Jubilee

As you may or may not know, right now I'm in Corvallis, Oregon doing a youth ministry internship with Suburban Christian Church. This last week, I spent one afternoon playing around with blog stuff for a project that I'll let you all know about in the near future. One thing that I learned in my research is that, whereas Blogger blogs are defaulted to only allow other Blogger members leave comments, you can change that so that anyone can leave a comment. So now all of you non-bloggers who have been kept silent for so long now have your chance to speak up. I really would like to hear from you, because I do appreciate you, even though I don't know who you are. If you want to tell me I'm wrong or add to what I say or whatever, feel free. So when you comment and it says "Choose an Identity," you just have to pick "Name/URL" and put your name. Or, if you are an attractive female and have been looking for an opportunity to confess your love for me but are just too bashful, you can do that anonymously.

I've been working on reading through the gospel of Luke recently. In my preaching class last semester, for every sermon we wrote, we got to pick between two passages. When we were working on our gospel sermons, my friend Morgan commented that I must really like Luke, because it seemed like I always chose the passage from there if it were available. I think it's more likely that the Luke passages just happened to be shorter, and I was lazy and wanted to do as little research from the commentaries as possible.

As I have been reading Luke, I have been trying to see how Luke 4:18-19 plays itself out throughout the gospel as a whole. Hopefully you are somewhat familiar with this passage. Jesus is in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and he stands up to give a Scripture reading. He then reads aloud a somewhat adapted version of Isaiah 61:1-2:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

He then rolls up the scroll, sits down, and says "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk. 4:21). I have often heard this section of Luke labeled as Jesus' inauguration speech. It does seem like Luke positions it here for a reason. It is placed right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. In Luke 3, he is baptized by John and then tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He then returns to Galilee, to Nazareth, and this is what he has to say. It is really the first public teaching that we find in Luke. It's like Jesus' purpose statement. He reads a passage about God anointing someone who will bring freedom and liberty for the imprisoned and oppressed, and he says, "Yep, that's me."

As you read the next couple chapters of Luke, you see this mission statement in action. He's casting out evil spirits, healing paralytics and lepers, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, criticizing oppressive Sabbath regulations, raising the dead, and forgiving sins. Everywhere he goes, this liberating power overflows to the oppressed around him, to those badgered by disease and demons and "religion" and death and sin. Clearly, the "year of the Lord's favor," the Jubilee, oozes from Jesus' ministry. He walks through a world broken by sin and crumbling from the effects of the Fall, and he begins putting it all to rights.

As I have been reading these chapters, I have had to ask myself, "How is my ministry imitating Jesus'? How am I bringing hope and healing and restoration to the oppressed around me?" Because the truth is that, even though my context is much different from first-century Palestine, I still walk among people under oppression of various kinds. Some are under financial oppression (of course globally, but also locally). Some are oppressed by disease and sickness. Some are oppressed by terrible family situations. Some are oppressed by distorted self-image. Some are oppressed by guilt and past mistakes. Some are oppressed by addictions. Some are oppressed by loneliness or rejection. And then all who do not yet know Christ are imprisoned to sin. In short, the world is in a lot trouble.

What are we doing about it? What can we do about it?

First, I think we need vision. We need to see the problems. If I can step outside of Luke for a moment, in Mark 6:34, Jesus is trying to get away with his disciples when a crowd of people meets him. The text says that "he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." But first it says "Jesus landed and saw a large crowd." Jesus sees the people, not just as a faceless mass, but as his beloved who are in need. If we're going to minister like he did, we have to honestly see people for who they are and where they are and how they need Christ.

Second, we need to do what we can to meet the needs of those around us. In Luke 5:12-16, a leper comes to Jesus, asking to be healed. The text says, "Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man" (Lk. 5:13). That's a pretty incredible statement in itself. Jesus touches the unclean. While others would cast such a person out of the town, Jesus gets right in his face. Following Jesus means we engage the world, that we feed the hungry, aid the poor, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, and advocate for the voiceless.

Third, we preach loud and often. Jesus said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (Lk. 4:43). People need more than what we can physically give them. In Jesus, the kingdom and reign of God breaks through into our messed up world, and its our duty to make sure the world knows about it. Life in Christ is starkly different than life apart from him. It means freedom, grace, love, and forgiveness. But, as Paul points out, "How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Rom. 10:14). So let's tell them. Maybe that's why we were sent.