Mission of Mercy
Luke 4:14-21
Like a first love, I imagine that most pastors remember their first sermon, not necessarily because it was their best but because it was their first. I preached my first sermon as an ordained pastor to the English ministry of a church in South Korea.
I remember the circumstances surrounding the sermon more so than the actual sermon. I was ordained in New York City in mid August, and then just two weeks later I was on a plane to Korea, the ink still wet on my ordination certificate. I arrived in Seoul on a Wednesday evening and had to preach on Sunday. Because it was the first Sunday of the month, I was also going to officiate over the Lord’s Supper on my own for the first time. Really, it felt like two sacraments in one; the Lord’s Supper and a baptism by fire.
I titled the sermon “Please Make Yourself Uncomfortable,” which was both a wink at the congregation and a description of my own emotional state. Fresh from seminary, I didn’t feel much like a pastor, so I thought I’d better at least dress the part by wearing a clerical gown and collar.
Not everything went smoothly. I remember there being some minor logistical mishaps, but on the whole things went reasonably well. At least no one wanted to hurl me off a cliff.
We can’t say the same for Jesus. The first sermon that we hear him preach ends in a riot, with the entire congregation in such a rage that they drive him out of town and attempt to throw him off a cliff. But I’m going to save that part for next week. What we’re reading today is the first half of the story, which focuses on Jesus’ message rather than the congregation’s reaction.
As we encounter Jesus here in Luke 4, he is just beginning his ministry. He hasn’t yet called any disciples (that happens in chapter 5). This is also a homecoming. After having been away for some time, he is returning to Galilee, his home region in the north of Judea.
Jesus had not been away on holiday…more of a holy day. While he was being baptized by John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. The Spirit anointed Jesus, affirming him as God’s own Son and preparing him for his mission of mercy for sinners. But before Jesus begins that mission, the Spirit first leads him into the wilderness.
In the Old Testament, the wilderness is where Israel is tempted and comes up short. It’s where Israel, frustrated that God won’t stick to their timetable, creates golden gods that will. Now the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to face a similar temptation. For forty days and nights the devil tries various tricks to stop Jesus from carrying out his mission of mercy for sinners. All the devil’s temptations boil down to this: to get Jesus to use the power of the Holy Spirit within him to serve himself, thereby forgoing the cross.
“You look hungry, Jesus. You’ve been fasting for so long. Why not command this stone to become bread?
“You want disciples, don’t you, Jesus? Then throw yourself from the top of the temple. If you are God’s Son, he will send his angels to catch you. What a spectacle that would be! That would surely win you lots of disciples!
“Do you want to feel power, Jesus? Real power? Then simply bow down before me and I will give you all the power in the world—first and foremost the power of the sword. With that power you could chase the Romans out of Jerusalem and reign as king! You will be celebrated as a hero! Wouldn’t you rather be crowned as king than crucified as a criminal?”
But where Israel was tempted and failed, Jesus is tempted and triumphs. Having been baptized in the Spirit and led by the Spirit, Jesus returns to his home region of Galilee filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. If you’re sensing a theme here, award yourself a point. Among the four authors of the Gospels, Luke more so than the others emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus, and later in the life of the church. It’s the Spirit that anoints Jesus, leads him, and empowers him. Later, the Spirit will do the same for the church. As Presbyterians, we tend to be uncomfortable talking about the Holy Spirit, but I hope that reading from Luke this year will change that.
Anyway, Jesus returns home having already made somewhat of a name for himself. Luke writes that a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. Everybody is praising him. He is in demand as a speaker, preaching to congregations throughout the whole region of Galilee. Imagine having Jesus on your pulpit supply list!
With word of him spreading, Jesus is booked to preach at his hometown congregation in Nazareth. The people there know him. I imagine the synagogue is fuller than on most sabbaths. The hometown crowd is likely curious about Mary’s son who’s now something of a celebrity. What text will he preach from? What message will he deliver?
As was the custom, Jesus stands to read from the scriptures, in this case the scroll of Isaiah. He finds the passage that he wants to read, which is from Isaiah 61:
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.”
He then rolls up the scroll, gives it back to the attendant, and sits down. All eyes in the congregation are upon him. The people are eager to hear what he will say. As any seminary student who’s taken Introduction to Preaching will tell you, you want your sermon to have a memorable hook. The first line should grab the congregation’s attention. Jesus seems to know this instinctively because he begins with a rather audacious opening line: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, what he’s saying is, This scripture is about me.
In the Gospel of Luke, the reading from the scroll of Isaiah is Jesus’ first public act and these are his first public words. Each Gospel author places front and center an event or action that serves as a lens for how they view Jesus. Last week we heard from John and the wedding at Cana. John begins with Jesus turning water into wine because John views Jesus as someone who performs signs and wonders that testify to his divinity. Jesus does what only God can do because Jesus is God.
As sinners, we are all in need of God’s mercy. And as the church, we are witnesses to the mercy that God has shown us through Jesus Christ.
Luke offers a different perspective. By beginning with Jesus reading this passage from Isaiah, Luke sees Jesus as God’s anointed who has come to proclaim good news to the poor and the oppressed. He comes to lift up all who have been bowed down and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor for the least, the last, and the lost. His mission is one of mercy.
Mercy. That word was in the news this past week. It’s peculiar that a public plea from the church to our elected leaders to show mercy to the vulnerable among us would be perceived in some quarters as somehow controversial. I suppose we don’t like the idea of mercy being given to the “wrong” kind of people.
Let me tell you what a frightening prospect it would be for God to be so selective in showing mercy to us because no one is more in need of God’s mercy than we are. All of us right here. We are the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed:
It is we who are poor in understanding the riches of God’s love for all people, including the so-called “wrong” people—those people over there, those people who are different from us.
It is we who are captive to fears that we will never have enough or be enough to be worthy of the love we seek.
It is we who are blind to how our words and actions diminish, dehumanize, and demonize others.
It is we who are oppressed by the power of sin within us, worming its way into our words and our works, and the power of sin around us in the sinful systems and structures in which we participate.
As sinners, we are all in need of God’s mercy. And as the church, we are witnesses to the mercy that God has shown us through Jesus Christ. Mercy is in our mission statement. It’s who we are. It’s what we do. If we are truly to be the church of Jesus Christ, then we are called to show mercy, even—and I would add, especially—to the wrong kind of people.
Given this past week, I suspect that in the days ahead there will be ample opportunities, and a growing need, for the church to be what Christ has created us to be—ministers of his mercy. May the Spirit of the Lord be upon us.