaching, they were not moved by the Holy
Spirit. They were out for profit and the status quo, even though both Jesus and
the passage from Isaiah told them that the status quo wrong! Jesus dared to
tell them that God's love was for everyone. He illustrated that his message was
for everyone by referring to Elijah being sent to the widow of Zarapeth, who
was a Gentile. Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian-not a Jew, but a Gentile. If God
can be so gracious and quick to attend to the needs of a poor widow in Sidon and
an undeserving Gentile in Syria, what gave the Jewish elders the right to say
who belongs in the kingdom and who doesn't? They wanted to hear how the Jews
were God's chosen people and how salvation belonged only to them.
We can understand a little of how they felt. They were
God's chosen people. They had been persecuted all of their lives because they
maintained God's word and kept up the Jewish customs. They built the temples
and synagogues and tried to live as God wanted them to live because they were
God's chosen people. It is true that when you are persecuted people you have to
develop a sense of pride in order to survive. When pride becomes exclusive, it
becomes dangerous. It's hard for persecuted people to hear that others will be
included in the same grace that they will know and feel they have deserved.
It's hard for us also. It's okay as long as food is
delivered to our door, but what about when grace is extended to our neighbour.
It's hard for us to accept that Christianity is growing in all areas of the
world except for North America and Europe. It's hard for us to hear that other
people are prospering in the Word of God.
The people of Nazareth rejected the Gospel because its
vision included both Jews and Gentiles. Paul even argued in 1 Corinthians 12:14
that "For the body is not one member,. but many". We are all members
of the one body of Christ. Jesus came to restore sight to the blind, but the
people of Nazareth wanted to keep their narrow vision.
The people in Galilee had an expectation of what the
Messiah could be. They expected him to be a military ruler who would drive out
the Romans and restore Israel to the glory days of the reign of King David. They
did not expect a Messiah who would urge them to care for those whom they
considered to be unclean-the poor, the sick, prostitutes, etc. Unlike the
congregation Ezra preached to, the congregation in the synagogue did not accept
the concept of grace.
The Scriptures were long neglected by the Israelites,
and they were neglected by the people in the synagogue. The people were nearly
illiterate when it came to the Scriptures, and many of us are also scripturally
illiterate. It is like the story of the pastor who visited a Sunday School
class one day. He asked the students, "Who broke down the walls of
Jericho?" One child answered, "Not me, I didn't do it, Pastor".
The pastor asked the teacher if that answer was typical of her students, and
the teacher replied, "I know that student. If he said he didn't do it, he
didn't do it!"
The pastor then went to the Sunday School
superintendent and told him what happened. The superintendent replied that it
was the best class, and that he was sure that no one in the class was guilty. A
few days later the pastor told the story to the church's board, and the
treasurer spoke up, "Pastor, I move that we pay for the damage and charge
it to upkeep!"
We, like the people who heard the prophet Ezra speak,
need to be always ready to hear God’s Word. The only way we can discover God’s
true nature is to study and hear Scripture and apply it in our lives and our
world. By worshipping on our knees or with our faces to the ground, we remind
ourselves that he is our sovereign and we are his subjects. While we need to
study God’s Word on our own, we also need to gather with fellow believers on a
regular basis to hear God’s Word explained-just like Jesus and Ezra explained
God’s Word to the people. God’s Word and God’s joy give us strength because
when we feel weak (as we often will on our Christian walk of life) he loves us
enough to step in and help us. He loves to save us and forgive us. He loves to
show his love to all believers.
The reading of Scripture has great influence on each
generation that hears it, but how each generation hears Scripture and
interprets its relevance is always a source of debate and conflict. Scriptures
are often complex and rooted in a particular time, and therefore they require
interpretation-interpretation provided by people like me and our ordained
clergy. We need to know not only how the Scriptures applied in the time they
were written, but also how they apply to our lives today, especially since we
live in a different time and place.
The crowd in the synagogue knew that the text Jesus
read from Isaiah was a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. Jesus
announced to the crowd that he was the Messiah Isaiah referred to. Jesus
ushered in a new age with his words, just like Ezra’s words ushered in a new
age. When the people heard the Word of God from Ezra, it became a source for
reform and a means of new life for the community. The people in the rebuilt
temple were prepared to throw a party to celebrate their return to a godly way
of life, and they were prepared to share their goods with the poor. The passage
Jesus read from Isaiah said the same thing-show concern for the poor. The
Israelites longed for the world to be a better place, and we also long for the
world to be a better place. The only way it will be a better place is if we
hear and obey the Word of God, especially the part about showing care and
compassion to the poor.
When Ezra and Jesus read from the Old Testament texts,
they preached in God’s power. God’s power was unleashed, but the people had to
stop and listen. We also have to stop and listen to God’s Word carefully. Paul
said in the reading from 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 that we have to listen carefully to God’s Word
without distraction. The freedom promised in God’s Word is only available when
we are not absorbed in ourselves or self-centered or isolated. The freedom comes
when we come together as part of one body of Christ. The people who heard Jesus
speak in the temple did not know how to listen to the Word of God because they
were isolated. They believed that they were God’s chosen people, and they also
believed that they were better than other people, especially the Samaritans and
the Gentiles and other people that Jesus cared for. The people who heard Ezra
speak were hungry for the Word of God. God’s Word has the power to change the
lives of those who hear it.
The light of Christ that resides in us should attract
others to us. We need to be the most positive people on earth, and we need to
see opportunity in the midst of life’s challenges. That is what Jesus tried to
tell the congregation in the synagogue. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
that we are all part of the one body of Christ. We are all united. We have to
work together to do his work in the world.
Jesus and the Word of God will fix everything that sin
has ruined. They will make everything new, including the reversal of Satan’s
curse. This is done through the church, the body of believers. The anointing of
the Holy Spirit will give us the tools we need to turn to God and do his work
in our world. The readings from Nehemiah and Luke show us that it is one thing
to quote the Scriptures, but it is another thing to believe in what the
Scriptures teach us. The good news is not just for the poor, the blind and the
oppressed. They will receive it more gladly than others because they have much
to gain and little to lose. The rich, the powerful and the elite will not be
nearly as receptive.
The Scriptures should fill us with the Holy Spirit so
we can spread joy in the world, just like Jesus came to spread joy in the
world. By referring to the Holy Spirit, we express the active presence of God
in the world. The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus for his task in the world, and it
empowers us to continue to do his work in our world.
Both readings also symbolize the renewal of covenants
between God and his people. Nehemiah led the Israelites in the rebuilding of
the temple, and in the process there was a spiritual renewal. Jesus came to
restore our relationship with God by projecting a vision of hope. God’s Word
restores our relationship with him when we take part in the Eucharist. We
become different people when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. We celebrate and
share with humanity’s children. We have been set free and we enjoy the special
favour of God. God’s Word shines a light into our darkness and continues to set
us free. Since we have experienced the freedom God offers to us, we must
encourage others to seek and accept the freedom God offers to everyone.
Thanks
be to God, AMEN
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