Rev. Steven S. Billings
Epiphany 3
Sermon
1-21-2007
St. Luke 4:16-30
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." 20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?" 23 And He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.'" 24 And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his home town. 25 "But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." 28 And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.
Jesus stood up in the Temple and preached good news to the poor. He announced that He had been sent to heal the brokenhearted. He proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed. And when He proclaimed this unmerited favor of God, this grace, this peace that surpasses and defies all understanding, "the people drove Him out of town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him down the cliff" (Luke 4:29).
What is it about grace that exposes such sordid passions in the hearts of men? Is it simply that grace defies the human compulsion to attain things by our own merit? Is it the cynical notion that there's no such things as a free lunch? Is it that God's grace in Christ Jesus is all-inclusive, that is to say, that it is for all people? Or, is it that grace presupposes its own need? In other words, is it that grace presupposes the existence of sin, the all-consuming justice of God, and the need for repentance? What is it about grace that it exposes such contemptible notions in the hearts of men?
When Jesus read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, He concluded His reading by saying, "today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Even as He offered them grace, the people accused Him of blasphemy!! As surprising as that may seem, it demonstrates very well a divine truth concerning the depravity of the human condition. Strangely enough, the sound of grace, at least to our human ears, IS blasphemy!! We don't take kindly, you see, to the acquittal of the guilty. In fact, we consider such a thing to be a miscarriage of justice, an INjustice. Ingrained into the very fabric of our hearts is the notion that someone has to pay, someone has to atone for every last wrong perpetrated upon the innocent. "Blessed (writes the Psalmist) are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times" (Ps. 106:3). Robert Durst, the heir to a New York real estate fortune, was acquitted of murdering his neighbor Morris Black. It seems quite remarkable, doesn't it, that a man could take a human life, dismember the body, and yet, be acquitted of any wrong-doing? Right or wrong, innocent or guilty, the whole incident stirs passions over the issue of justice. Is there justice in this world of ours? Can we expect a day of reckoning for the guilty?
The cry for justice is indelibly written on our hearts. Someone has to pay. Someone has to atone for every last wrong perpetrated upon the innocent. And so, as Jesus proclaimed that "the year of God's favor had come," and in that favor "prisoners would be set free," He was accused of espousing a despicable doctrine. Grace, you see, by human standards, is a scandalous proposition, precisely because it is free, and because it serves to acquit the guilty. And yet, we are "saved by grace through faith." When does grace cease to offend, so that it takes hold of a person and they begin to look in faith to Jesus Christ for their hope and salvation? Earlier I said that grace presupposes its own need, that it presupposes the existence of sin, the all consuming justice of God, and the need for repentance. Jesus said: "do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matt. 7:6).
The Gospel, the grace of God in Christ Jesus conveyed upon a lost and condemned world, is the very pearl upon which the swine will trample if the way has not been properly prepared. A short time ago a retired Lutheran pastor was attacked on the street by another man. What was it that brought on such an attack? The pastor walked up to the man and asked him if he knew that Jesus Christ loved him and that He died for him.
Jesus said, "I have been anointed to preach good news to the poor." This, of course, isn't simply a reference to those who are poor financially. After all, He wasn't sent to simply preach good news to the monetarily challenged. (How's that for politically correct speech?) No, He was sent to preach good news to the "poor in spirit." God's Law, you see, properly applied, will leave each and every one us grasping for hope, looking for some tidbit of comfort to set our hearts at ease. The Law never relents!! It always demands!! It always commands: Do this or die!! What does God require of you? Well, Jesus clearly told you in His Sermon on the Mount. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." That is the standard. That is the haunting demand of God's Law. And yet, as the Apostle Paul says, "what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." (Romans 7:15) And so, as God's Law pushes you down, and you look further and further into your own heart for that morsel of comfort, you will find, rather, a poverty of spirit that has nothing, absolutely nothing, to offer.
In Seven Great Statesmen, Andrew D. White tells of the death of Hugo Grotius, the great Dutch and Swedish political figure of the early 1600s. His account touches the deep places of the heart. On his way home from a journey Grotius was shipwrecked on the Pomeranian coast. Gravely ill, he managed to get as far as Rostock. There the famous scholar, jurist, and diplomat lay on his deathbed. The local Lutheran pastor, learning of his presence, came to see him. He greeted the dying man kindly, then simply read to him our Savior's parable of the Pharisee and the publican, ending with the words "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" At that the dying statesman opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Dear Lord, I am that publican!"
Such is the confession of the "poor in spirit." But then, Jesus steps forth in His Temple and offers you Himself, that the sordid passions of your heart that fight and war against grace might instead be overcome by it. Jesus, who proclaims good news to your impoverished, desperate soul, becomes the all-consuming riches of your life, for without Him there simply is no life. Scripture says, "for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus, the very One who gives His own riches to make the poor in spirit wealthy, also proclaims "liberty for the captives." Since the demand for justice is indelibly written on our hearts, it is quite understandable when we sense that we are cheated when justice is not served. And yet, in this one instance, we rejoice in being so cheated!! In this instance, you see, justice prevails, but not at the expense of the unjust. Rather, it prevails through the sacrifice, through the atonement, of someone else. And so, in the end, the scandalous proposition of grace would finally triumph, for Jesus would win the victory over sin, death and the devil in the scandal of the Cross!! The Innocent would die that the guilty may go free!!
"Since Christ has full atonement made
And brought to us salvation,
Each Christian therefore may be glad
And build on this foundation.
Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
Your death is now my life indeed,
For you have paid my ransom."
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
