"Jesus and the Prophet's Dream" San Williams, UPC
Luke 4:16-24
Introduction to scripture
Have most of you seen lions in a circus or zoo? Lions in circuses behave in certain ways: they jump through flaming hoops, climb up on stools, and when the lion trainer cracks his whip, they may dance and bow on cue. If our only knowledge of lions is what we’ve seen in a circus or zoo, our understanding of lions will be limited and maybe even wrong. But if any of you have seen lions living wild and free in their native habitat, say in the Serengeti Plains of Africa, you have a much more accurate understanding of lions
Well, this summer we’re asking if our knowledge of Jesus is similar to our knowledge of lions in cages or circuses. We’re wondering if we have domesticated and tamed the message of Jesus so that it doesn’t’ threaten the status quo of our lives and world. That's why, this summer, we’re attempting to unleash Jesus into the wild of his native habitat. Insofar as it’s possible, we want to hear Jesus the way his contemporaries heard him. Only then can the words of Jesus speak to our lives and world today.
Read Luke 4:16-24
This morning the choir sang that wonderful anthem based on the words of Albert Schweitzer. Schweitzer declares that Jesus comes to us as one unknown, as an ineffable mystery, and that’s true. But there are some things that we do know about Jesus. One of the key things that we know about him is that his contemporaries regarded him as a prophet.
Recall, in fact, that all four of the Gospels portray Jesus as a Jewish prophet. In Matthew, when Jesus enters Jerusalem near the end of his life, the crowds shout, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” Both Mark and Luke tell about the time when Jesus’ hometown folks fail to grasp his message, and Jesus replies to the effect that prophets are without honor in their hometown. And consider the story in John’s Gospel when, after Jesus heals the blind man, and the man is asked about the identity of the one who healed him, he says simply, “He is a prophet.”
But what did in mean to be a prophet in Israel? Let’s try a little visual demonstration. I’m going to divide the congregation. Those of you on this side of the sanctuary will represent the priests of Israel. And those of you on this side are the prophets of Israel. Throughout the history of Israel, and certainly in the time of Jesus, there was a dynamic tension between these two groups, one that often led to outright opposition. Put bluntly, you two sides don’t always get along.
A word to the priests: You trace your lineage back to Aaron, the first priest and partner of Moses in the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery, about 1400 BC. From that long-ago beginning, Moses became the father of the prophetic tradition of Israel, and Aaron the father of the priestly tradition. You priests have been the day-to-day keepers of the religion. You are the ones who oversee the ongoing activities of temple life and worship. You regulate and officiate at the various rituals and festivals. You have official credentials identifying you as religious leaders. You even wear distinctive garb, so that no one will mistake your status and function in the worship life of Israel. In short, you represent the religious establishment.
Now, not to be too critical, but sometimes you priests get so wrapped up in the outward expression of religion that you forget about the things that matter most to God: honesty, justice for the oppressed, help for the widow, a home for the orphan, hospitality for strangers. You can get so caught up in regulating the burnt offerings, overseeing the ritual sacrifices, and planning the New Moon festivals that you overlook the burdens of the poor and the suffering of the sick.
And prophets (move the side of the congregation representing the prophets), nothing upsets you so much as outward ritual that doesn’t lead to a change of heart and to a change of behavior. Listen now as one of your own, the prophet Isaiah, speaks for all of you when he lashes out at the priests. (Here a member of the congregation rises and reads Isaiah 1:11, 13-14).
See what I mean? You prophets are a passionate, unruly bunch. You may not have any official credentials, but you sure have a passion for God’s justice. Rabbi Abraham Heschel helps us see what distinguishes the prophets from the general population: “To us a single act of injustice—cheating in business, exploitation of the poor—is a slight; to the prophets, a disaster. To us injustice is injurious to the welfare of the people; to the prophets it is a deathblow to existence; to us, an episode; to them, a catastrophe, a threat to the world.” You see, prophets are consumed by God’s dream for a new world, in which righteousness and peace fill the earth like the waters that cover the sea.
Prophets, I have bad news and good news for you. The bad news is that prophets usually end up getting killed (even though now and then one might get a national holiday named after him or her). The good news is that Jesus clearly belongs in your camp.
Think of the many ways that Jesus was like the prophets. Like them, he had no formal religious credentials. Like them, Jesus spoke on behalf of the poor, the forgotten, the rejected and the outcasts. (A member of the congregation reads Matthew 25:35-36). And like the prophets before him, Jesus emphasized the inward sincerity of the heart while denouncing mere outward conformity. (A member of the congregation reads from Matthew 6) Also, like the prophets before him, Jesus echoed and intensified the prophet’s dream for a new world order. (A member of the congregation reads Mark 1:14-15).
But there’s something distinctive about Jesus’ prophetic message. While all the prophets believed that God’s Kingdom, God’s rule, was possible and was coming, Jesus declared that the Kingdom is at hand. Jesus called people to start living the dream now because what was promised of old--Jesus declared-- is now unfolding, its fulfillment begins today, and it begins here. That proclamation that God’s kingdom is at hand is what makes Jesus’ message so radical and what makes Jesus so dangerous to the status quo.
We might all believe that war and poverty should end someday. We might all agree that the poor and hungry should be helped and fed, in theory, and perhaps even that the rich should be willing to part with some of their wealth to help make that happen. . . some day. But Jesus’ shocking message is that the time for repentance and action is now. Shut down your weapons factories, he says! Open your Checkbooks! Cancel the debt that keeps poor countries in economic slavery. Enact policies of fair trade now. It’s time for CEO’s to slash their mammoth salaries and give generous raises to all their lowest-paid employees.
Surely, if Jesus were speaking in 2009, he would use language that is as provocative in our day as “the Kingdom of God” language was in his. To borrow phrases from Brian McLaren, Jesus might declare: "Now is the time to fly airplanes of generosity into towers of need. Today is the time to plant improvised encouragement devices by roadsides and in neighborhoods everywhere. Let us secretly plot detonations of hope, and quietly conspire to set off explosions of spontaneous kindness. God’s New Day is at hand. Start living God’s dream now! "
*Our sermons in this summer series are drawn largely from two books by Brian McLaren: The Secret Message of Jesus & Everything Must Change.