Epiphany 3C; Luke
4:14-21; St. Paul's, 1/27/2019
Jim Melnyk: “Repairers
of the Breach”
The time was 537 years Before the Common Era of Judaism and
Christianity. The peasant majority of Judah – the “people of the land” – had
been left behind while the upper class, the landed aristocracy, priests,
scribes, and merchants were exiled to Babylon. Many of the exiled people of
Jerusalem have now found their way back home – only to find the city and their
homes in disrepair or ruin. The powerful and glorious promises of Second Isaiah
– the prophet who had spoken to them of restoration during their time in exile
– the promises of Second Isaiah seem faded, distant, tarnished and untrue.
Their lives and their world are in complete disrepair.
The wealthiest of those returning – those who had managed to
hold onto their wealth in exile, or who had found ways to build wealth in
Babylon – they are finding ways to rebuild their homes and start new lives. The
poor and the disenfranchised – the descendants of those who had nothing to
begin with before the exile – those whose families had been taken advantage of
and mistreated before the exile – they find themselves in the same old boat –
barely keeping afloat, barely keeping alive – once again under the thumb of the
upper class, and wondering what ever became of the God who had brought their
ancestors up out of Egypt. For most certainly, the poor and the disenfranchised
feel trapped by a domination system not at all unlike what their ancestors
experienced under Pharaoh.
It is not uncommon for people finding their lives in turmoil
and world crashing down around their heads to look for someone or something to
save them. Created in the image and likeness of God, we know that life – that
the whole of creation – is supposed to be something other than what it often
shows itself to be. Israel, in exile and upon their return, seeks hope in their
experiences with a God who has always been an active participant in the life of
their nation.
And so the prophet we call Third Isaiah – prophet of the
return from exile – speaks as one anointed by God, proclaiming a message of
comfort and consolation, and the promise of God’s favor for those who had
nowhere else to turn. Isaiah proclaims, “Your ancient ruins
shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you
shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live
in.”[1]
And then the prophet continues, “The spirit of the Lord God
is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; God has sent me to bring good
news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor…. (61:1-2a) And in another place, Third Isaiah, speaking for God, calls
Israel to a new kind of fast: “Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the
bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go
free, and to break every yoke? Is it not
to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them…? (58:1-7c)
This has been the hope of oppressed people from the
beginning of time. Throughout the ages people of faith have experienced
brokenness and loss, and have cried out to a God who seeks a better world for
God’s people – a God whose dream for humanity calls us to new ways of living –
to new life.
So is it at all surprising that Jesus’ comments in his home
town synagogue elicit such a strong reaction?
“Borrowing from Isaiah,[2]
Jesus situates the character of his mission within the Isaianic hope for the
restoration of Israel. Interpreting the words of Isaiah in his sermon, Jesus extends
the nature of that hope”[3] to
his own day.
The congregation knows the context of the Isaiah passages.
They know that Isaiah was talking about Israel’s experience upon their return
from exile – their disillusionment that things had not changed for the poor,
the outcast, and the needy – had not changed for those who are forever pushed
to the margins of society. They know that in those early days of post-exilic
Israel the prophet had promised the in-breaking of God to set things right – to
turn the tables on those who had everything and so callously dismissed those
who did not.
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,”
says Jesus, and in response, “All speak well of him and are amazed at the
gracious words that come from his mouth.”[4] No
focus groups. No exploratory committee. “Jesus [concludes] his reading and
[launches] his mission. It [is] a…stunning announcement of his purpose.”[5]
Author Joe Nangle calls this passage from Luke “the Lord’s
Magna Carta,” because in it Jesus announces that “he is the one sent to bring
justice” to God’s people.[6]
And we can see these words mirrored and then built upon by Jesus later in
Luke’s gospel as Jesus begins what has been called his “Sermon on the Plain:”
“Blessed are you who are poor…. Blessed are you who are hungry now…. Blessed
are you who weep now….”[7] This proclamation shared by both Isaiah and
Jesus should be our Magna Carta as well – our clarion call – our statement of
mission as followers of the One we call Christ.
Writing in Sojourners
Magazine[8] Theologian Ched
Myers reminds us, “There have always been two Americas: that of rich and poor,
of inclusion and exclusion.” The America of exclusion embraces distinctions of
age, class, gender, and race among other obvious differences. We might describe
it as judging one another based on preconceived characteristics rather than on
the character of one’s soul. “The America of inclusion [finds] expression in
the ideal of ‘liberty and justice for all,’ and has been embodied…in the
embrace of civil rights, women’s suffrage, or child labor laws.” In our faith
experience as Episcopalians we would find it embodied in how we live out our
Baptismal Covenant.
“These two visions of America,” Myers goes on to say,
“compete for our hearts and minds,” and I would add, for our souls. The two
visions compete for our attention in the voting booth, in our homes, and even
in our churches.[9]
I believe with all my heart and soul that Jesus calls us to
only one of these two visions or experiences of life: a call to proclaim a
gospel that welcomes the stranger, lifts up the lowly, enfolds the lost, and
renames the outcast. The vision Jesus proclaims in his hometown synagogue is a
vision of the peaceable kingdom of God – where humanity will find a way to live
in harmony with the rest of creation; not as harsh rulers who treat the world
like a cheap mistress, but as stewards of God’s good gifts, entrusted to act on
behalf of the Creator.
We are called to this vision of Jesus. As disciples of a
liberating messiah, we are called to break the yoke that binds our sisters and
brothers in any form of oppression. We are called to loose the bonds of
injustice that strangle the helpless and destroy the fabric of creation. Ancient
Jewish tradition given voice in the sixteenth century calls this tikkun olam, usually translated as
“repairing the world.”[10]
Isaiah calls it repairing the breach.
There are people in our communities – people all around us –
who know they are called to help repair the world – but they don’t know where
to start. Invite them in and welcome them to this holy calling. There are
people who are hungry, cold, lonely or afraid. Become part of the ministries at
St. Paul’s that seek to make a difference – through groups like our Outreach
and Social Justice Committee, Christian formation, or programs like The
Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the ECW, and Meals on Wheels – and then invite
others into our community, where they can find welcome and a safe place. There
are people at St. Paul’s who yearn to grow in their faith, or who struggle with
economic hardship, or who want to find a vehicle of service through our parish.
Give to the work of St. Paul’s. Share the good gifts you have received from
God, so that the love, mercy, justice, and grace of God will be made known in
this place, and in the world around us.
We share our gifts, this community, and our ministries with
others because we are all, in this place and the community around us, a part of
the Body of Christ – each of us – even the folks we might want to label an
appendix or a spleen – you know, the folks we secretly think we could all do
without,[11] but who Paul reminds us
are just as important a part of the whole body of Christ as anyone else.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon you – the spirit of the
Lord God is upon us, and we are anointed by God through our baptisms and our
experiences of the Living Christ to bring good news to the poor, release to the
captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. God has
proclaimed it is time for us to be about the mission of repairing the world.
In the words of hymn writer and priest, Carl P. Daw, Jr.:
“Till
all the jails are empty and all the
bellies
filled;
Till
no one hurts or steals or lies, and no
more
blood is spilled;
Till
age and race and gender no longer
separate;
Till
pulpit, press and politics are free of
greed
and hate;
God
has work for us to do.”[12]
God has work for us to do.
[1]
Isa. 58:12
[2]
Isa. 58:6 and 61:1-2
[3]
Luke 4:18-19n The New Interpreter’s Study Bible: NRSV The Apocrypha (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003)
[4]
Luke 4:21-22, paraphrased
[5]
https://sojo.net/preaching-the-word/anointed-spirit?parent=52686,
accessed on December 6, 2018
[6]
https://sojo.net/preaching-the-word/jesus-returns-nazareth?parent=52686,
accessed on December 6, 2018
[8]
https://www.jesusradicals.com/uploads/2/6/3/8/26388433/house_for_all_peoples_-_embracing_the_immigrant.pdf,
accessed on December 6, 2018
[9]
ibid
[10]
http://www.innerfrontier.org/Practices/TikkunOlam.htm,
accessed on December 6, 2018
[11]
Based on a sermon by Christina Berry, Faith
Presbyterian Church, Silver Lake, Minnesota, citation lost
[12]
“Synthesis: A Weekly Resource For Preaching and Worship Following the Revised
Common Lectionary,” (Boyds, MD, PNMSI Publishing Company, January 21, 2007)
attribution lost
