1 Corinthians 12:12b-31
Luke 4:14-21
January 24, 2016
Pastor Lori Broschat
HOPE IS ON THE WAY
A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on
those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water.
The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned.
The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that
happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given
a rest, but because they suddenly had hope! Those animals somehow hoped that if they could
stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them.1
Hope comes to us in the person of Jesus, who alone came to deliver a broken world from its
brokenness. Jesus was never shy about doing what needed to be done, nor was He in the
business of pandering to the leaders and self-important people in His society. His focus was
on those whose place on the social ladder was so low they were all but invisible to others.
The words Jesus spoke in the gospel of Luke are words that ring throughout eternity, because
even though He came to fulfill the prophecies about Him, He invites us to work alongside Him
in bringing change to the world. We’ll hear more about that in a while, but now let’s look into
this scenario in the gospel.
We could compare what happened in this event to a campaign speech telling the people what
they want to hear to instill hope for the future. But Jesus was not campaigning for anything.
He didn’t need to be elected as the Son of God or the Messiah; He was the one born into the
role. Also, these weren’t His words, well, not really. They were God’s words to a people in
exile, a promise of what one day would come.
And furthermore, this wasn’t a speech, nor was it a sermon. Jesus read from the scroll of
sacred text in the synagogue. Whether He opened it up to where He wanted or whether they
just happened to hand it to Him at that spot, it was what He wanted them to know. But aside
from reading, His only words were this: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard
it.” A revolutionary statement to say the least!
Imagine the modern equivalent of a comedian or speaker finishing their act and doing the
modern gesture called the mic drop – holding the microphone about shoulder high and letting
go so it hits the floor; a way of saying “I’m done talking. Now think on what I just said.” Of
course, Jesus didn’t do that. He simply handed the scroll back to the synagogue attendant
and sat down, as was their custom, so that the men could pose questions and discuss the holy
text.
But as the next verses reveal they didn’t have a scholarly discussion; they had a rather heated
argument. However, that’s not the focus of today’s reading. We’ll get into that next week.
The lesson for us is in the verses Jesus read from Isaiah, and we should ask ourselves “where
do we find hope in these verses?”
1
http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/h/hope.htm
1
1 Corinthians 12:12b-31
Luke 4:14-21
January 24, 2016
Pastor Lori Broschat
Why did Jesus choose to read this particular passage? A link with the past to lend authority
to His presence? A hint that like the prophet Isaiah He spoke for God to a people hurting and
in distress? I believe He chose this passage because this was what His kingdom would look
like. This was the same message His mother sang when she responded in joy to her cousin
Elizabeth’s greeting. She knew what His life and ministry would bring and she gave us a
preview in her song of praise to God:
“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed
mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He
has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry
with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”
Jesus came from His time of temptation in the wilderness, filled with the Holy Spirit, to teach
in synagogues around Galilee and Luke says He was glorified by all. We should understand
this to mean that people were aware of Him, starting to take notice, and they admired Him in
His teaching. However, this moment in His life was a game changer.
Here was Jesus, in His hometown, in His home synagogue, as was His custom. Let’s pause a
moment and think about what that means. He was obedient to the teachings and traditions
of His faith. Just for argument’s sake, would you expect God to be sitting in the pew on
Sunday morning? We come to church to worship Him, and how strange would it be to sit next
to Him or across the table from Him at coffee?
And yet Christ was God in the flesh, and He was not above conducting His life in the ways of
His people, being steeped in the word of God and the practice of sharing it in discussion with
others. So the point we can take away from this is that if Jesus could go to church and Bible
study, so can we!
Now, I’ve stood in the pulpit of my home church both as a guest preacher and as the pastor,
and I’m happy to say no one ever tried to throw me off a cliff as this group did to Jesus. But
then I’ve never identified myself as the one who was anointed by the Spirit of God to speak.
The words He spoke were a prophecy about Him so he had every right to claim them. Isaiah
had professed this promise hundreds of years before Christ was born. It was He who would
bring the hope to a waiting world. Look at those who are addressed in this passage:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set
the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
What is it that would bring them hope? Surely it was not just a reversal of their miserable
state, for hope is something attainable, yet not quite here. So many times we use the words
faith and hope interchangeably, but we need to distinguish the two. Last week we
determined that faith is what we hold to even when we can’t see the object of our faith. I
often say that faith and hope are distant cousins; related, but with quite different goals.
The poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed are not only the unfortunate of this
world but those who have special need of dependence on God. Jesus spoke of freedom, but
2
1 Corinthians 12:12b-31
Luke 4:14-21
January 24, 2016
Pastor Lori Broschat
not in the way Americans have come to define it, which is a license to do whatever we wish.
Jesus understands freedom differently. It is a release from captivity to death, the will of
others, and the will of the self. Jesus will preach the freedom of slavery to God's will and
service to the neighbor.2
The word hope does not appear in this passage, but we can hear it in the words of Jesus. We
can find it in ourselves when we put ourselves in the place of those whose lives were given a
promise of change and blessing. There is a call here to us as well, because we who share in
Jesus’ name also share in His body.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was part instruction, part rebuke, and part motivation. Writing
to a people living in diversity of religion, culture, economics and social status, Paul urged them
to find unity and commonality in Christ. When he was absent from them, he had to rely on his
own repeated reinforcement of his teachings or they would revert right back to their pagan
ways of living.
He compared the body of Christ to the human body, with individual parts comprising one
united whole. The rank and status we usually apply to each other should not exist in the
church because Christ has made us one through His baptism, death, and resurrection.
We can’t pull rank within the body of Christ and declare ourselves better suited or more
equipped or more important than any others. The body of Christ is made up of any parts,
which are represented by imperfect people. Do we have the poor, the oppressed, the bind
and the captive within our churches?
Yes, whether we see them literally through our own knowledge or metaphorically through
our prejudices. They are here, and they are a part of the body just as we are, just as God
arranged us.
Paul contrasts the members of the Corinthian church and names four
categories; slaves and free, Jews and Gentiles.
What cultural polarities could we apply to our churches today? Black or white, Asian or
Hispanic or First Nation; straight or gay, single or married; citizen or undocumented; rich or
poor; young or old. What about the homeless, or the mentally ill? It is unlikely that fights over
spiritual gifts will cause trouble in most of our congregations. However, these ethnic, social,
and economic distinctions more frequently do.3
Our part in bringing about hope through Christ is to be in agreement with His view of
humankind, which is united in Him, though uniquely comprised of a variety of elements
essential to the diversity He so richly bestowed on us. Those qualities making us unique are
not meant to divide us, but to enrich our relationships. As Paul said if there was only a mouth
but no ears, where would we be but lacking in some vital structure and ability?
As with those to whom Jesus came to bring the good news, we in the church are to be mindful
of who it is providing us with our healing, our freedom, and our commonality as well as our
2
3
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=502
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2733
3
1 Corinthians 12:12b-31
Luke 4:14-21
January 24, 2016
Pastor Lori Broschat
differences. If we act as strangers to those who are not exactly like us, we are failing to live
out the law of love as instituted by Christ.
We are to share in each other’s griefs as well as joys, our highs as well as our lows, our
obstacles as well as our achievements. For when one part of the body is unwell it changes the
way the other parts function. I read a great story this week about this very thing.
An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit
near a tree and told the kids that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told
them to run they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying
their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that, as one could have had all the
fruits for himself they said, “UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are
sad?”
UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means “I am because we are.”
Something tells the children in that culture are better accustomed to caring for those who are
the others in their society than we are. Paul says being of one body we are to suffer along
with those who suffer, and it may be that the gift given to us by the Holy Spirit is the one that
helps to free them from their suffering.
When He returned to His place of glory Jesus turned His work over to us to complete.
Whatever strengthens the church is to be sought, welcomed and nurtured as God’s gift, just
as whatever strengthens the bond of human kindness is our gift to God. Let’s carry a bit of
hope into the world in the name of our Redeemer. Let’s remember that within the church, as
it could be in the world, whatever affects us affects others and whatever affects another
affects us. I am because we are.
4