Sermon on January 24, 2010
Sermon for the Episcopal Church of St John the Baptist, Capitola,
given by Rev. Steve Ellis
The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Baptist welcomes all to worship God and to share Christ's love in the world. We are a parish family committed to provide liturgy, Bible study, music, counseling, and Christian education for children, youth, and adults, and to equip all our members for life and for service to others.
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament Lesson
All the people of Israel gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm
7 The law of the LORD is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the LORD is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8 The statutes of the LORD are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the LORD is clear
and gives light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.
11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.
13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
Psalm 19 Page 606-607, BCPCaeli enarrant
New Testament Lesson
Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Gospel
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
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, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found 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.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
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. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Luke 4:14-21
Sermon: The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me
Hebrews says:
For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without estrangement from God or others. Take it seriously. Jesus had doubts, just like you and me, and he had to make decisions just as we do. I wonder what it was like for him to think about the story of the parting of the Exodus - God bringing his Hebrew nation out of Egypt where they were exploited as slaves – and the parting of the Red Sea. That story was 1400 years old when Jesus first heard it, and I wonder if he believed that the Red Sea was parted and the people walked through on dry ground? I wonder if he saw his need for prayer as wishful thinking? I wonder if he ever thought his healings were just people getting excited and feeling better because of that excitement? He was tempted in every way as we are.
But lets not forget the other half of that sentence. He was without estrangement. He didn’t let go of God when he got afraid, or confused, or had doubts. He kept on choosing to trust. He kept on choosing to honor the story his people told. He kept on clinging to the one he found in his prayers, the one he called Father. And when power stirred in him, he may have been frightened by it, worried about how people would take offense at him when the saw it. But he didn’t hide it, he chose to inherit the gifts he was given, and to claim the Spirit that was put upon him for the good of others.
He shared our temptations, but he clung to the Father, and so he was obedient to the gifts that were given, and connected to the people for whom they were given to him. And that is why, soon after his baptism, he was in the synagogue in his own hometown. He took the part of a lector that day as was the right of every grown man in good standing. He read the lesson, and it was his right to begin the discussion of it after the reading, so he did.
The lesson was a wonderful compilation of texts from Isaiah, texts about the “day of the Lord” the time when God’s reign would be experienced by the faithful who had long been waiting. The text read, as Luke puts it for us,
[sing it Strathdee’s style, but with the last line, “To put it out for all to hear that God’s wiped the slate clean!]
Now you remember that Jesus had been struggling with making his ministry public. He was teaching his disciples, and trying to keep a lid on public notice. As he put it to his mother in last week’s gospel, “it is not yet my time.” But Jesus read that text to the synagogue in his own home, and he was touched by it, and he took the plunge. The day of the Lord had come, his ministry was the instrument by which people could choose to enter the promise. He said those fateful words, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus had decided that believing the stories of his people, trusting what he discovered in prayer, and living out his gifts was the way of life that he would choose, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death stopped him. I doubt he knew at this point that death wouldn’t be able to stop him. He just knew that if he didn’t own what God had given him he would lose his ability to live with God in the present moment, his ability to live so lovingly with others, and he was too clear and too stubborn to let it go for lesser comforts.
So he said it. He threw in his life with the stories of his people, the life-giving stories, and with the experience, so hard to name, of being with God here and now.
Now and then an Episcopalian does the same. Someone who’s been saying they don’t know about the Creed, they aren’t sure about the Church and its history, that they don’t have enough faith, enough courage – you know the litany – comes to the realization that what the Creed and the worship of the Church and its community has brought them to – the presence and practice of walking with God here and now – is so precious that they are ready to take the plunge. Think of the power, the joy that come to you when you do this, and imagine doing it most of the time!
Some of you have been studying the Scriptures in advance, and have thought about this passage, and have said that it is about us. Well, it is. Luke didn’t record this so that we could be glad this was Jesus’ mission statement. He said this because to follow Jesus is to choose this as the reality in which we live. To follow Jesus is to claim the gifts we are given. To own the fact that the Spirit of the Lord is given to us. To own that the Spirit and the gifts are given us for the purpose of healing the people and the structures of the world around us, and to let everyone know that the time has come when God wipes the slate clean!
(in Eb or F)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
Because God has anointed me
To preach good news to the poor
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captive
And recovering of sight t to the blind
To set at liberty those who are oppressed
To put it out for all to hear that
God’s wiped the slate clean!
Sing it back to me
Sing it with Jesus
Sing it together- “us."