Sermon on Luke 4:14-21

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

This story is where Jesus tells us what he’s really about.

It’s right at the beginning of his ministry in the Gospel of Luke. He was baptized, and then he spent many days fasting in the wilderness. Now, he’s back home, he’s been doing some teaching, and he’s in the “synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.”

He’s doing what he always did, but he has a new energy about him, a new sense of purpose. People have been paying attention to his teaching, and he’s being noticed.

And then, that particular sabbath day, he gets up to read from the scriptures. And he starts reading from Isaiah. The passion in his voice and on his face captivates everyone in the congregation. The whole room holds its collective breath.

Not a sound while Jesus rolls the scroll back up and sits down.

Then, his voice once again fills the room, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Wow. That’s bold! Even for Jesus, especially this early in his ministry.

At first, the people are impressed.

Then, they start having questions: “Is this not Joseph’s son?” As in, we know this guy—how can he claim to be the Lord’s anointed? Is he really saying he’s the one who will usher in the year of the Lord’s favor? Come on! We saw him in diapers!

Jesus notices that others are willing to listen…but only if he does “the things we have heard you did at Capernaum.” They want him to jump through hoops to prove himself to them.

Ultimately, the people gathered there start getting mad. They’re mad that Jesus is claiming that he’s been anointed by God, chosen to bring in God’s Reign. They’re mad enough to drive Jesus out of town. Mad enough even to drive him to the edge of a cliff, so that they could throw him off of it!

This might not seem like the best start for a budding rabbi.

But ultimately, Jesus knows what he’s about.

In his baptism, Jesus is clear in his call—he is chosen by God.

In the wilderness, he faced the very embodiment of evil and was not defeated.

Now, he knows who he is, whose he is, and what he’s about.

We can almost see this passage from Isaiah as Jesus’ mission statement:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This new sense of energy and purpose Jesus has is not, in fact, new, but rooted in the scriptures and tradition of his faith.

The year of the Lord’s favor is encapsulated in the concept of the Year of Jubilee, laid out in the law given by God to God’s people. It was a time every fifty years [Lev. 25:10] when:

1.     land would be returned to its original family,

2.     enslaved people would be freed,

3.     debts would be forgiven, and

4.     there would be joy, peace, and celebration among God’s people.

There’s not much in the way of evidence that the Year of Jubilee was ever practiced. We, human beings, fall short of the law of God once again. But by God’s grace, Jesus has come to fulfill the Year of Jubilee, the year of the Lord’s favor, the Kingdom of God, the Reign of God.

And it was only after the confirmation of his identity in God in his baptism and the resilience he gained during his time of wilderness that Jesus became so rooted in his mission that he could withstand his neighbors trying to throw him off a cliff.

We have been in a wilderness time, too.

Our COVID wilderness time is not over, unfortunately, but we’ve spent enough time in this wilderness to learn from it.

COVID has made us examine our priorities. When our reality shifted under our feet, we had to decide what was most important to us. Whose job is really essential? Who are the people we most need to protect and care for?

Jesus’ time in the wilderness clarified who he was there to serve:

1.     those who are impoverished,

2.     those who are imprisoned,

3.     those who are visually impaired (which when you look at the many healing stories in the Gospels probably included restoring people with many chronic conditions to the support and inclusion of their communities),

4.     and those who are oppressed.

And our wilderness time during COVID has clarified what’s important to us. From talking with Pastor Greg, it sounds like one of the things you all were most concerned about was how the people in your community were going to be fed. Caring Hands is a huge part of this congregation’s mission and passion, and it was important to you that the people who are a part of this community through that ministry would continue to have the food they need.

That is such a powerful testament to the fact that you know what you’re about. You know how the Holy Spirit is moving you to serve your community and make Earth a little more as it is in heaven. Your mission, like Jesus’ mission, is rooted in scriptures like this. You are participating in the tradition of God’s mercy and justice that goes back for millennia.

When we know what we’re about, what God’s calling us to, it’s a lot easier to withstand the pushback we receive along the way, like Jesus did in this reading. Jesus could have been like, “I almost got thrown off a cliff today—maybe I need to pull back. Maybe this isn’t what God is calling me to after all. Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe the world isn’t ready for this right now. Maybe I’ll just go back to carpentry for a while.”

But he didn’t. He stayed true to his mission. He stayed true to what God was calling him to, even to death.

And even that didn’t stop him.

Now, we are the Body of Christ. We are God’s hands and feet in the world, carrying on Jesus’ mission to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor—the Year of Jubilee that brings God’s mercy and justice to our hurting world.

You know what you’re about: you feed people—body and soul, you care for people who are so often overlooked, disrespected, and mistreated—but who are, in fact, beloved people made in the image of God.

What you’re about is in line with what Jesus is about, and that’s a fantastic place to be. You are following in the example of our Savior, and no matter what wilderness places you walk through or what resistance you meet from the world, you can hold firm in your identity in baptism and calling from God.

So be bold, be loving, and keep feeding your community, because when you do that, you are following the example of Jesus and sharing the good news of our loving God with the world.

I Need Bread!

Pr. Jasmine Waring

12th Sunday after Pentecost

August 15, 2021

I am going to be very honest with you all today…I don’t have a sermon for you. This whole month, every square of my calendar has been filled, and as I approach finals week they are only getting fuller. I knew for weeks I was assigned to preach today, and yet it felt like it snuck up and surprised me. Every time I sat down to read the texts or to do the research, I was pulled away by an email, or a class, or a meeting. If I could be even more honest and vulnerable with you, since we’re all friends here, I wasn’t really inspired by the assigned text. My pastor friends warned me about the homiletical slog over the festival of bread. I love bread! Why would I not enjoy preaching about it? I think I started out inspired. My illustration of the feast from Hook was a hit! When I was writing it, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me and speaking to me. The past two sermons I gave have probably some of the best ones I’ve preached in the short time I’ve been doing this. Today, I don’t have any more Hook illustrations…I’m sorry if this disappoint you. I don’t have any Greek translations, or clever catchphrases. The only word I have for you today is, I need the bread of life. I need the bread of life because the grace I receive through it fills in the gap between where I fall short, and where I would like to be. Grace reminds me that everything in life is a gift. There is no need to earn anything here. This is the time and place where I can truly receive something no one or nothing else can give me, life everlasting. I need to hear this as I take my final exams and turn in my final essays for the summer term this week. When my inner critic tells me that I am not good enough or smart enough, the bread of life says, “My grace is sufficient for you”. I may not be enough, but Christ is enough, and Christ’s grace fills in the gap for me and you. I need the bread of life because I need strength to get through my week. When I consume the true bread and true drink Christ gives, I am abiding and metabolizing the real presence of Christ into my skin and bones. The risen Christ, who conquered the grave is integrated into my musculature. So as I stay up late at night to finish all that I need to do this week, and as I struggle to get my body out of bed in the morning, I know that the presence of Christ is within me. When I feel the world is against me, and I am misunderstood, I know Christ is within me. When I am at the end of my rope, and I am in need of rescue, the same God who heard the cries of the oppressed and delivered them, became flesh and now lives within me and you. I need the bread of life because I need community. “You are enough” is a popular phrase I see in self-help culture. And yes, this is true. The fact that you exist means that you deserve dignity, love, and have inherent value. There is nothing you can do to earn or take away from this foundational truth. And, you are not meant to do this life on your own. I am not enough! I am built to be in community. When I consume the bread of life, I am joined with the saints around me and the saints who have gone before me, and we become the body of Christ. There are times when I need to call on my ancestors, the women and queer folks who came before me, to have the courage to stand up for what is right. I need the elders in this community to encourage me and comfort me as I go along my journey. I need the help and support of my peers and the kids, and in turn, I am able to serve and love my beloved community. We are all gathered around the heavenly banquet table that stretches beyond time and space, to nourish and sustain us as we go out into the world and be a blessing to others. My candidacy mentor, Rev. Terry Tuvey-Allen, has told me on several occasions that if the sermon is a flop, the Eucharist will save you every time. I’m glad I leaned on her advice today. The truth is, we didn’t come to church today to hear a spicy and inspirational sermon. We came here to be nourished by the bread of life. Because we need it. Because we need grace. We need strength, and we need each other. So that we can be sent out to serve and truly live. May the body and blood of Jesus Christ strengthen you, and keep you in God’s grace now and forever. Amen.

First Lutheran Church

August 8, 2021 – The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

John 6:35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

“Come Lord Jesus Be Our Guest”

Rev. Greg Ronning

“Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen. ”Growing up that’s how every evening meal began at my house.  We knew it by heart, but I suppose it didn’t always come from the heart.  There were times when I said it very carelessly and fast, but there were times when I pondered the words more seriously.  Yet no matter how it was said, it was always said, and I believe that made a difference, because in that short, seemingly insignificant prayer, that religious practice, there’s a lot of good theology, and more than enough spirituality to set the stage for a good, grounded, and faithful life.  That prayer made us ready to eat but it also made us ready to live a grace filled life.

Shannon Jung, in his book “Sharing Food” unpacks the multiple layers of meaning in the practice of saying a prayer before we eat a meal – “Grace, Joy, and Service.”

We begin with “Grace.”

I can’t help but refer us back to Pastor Jasmine’s last couple of sermons and her wonderful illustration of the table scene from the movie “Hook.”  The Lost Boys are sitting down for a meal but before they begin, they must say “grace. ”Of course, what follows is not a traditional prayer, but rather the shouting out, “Grace!”  Once this is done, the wild and ravenous feast begins.  Perhaps not the best table prayer, but they certainly get it right in terms of the true foundation of that prayer.  It all begins with grace.

In fact, “The Table Prayer” is commonly known as “Grace;” a direct reference to God’s grace, the goodness of God, the gifts of God that make life possible.  After all, eating is essential to life, without food there would be no life at all.  We are absolutely dependent on food. We are dependent on the great many people who make it possible for food to make its way from the earth to our table, - farmers, field workers, truckers, factory workers, processors, grocers, shoppers, cooks, and servers.  We are dependent on the earth itself, the soil, weather systems, seasons, animals, and the sun which we orbit around.  It’s not a simple task for food to appear on our table! So it is that we bow our heads, in humility, in awe and wonder, and give thanks for the gift; the gift of the earth, the gift of work, the gift of community, and the gift of grace that makes the complex logistical cooperative inter-related nature of sharing a meal possible.

“Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying”

 ELW #752

Lord, listen to your children praying,

Lord, send your Spirit in this place;

Lord, listen to your children praying,

Send us love, send us pow'r, send us grace.

The next layer of meaning is, “Joy.”

Most of us, though we must eat, are rarely, if ever, forced to eat.  It comes naturally and easily, because it’s enjoyable.  Jesus often used the image of “the feast” to describe the Kingdom of God, the meals that we share together are a “foretaste of the feast to come,” that joyous day when God’s peace will reign.  A feast is a time to celebrate!

Some of our best memories involve spending time with family and friends around the dinner table.  Times are often made special - by special meals.  When we take the time to sit down for a meal, when we take time to practice true fellowship and sabbath; we are often blessed with holy conversations, surprise revelations, the deepening of relationships, the healing of laughter, and the joy of the divine presence in it all.

“Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee”

ELW #836

Joyful, joyful we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love!

Hearts unfold like flow'rs before thee, praising thee, their sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the gloom of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All thy works with joy surround thee, earth and heav'n reflect thy rays,

stars and angels sing around thee, center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,

chanting bird, and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,

wellspring of the joy of living, ocean-depth of happy rest!

Thou our Father, Christ our brother, all who live in love are thine;

teach us how to love each other,lift us to the joy divine!

And the experience of “grace” and “joy” always invites a response, “Service.”

When we invite Jesus to be our guest at the table, let us remember the images of Matthew 25, let us remember that Christ is present in this world in the so called “least of these,” present in the hungry and the thirsty.  So it is that we ask that the food that we are about to receive might be a blessing, a blessing that we can then share with others.  We ask to be strengthened in our service, in our humility we realize the fragile connectedness that holds all of life together, and we want to make a difference with our lives, we want to be a positive contribution to it all. Strengthened in our meals we prepare meals for others, strengthened and made healthy we use our gifts and talents to make others healthy, strengthened in the love of fellowship we seek to share love and fellowship with those in need. “Grace” and “Joy” always invite a response, “Service.”

“Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”

ELW #708 (Verses 1-3)

(Refrain)

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,

Show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washes their feet,

master who acts as a slave to them.  (Refrain)

Neighbors are wealthy and poor, varied in color and race,

neighbors are near us and far away.  (Refrain)

These are the ones we will serve, these are the ones we will love;

all these are neighbors to us and you.  (Refrain)

“Grace,” a simple table prayer, with more than enough theology and spirituality to bless us with a grace filled life.  Let us pray, “Come Lord Jesus be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.”