This is What God Looks Like

Our lectionary passages today bring together two well known Biblical stories and metaphors.  From First Corinthians, we have Paul’s metaphor of all of us being body parts of the church and the church being the body of Christ, and from Luke, we have Jesus’ inaugural speech and declaration of his mission statement in his home synagogue.  So on our Annual Meeting Sunday, we have Jesus’ inaugural mission statement and Paul’s reflection of how we live that mission statement into the world.  What did Jesus come into the world to do?  Why is the church here?  Well, today these passages allow us to reflect on these questions together.

Let us join our hearts in prayer.  “Loving God, we are your body on earth, and we follow only Christ as the head of our church.  Be with us today as we endeavor to live this challenge into the world.  Amen.”

All three synoptic Gospels have this story of Jesus teaching this passage from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue.  Luke places it here in chapter four as Jesus’ Inaugural Address.  So here is 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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This mission statement was familiar to Jesus’ hearers—it was read yearly in synagogue from Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6.  As I read this mission statement, or lesson, or agenda of Jesus this morning, what is immediately clear is that Jesus does not have a religious agenda.  This is not about cleaning up the temple, fixing religious rules, or worrying about whether communion is seated or processional.  This is a social and political agenda—an agenda that Jesus inherits from a very long line of Jewish prophets.  Jesus’ mission is to bring good news to the poor.  Not good news to the rich and content, not to the temple elite.  But good news to the poor.  So what is good news for poor people?   Simple.  Food.  Clothing.  Shelter.  Medical care.  Jesus  mission statement is to bring comfort the poor. 

Then, the next part of Jesus’ mission statement is to release the captives.  This is far more than opening jailhouse doors.  This release from captivity is release from emotional abuse, spiritual bullying and physical chains.  This release throws open the doors of discrimination, so that women are freed from the bonds of cultural ills or traditions, that children are respected as human, and that the “others” among us are greeted as  fellow children of God.  Jesus’ release of captives frees humanity and all creation from the chains of economic bondage or slavery of any type.  This part of Jesus’ mission statement clearly supports our Open and Affirming position of releasing oppressed people from the bonds of religious and social discrimination.  There are still people in this congregation who are still wondering about the spiritual legitimacy of our Open and Affirming position—but here Jesus declares it as central to his mission on earth.

Next, Jesus’ mission statement turns to recovery of sight to the blind.  As you may suspect, this is far more than recovery of physical sight to physically blind people.  Wherever the truth is hidden, Jesus’ mission on earth is to recover the open truth.  To bring light to the darkness, to give spiritual sight where there is religious blindness.  Jesus expresses that his purpose or agenda is to bring open clarity to that which is obscured, to bring the recovery of full sight to all who cannot clearly see.

The next section of Jesus’ mission statement is to let the oppressed go free.  This statement would have been very threatening to Romans in power and oppressing the Jewish people.  The Romans were oppressing the Jews politically, socially and financially.  And through the Temple system and Roman-appointed high-priest, the Romans were also religiously oppressing the Jewish people, taxing the Jews not only for Rome, but again for the Temple, crushing the Jewish people in debt.  During this period of time, the Jewish people were losing their land to the Romans at very high rates because the Jewish farmers could not pay this double tax to Rome and the Temple.  This oppression would force the Jewish people to revolt about 40 years after Jesus was crucified, and the Romans would sweep in, destroying Jerusalem, and level the Temple forever.  Here Jesus is claiming one of his primary missions is to free the oppressed; those oppressed by political or religious domination; those oppressed by social and cultural bias and discrimination; those oppressed by social bullying and cultural pressure.  Jesus came to free the oppressed everywhere.  We are oppressed by economic chains, social chains and political chains—all of these chains Jesus came to unchain and set free.

The final clause in Jesus’ mission statement is to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  The Jews knew exactly what Jesus meant here: Jesus is declaring the year of Jubilee.  All debts will be forgiven, all land returned to rightful owners, all slaves set free.  Social wrongs will be righted.  Those living in fear will be released and no longer afraid.  This is perhaps the most threatening statement to the political and religious leaders.  If the year of Jubilee sweeps the land, everyone who is being punished for opposing the Romans and the Temple elite will be released back into society.  Rome and the Temple power structures will lose control of the masses.  Political and social and financial chaos will ensue.  This declaration of the Year of Jubilee means complete restitution of justice for the poor and underprivileged.  My mission, Jesus says here, is to bring the justice of God to those who do not have wealth and privilege.  My mission, Jesus says, is to turn the economic and political system upside down and give value and human dignity to every human being.  I come, Jesus says, to bring good news to the poor.

These are extremely powerful words to the poor, and extremely threatening words to the privileged elite.  And Jesus declares that these words have been fulfilled in the hearing of that crowd that day in that synagogue.  Initially, the people were filled with awe and wonder at these gracious words.  But only two verses later, the people realize that giving this kind of radical justice to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed will mean that they will lose their privileges if everyone is treated justly, and the people became filled with rage and drove Jesus out of town.

It is this sudden twist of the crowd’s emotion that still challenges every society and culture, even today.  Yes, we all say that we believe in equality and justice for all.  But justice for all is different than equality.  Justice does not mean equality.  Any parent who has ever raised a child knows that children cannot really be raised equally.  A special needs child needs far different support and love than other children—not equal treatment, but just treatment in support and love.  Justice demands different responses to different people based on specific individual needs.  Not all are blinded by the same issue.  Some need more help than others for justice to be met.  Not all are equally sighted—some need more assistance to see, whether by glasses, or contacts or being boosted up on someone’s shoulders, or stepping closer to the stage.  Some of us need hearing help.  Some of us need larger type.  Some of us need wheels, or a cane or a walker to be mobile.  Equality is not the issue.  Justice demands different responses, compassionate loving responses.  God’s justice goes far beyond equality.

And here is where our passage from First Corinthians intersects with Jesus’ mission statement in Luke.  We all can easily understand a foot needs a different response than a hand for compassion.  Not equal responses, but just responses.  A diseased eye needs a different response than a diseased ear.  A hangnail needs a different response than a blister.  A diseased gall bladder needs a different response than a broken arm for justice to be done.  Treating these body parts equally is foolishness.  But treating these body parts with justice means respecting body parts for what each part brings and treating each justly.  And this is what Jesus was saying his mission was.  Treat the poor with justice and compassion, not equality.  Treat the captives with justice and compassion, not equality.  Treat those with different blindnesses and those who are variously oppressed with justice and compassion, not equality.  Proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor means treating each other with justice, mercy and kindness, not equality.

And here is the proof of God’s justice, brothers and sisters.  This is what God’s body looks like [slowly sweep room].  As the very body of Christ, you are each saved through grace because God knows you bodily, personally and forever.  God does not treat you equally like every other child of God.  Instead, God treats you with very personalized justice, grace, mercy and love unbounded.  God loves you unconditionally and personally, forever. 

As Christ-followers, Jesus challenges us to follow him and adopt his mission statement as our own, treating one another with justice, proclaiming the year of our Lord’s favor in compassion, mercy and love to everyone everywhere.  Today, Jesus challenges us to fulfill this scripture upon our hearing, our doing, and our living.  Amen.