Help Wanted

When Jesus 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 4:16-21, NRSV]

This is the first time we hear Jesus define the nature of his ministry in the gospel of Luke. Up until this point there have been a number of prophecies about him but we have not heard from Jesus himself directly. If we're serious about answering the question "What Would Jesus Do?" then we definitely have to pay close attention to what Jesus said he would do.

Looking at this quotation from the prophet Isaiah, we learn that Jesus intends to 1) bring good news to those who only have bad new in their lives, 2) release those who feel like they are imprisoned, 3) to help people see clearly, 4) to end oppression, and 5) to announce "This is God's year to act."

This is not a bad job description for Jesus. It's not a bad job description for us either. Our calling as people of faith is to do as follows: 1) Proclaim the good news that everyone is welcome to attend the feast of God's kingdom. Faith in Jesus is the only requirement to make it onto the guest list. Sexual orientation is a non-issue. 2) Help those who are imprisoned by fear, hate, worry, etc. We do not have to be haunted by the ghosts of our past, present or future anymore. 3) Give people eyes to see the true nature of who Jesus is. He wasn't concerned with the minute details of the Law. He was far more concerned with whether we showed mercy and compassion toward all of our neighbors and not just the ones we like. 4) Become a voice for justice on behalf of those who are being oppressed for any reason. 5) Act now and become God's visible kingdom here on earth instead of waiting for the heavenly kingdom to come.

That should keep us busy for a while. Any questions?