1 Corinthians 12. 12 – 31a

Luke 4. 14 – 21

Fr Alex

For weeks now we’ve been finding out who Jesus is.  The visit of the magi … God’s voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism … turning water into wine at the wedding feast – all of these amazing events have proclaimed who Jesus is.

He is God’s Son, the one promised through all ages – the Messiah.

And today, we hear a passage from right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, that tells us what he is for.  We hear it from his own mouth.  He’s come to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, and so on.

But it’s also in what Jesus doesn’t say, that we find out what sort of Messiah he is.

Jesus stands up and reads from the scroll with this passage from Isaiah – but he’s editing it as he goes along.

He cuts the last line in half – he ends with “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” – but in Isaiah, it actually goes on to say “and the day of vengeance of our God.”  Why does he leave that out?

In fact he leaves large parts of it out.  Listen to this: “Aliens shall stand and feed your flocks … foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers … you shall eat the wealth of the nations … and in their riches you shall glory.”

And so when this local lad Jesus stands up and reads this; and then says with authority, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” – it’s no wonder they’re outraged.  Not only is he claiming to be the anointed one, but he’s making fundamental changes to the promises upon which the Jewish people have pinned their hopes.

The verses after our Gospel reading tell us that they drive him out in a rage, and try to throw him off a cliff!

All this points to the great misunderstanding about Jesus that runs through all the Gospels.  The disciples, along with pretty much everyone else, believe that the Messiah will be a military Messiah.  A conquering hero, freeing God’s chosen people from those who rule over them, and setting up a righteous nation of true believers on earth.

Isaiah’s edited-out promises make sense, with that in mind.  God’s people have been through enough; it’s about time they were in charge.

But the problem with a conquering hero is that it means some people need to be conquered.  But Jesus hasn’t come to turn things around just for one specific group of people.  Jesus instead says that he has been anointed “to bring good news to the poor … to proclaim release to the captives … to let the oppressed go free … to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

This is not the day of vengeance.  This is good news – and it’s good news for everyone.  We see throughout Jesus’ ministry that his mission is to the whole world – all of humanity.  It started with the visit of the magi from far off lands, a few weeks ago.

And the key thing is that he hasn’t come to tell the poor that they will now be rich, at the expense of others.  He hasn’t released the captives so that they can put others into captivity.  He hasn’t let the oppressed go free so that they can oppress others in revenge.

He comes to bring people together, as brothers and sisters – with a new dignity, equally valued.

It would be a difficult message to hear, for people languishing under Roman rule, waiting for their promised time to come.

So what is the message for us to hear?

As I was reading through these passages and praying about them this week, I thought of our church here.  That Christ has brought us together in this place as members of the Church – as brothers and sisters of Christ and of each other.  I think the key to understanding it is in our first reading from St Paul.  He says:

“For 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.”

We each receive a new dignity, as equally-valued member of the body.  By participating in the life of the Church, becoming members of this greater body – we may enter into the fulness of life that Christ offers to all.

We’re coming out of a big period of change and upheaval.  Things are starting up again – new things are beginning.

And we each have our part to play in our shared life together.  It’s wonderful that people are offering so much to the church in all sorts of ways.  I think today’s reading from St Paul is a celebration of that – and especially so, if we think we don’t think we have much to offer.

Indeed, he says, “The members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.”  The foot cannot function without the hand; the eye cannot function without the ear.  All have a valuable part to play, and rely on the contribution of others for their wellbeing.

There is so much wonderful potential in this church – so much we can do.  And for us to move into the future that God has in store for us, we all must play our part as members of the body – no matter how small we think our offering is.

Perhaps these few weeks before Lent are a good time to pray about what it is we might be able to offer to the body of Christ in this place – great or small.

Because whatever it is, no matter how insignificant it may seem: it is of the greatest value to the other members of this body, and to God.  Amen.