January
21, 2001
Luke 4:14-21
Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he
was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting
places to everyone' acclaim and pleasure.
He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did
on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up
to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling
the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
"God's Spirit is on me;
he's chosen me to preach
the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce
pardon to prisoners and recovers of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened
and battered free,
to announce, 'This is
God's year to act?'"
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and
sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started
in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true
just now in this place."
<The Message>
=======
1. The
image of the Year of Jubilee is one which runs from first to last
within our scriptures. From Genesis one where GOD creates the
differences between us and calls it being made in GOD's image
and "very good" through to a new heaven and a new earth
in John's Revelation. It runs through Leviticus and Isaiah and
Paul and Jesus. Wherever an appreciation for the differences within
creation takes place we are in the midst of a Year of Jubilee
experience. This appreciation causes us to reset our expectation
levels and to have eyes that can see "very good" in
the midst of that which is not very good.
2.
The call to Jubilee calls for a radical reorientation of our economic
and communal lives. This is a huge call. Impossibly huge. We all
know all too well how many devils live in the multitudinous details
of calling for a Year of Jubilee when everything is set back to
creation and we can start again. We will do just about anything
to avoid having to face up to working on Jubilee issues.
3.
The Year of Jubilee needs to start with a moment here on the first
Day of a Year of Jubilee. If we can't handle the whole year, we
can handle starting a Day of Jubilee. Today, says Jesus, this
scripture is coming true -- like it or not. Today, says you and
me and other followers of Jesus, this scriptural Jubilee is coming
true -- like it or not. So there is the challenge. Will we choose
to be Jubileers before the Jubilee is recognized? Will we choose
to avoid the pitfalls of living a Jubilee life in the midst of
a non-Jubilee world? What's it to be?