“Isaiah’s Hope: A Review of the Year 2006”
A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany
January 28, 2007
1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30
Rev. Larry Lange
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Congregation
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Today folks in Jesus’ hometown try to throw him off a cliff.
Nice touch.
But it’s understandable. When Jesus said that the scripture from Isaiah he’d just read were fulfilled in him, he was saying that he was the one Isaiah foretold would bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, give sight to the blind, and free the oppressed.
Now at first, folks in Jesus’ hometown thought Jesus was going to bring them some good news about their lousy economic situation; they thought Jesus was going to heal them or free them from their oppression under Roman rule. Jesus exposes their hope that he’s in his hometown expressly for their benefit, but then he goes on to inform them that he’s not there expressly for their benefit. Jesus proclaims he’s come to fulfill those wonderful hopes of Isaiah not just for his hometown, not just for the people of Israel but for all the rest of the people in the world. Jesus proclaims he’s come to fulfill the hope of Isaiah for people vulnerable to famine like the widow at Zarephath in Sidon, not in Israel, for lepers, not only in Israel, but even among the enemies of the people of Israel—like Naaman of Syria.
Folks in Jesus’ hometown thought it was impossible that God would want to have anything to do with people like that—much less bring good news to them or free them from oppression. The thought of Jesus as the global Lord and Savior and not their personal Lord and Savior was so maddening to the folks in Jesus’ hometown that they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. The thought of Jesus as the global Lord and Savior and not their personal Lord and Savior was so maddening to the folks in Jesus’ hometown that they tried ultimately to get rid of him—foreshadowing, of course, the ultimate attempt to get rid of him: the crucifixion.
Yet Jesus is still the fulfillment of the hope of Isaiah for people who are vulnerable, people who are lepers, people who are feared or despised, even people who are our enemies. There are many vulnerable people nowadays. They are vulnerable, because they have no health insurance, or because they have moved to a different city or even a different country to try to find better, safer lives for their families. They are vulnerable, because they are constantly tempted by an addiction, or because mental illness or or domestic violent or past criminal acts make it so difficult to establish a stable life. It’s no surprise that there are some folks who want to eliminate these people from our hometown, even if Jesus says he has come expressly for them, to bring them good news, to free them from the realities that oppress and distress them.
Increasingly, these kinds of vulnerable people have become our neighbors, and one of Jesus’ few commands to us is love our neighbors in all the ways love is described in the second lesson today.
What I say about this past year is in light of the message of these two texts.
Yes, this past year, we have started the Memorial Garden, made a great commitment to purchase new hymnals, redesigned and renovated the lobby and carport, and repaired the electrical panel that caused the embarrassing light show at Tabitha Gallatin’s ordination.
Yes, we tackled a challenging budget and repaid $10,000 we’d borrowed from special funds.
Yes, we played a role as a leader in our synod, by doing an excellent job hosting a workshop for the new hymnal. I am very grateful for all the time, effort, donations, gifts shared, and money given to accomplish all these wonderful things this past year.
But our outreach to vulnerable people took a step backwards this past year upon the death of Phill Ranker. Phill ministered effectively to many people whose many problems made it difficult for them to establish a stable life. As we interview candidates for a new Building Maintenance Supervisor early next month, I hope we can find one who can continue to reach out in this way.
Still, this past year, we have continued to reach out through Lutheran World Relief, the Ecumenical Partnership for Housing, our food pantry, the Easter Dinner, and both the NEW Community Shelter and the new homeless shelter down our street called COTS which stands for Churches Offering Temporary Shelter. In these ways, Jesus is inspiring us to fulfill the hope of Isaiah for vulnerable people who are our neighbors.
And finally, this past year, more and stronger connections have been formed between leaders and members of downtown churches, because of the Methodist/ELCA dialog and because of the planning for two ecumenical worship services downtown thatt look like they are becoming annual and important events in the life of our community.
I believe the Holy Spirit of Jesus is calling you and I into these deepening ecumenical relationships so together we can fulfill Isaiah’s hope for even more for the vulnerable people among our neighbors.
Amen.