The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me
Sermon text for September 16, 2007:
Luke 4:16-21
My friends were seated on the stone bench that ran around the perimeter of the room. Some were talking quietly, some sat in a meditative silence, and some were watching me and wondering what in the world I was doing. I can’t blame them because I was walking slowly and deliberately, being careful to step on each of the slate gray tiles on the floor. And as I walked I recited the Bible verses that had captured my heart many years before. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” I paused for a moment. The words echoed from somewhere deep inside me and I took another step. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
For a while I stood on the dark gray tile without moving. “To proclaim release to the captives.” For a moment I almost thought I heard the voice of Jesus. I knew that in all likelihood I was standing on the very floor on which Jesus stood when he read to his friends from the Prophet Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim … recovery of sight to the blind and set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
I moved very slowly that day in Nazareth. I felt compelled to stand on each individual tile that made up the floor in what is now called the Synagogue Church. While archaeologists can’t be certain that this is the synagogue in which Jesus was raised, they do know that the floor is a first century floor and Nazareth was a small backwater village which would have had only one synagogue. So, in all probability, I was standing on the floor of the synagogue where Jesus was raised and the place where he preached the sermon we read in Luke 4.
This passage captured my imagination very early in my ministry, so that day in the Synagogue Church in Nazareth, I took special care to stand on each tile on the floor. It is hard to explain, but I believe that part of me was searching for a connection to Jesus.
Perhaps our gospel lesson can provide us with that connection. In this passage we hear from Jesus’ own lips his reason for being. Today we would call our gospel lesson his mission statement. The words are concrete, in the present tense, and we either believe them or we don’t.
Listen again to Jesus’ mission statement. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” After reading from Isaiah, Jesus sat down to preach and this is what he said. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus believed that something concrete happened as he read. The prophesy is fulfilled.
The passage that Jesus read from is found in parts of Isaiah 58 and 61, and he clearly identifies with the prophesy. Let’s look again. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE ….” We know that the Spirit of God is upon Jesus because the stories of his baptism have told us. Each gospel writer, in his own way, lets us know that when Jesus was baptized, the “Spirit of the Lord” came down from heaven in the form of a dove and rested on him.
And in this passage Jesus acknowledges the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is upon him … BECAUSE! God gave Jesus a mission. His mission in life is to preach good news to the poor; release to the captives; recovery of sight to the blind; and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Luke defines Jesus’ mission at the beginning of the Gospel and then the next twenty chapters tell us how Jesus accomplished his mission.
In the last few years a lot has been written about mission statements. Some writers try to convince us of the importance of mission statements while others coach us on how to write them. A mission statement defines what we want to accomplish, and motivates us to keep moving and changing.
Last Sunday the session voted on a mission statement. They said, we want:
•“To become a unified community of diverse persons who are discovering God’s love … revealed in Jesus Christ.
•“To support one another in the challenge to be genuinely human in seeking God’s will for our lives and in the risks of entrusting ourselves to God.
•“To be empowered through worship, prayer and Bible study to grow and to serve others.”
This mission statement needs to be published everywhere – in the bulletin each week and on the masthead of the newsletter. It needs to be written so large that seeing it is unavoidable! It should create tension between where you are now and where you want to be.
You and I should have our own personal mission statements as well. It is a good idea to write them down and place them conspicuously in our homes so that they are impossible to miss. Your mission statement can say anything you want it to say, but perhaps because we are people of faith, part of it might read: “I attend church each week; read the Bible all the way through every two years; take part in Christian Education and fellowship activities so that I continue to grow in faith.”
I have a challenge for you. As you think about the church’s mission statement, begin the way Jesus did. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us BECAUSE we are a unified community, support one another in the challenge to become genuinely human, and BECAUSE we are empowered through worship and prayer to serve others.”
When you write your personal mission statement, begin the same way: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE he has anointed me ….” Do not be afraid to claim God’s anointing! When you were baptized, God called you by name and claimed you as a part of the family. In baptism, God empowers us by the Holy Spirit with all of the power we need to accomplish the work God gives us to do. So now I have some homework for you.
When you go home, look in the mirror and say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE …”, and try to finish the statement. If you live with someone you love, hold hands and look into each other’s eyes and affirm, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE.”
If we are at a time in life when it’s hard to believe that God has a mission for us, then try this: Go home and at least once a day look into the mirror and repeat, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE …” and one day, like Jesus, you will know the end of the sentence.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Luke 4:16-21
My friends were seated on the stone bench that ran around the perimeter of the room. Some were talking quietly, some sat in a meditative silence, and some were watching me and wondering what in the world I was doing. I can’t blame them because I was walking slowly and deliberately, being careful to step on each of the slate gray tiles on the floor. And as I walked I recited the Bible verses that had captured my heart many years before. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” I paused for a moment. The words echoed from somewhere deep inside me and I took another step. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
For a while I stood on the dark gray tile without moving. “To proclaim release to the captives.” For a moment I almost thought I heard the voice of Jesus. I knew that in all likelihood I was standing on the very floor on which Jesus stood when he read to his friends from the Prophet Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim … recovery of sight to the blind and set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
I moved very slowly that day in Nazareth. I felt compelled to stand on each individual tile that made up the floor in what is now called the Synagogue Church. While archaeologists can’t be certain that this is the synagogue in which Jesus was raised, they do know that the floor is a first century floor and Nazareth was a small backwater village which would have had only one synagogue. So, in all probability, I was standing on the floor of the synagogue where Jesus was raised and the place where he preached the sermon we read in Luke 4.
This passage captured my imagination very early in my ministry, so that day in the Synagogue Church in Nazareth, I took special care to stand on each tile on the floor. It is hard to explain, but I believe that part of me was searching for a connection to Jesus.
Perhaps our gospel lesson can provide us with that connection. In this passage we hear from Jesus’ own lips his reason for being. Today we would call our gospel lesson his mission statement. The words are concrete, in the present tense, and we either believe them or we don’t.
Listen again to Jesus’ mission statement. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” After reading from Isaiah, Jesus sat down to preach and this is what he said. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus believed that something concrete happened as he read. The prophesy is fulfilled.
The passage that Jesus read from is found in parts of Isaiah 58 and 61, and he clearly identifies with the prophesy. Let’s look again. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE ….” We know that the Spirit of God is upon Jesus because the stories of his baptism have told us. Each gospel writer, in his own way, lets us know that when Jesus was baptized, the “Spirit of the Lord” came down from heaven in the form of a dove and rested on him.
And in this passage Jesus acknowledges the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is upon him … BECAUSE! God gave Jesus a mission. His mission in life is to preach good news to the poor; release to the captives; recovery of sight to the blind; and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Luke defines Jesus’ mission at the beginning of the Gospel and then the next twenty chapters tell us how Jesus accomplished his mission.
In the last few years a lot has been written about mission statements. Some writers try to convince us of the importance of mission statements while others coach us on how to write them. A mission statement defines what we want to accomplish, and motivates us to keep moving and changing.
Last Sunday the session voted on a mission statement. They said, we want:
•“To become a unified community of diverse persons who are discovering God’s love … revealed in Jesus Christ.
•“To support one another in the challenge to be genuinely human in seeking God’s will for our lives and in the risks of entrusting ourselves to God.
•“To be empowered through worship, prayer and Bible study to grow and to serve others.”
This mission statement needs to be published everywhere – in the bulletin each week and on the masthead of the newsletter. It needs to be written so large that seeing it is unavoidable! It should create tension between where you are now and where you want to be.
You and I should have our own personal mission statements as well. It is a good idea to write them down and place them conspicuously in our homes so that they are impossible to miss. Your mission statement can say anything you want it to say, but perhaps because we are people of faith, part of it might read: “I attend church each week; read the Bible all the way through every two years; take part in Christian Education and fellowship activities so that I continue to grow in faith.”
I have a challenge for you. As you think about the church’s mission statement, begin the way Jesus did. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us BECAUSE we are a unified community, support one another in the challenge to become genuinely human, and BECAUSE we are empowered through worship and prayer to serve others.”
When you write your personal mission statement, begin the same way: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE he has anointed me ….” Do not be afraid to claim God’s anointing! When you were baptized, God called you by name and claimed you as a part of the family. In baptism, God empowers us by the Holy Spirit with all of the power we need to accomplish the work God gives us to do. So now I have some homework for you.
When you go home, look in the mirror and say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE …”, and try to finish the statement. If you live with someone you love, hold hands and look into each other’s eyes and affirm, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE.”
If we are at a time in life when it’s hard to believe that God has a mission for us, then try this: Go home and at least once a day look into the mirror and repeat, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE …” and one day, like Jesus, you will know the end of the sentence.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 1:41 PM
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