The Spirit of the Lord is Upon us

January 23, 2022 Luke 4:14-21 The Spirit of the Lod is upon you 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Year C Opening Song Welcome COVID precautions Call to Worship Call to Worship (based on Psalm 19) The heavens are telling the glory of God May our worship reflect God’s glory. The firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. May we see each other as the handiwork of God. Let our prayer and praise, our singing and proclamation project the love of God. We commune with Christians around the world, with Christians throughout time. With Christians across geography and across time, Let us worship! —from Jesus Sets the Table, resources by the United Church of Christ, posted on their Worship Ways website. Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship (inspired by I Corinthians 12:12-31a) Less than a month after Christmas, I wonder if you can name the greatest gifts you received? Writing to the people of the Corinthian church, Paul reminds the believers to “strive for the greater gifts”. Why? Because the gifts we’ve RECEIVED are also the gifts we’re challenged to put to use. Some of us would love to have different gifts, but this scripture in I Corinthians 12 instructs us to recognize it takes many members with many different gifts to make up the whole body. (use specific references to well-known gifts in your own congregation) As we come to a time of sharing our gifts, we recognize not everyone is able to give great plumbing ability, but ______ shares that with us. Not everyone has a gift of welcoming newcomers, yet we’re grateful for _______, who helps first-time visitors find their way. Not everyone is able to lift us to the heavens with music, but we are so often raised up when __________ shares her/his gifts. Here’s the thing. YOU are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. Not everyone can do everything. Not everyone can write a check for $1000 (well, at least one which will not bounce [ 🙂 ] , but if that’s your gift today, we would be delighted to receive such a gift! But each of us, and all of us, are able to share because of the gifts God has given each one. Today, let us offer our gifts with glad and generous hearts, grateful for the ways we’ve received grace upon grace. Prayer of Thanksgiving Generous God, we thank you for instilling each of us, and all of us, with gifts to help build up the body of Christ. Receive what we’ve offered today. Bless each one in our giving. Help us use all these gifts to strengthen the body of Christ known as _______________ Church. AMEN Reception of New Members UMH 33 Scripture Luke 4:14-21 Common English Bible Jesus announces good news to the poor 14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. 17 The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, 19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.[a] 20 He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.” Sermon The Spirit of the Lord is Upon You There is a Facebook post that circulates for a while, that ask you to explain your job in very simple crude terms. I finally came up with a good answers. I set people free. Well actually it is not me who sets them free – it is the spirit, but I get to be the one to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus actually gets up in front of the congregation and says this exact thing. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to set the captive free. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is on his way home from being baptized. He has been traveling around in Southern Palestine, and now he is returning home to the North. Only Luke says that he is in Nazareth his home town. When a hometown hero returns and reads scripture at first they are proud of him. Until they realize that Jesus is not just talking to them, but talking about them. They are the captives who need to be set free. In his book 40 Days, Alton Gansky relates this story: "Harry Houdini made a name for himself by escaping from every imaginable confinement -- from straightjackets to multiple pairs of handcuffs clamped to his arms. He boasted that no jail cell could hold him. Time and again, he would be locked in a cell only to reappear minutes later. It worked every time -- but one. He accepted another invitation to demonstrate his skill. He entered the cell, wearing his street clothes, and the jail cell door shut. Once alone, he pulled a thin but strong piece of metal from his belt and began working the lock. But something was wrong. No matter how hard Houdini worked, he couldn't unlock the lock. For two hours he applied skill and experience to the lock but failed time and time again. Two hours later he gave up in frustration. The problem? The cell had never been locked. Houdini worked himself to near exhaustion trying to achieve what could be accomplished by simply pushing the door open. The only place the door was locked was in his mind. Faith is not a complex process. It is not the result of years of education, pilgrimages, or flashy supernatural experiences. The door to belief is ready to open and is locked only in the minds of those who choose to believe it is. Faith, Salvation; Works At some point I think all of us become prisoners to our habits, our thoughts, our expectations. And we get stuck there. Jesus came to open the doors for all of us. Liberation theology is a theology that strives for freedom of all people. It addresses the systems in our world that depend on the mental cultural prisons which say this is how life is and this is how it needs to stay. As Jesus told his hometown that it was time to change, they got so mad at him that they threw him off of the cliff. But that is the rest of the story. But that is not the scripture for next week. They did not get mad at him for quoting Isaiah. They got mad at him because he called them captives of their own beliefs. He had the nerve to say that gentiles and strangers were closer to God and would get to heaven before them. They were mad because Jesus challenged them to accept other people. That is like saying that a person who never goes to church, who doesn’t believe in God, who chooses to sleep in on Sunday is just as much a child of God as the person who comes to church every Sunday. It is sort of like saying that the person who chose to stay at home, stay out of the cold, and watch the service in their pajamas is just as much a part of this congregation as those of you who got up, got dressed, fought the weather to be present in church. And yet Jesus says that the spirit of the lord is upon me to each of us who hears. When Jesus quotes this scripture in Isaiah, he is talking about the jubilee year – every 50 years when the system was supposed to reset itself and all debt cancelled, starting all over again. But of course it has never happened – those who had the power were never ready to give it up, those who had money never gave it up. Imagine what the world would be like, if Jesus has never proclaimed freedom for all in our world? Once there was a church that decided to have a work day, on which members showed up to do heavy cleaning and light maintenance on the church building. A general call went out for volunteers. The usual suspects showed up – the ones who show up year after year. There was one other person who showed up as well – a new member, she brought with her the mop and bucket that all had been asked to bring. She even announced that she was here to work. No one payed attention to her, because they all had their assigned duties. They all laughed together, they socialized. No one bothered to talk with the newcomer. No one, or even make her a part of their activities. She went home that day wondering if she even belonged. There was a happy ending, with persistence she was able to get beyond the social understandings and become a part of the group. She soon realized that that cool reception was just a fluke. She was able to get beyond those ties of familiarity and friendship which served as a unintentional barrier. But what would have happened if she did not bring her broom and her persistence to church with her that day? Jesus came to set the captives free and sometimes we are the captives. I thought it was interesting that the scripture says that Jesus stood before the congregation and read the scrolls. I have to do a little more research- Jesus was a carpenter by trade, I was not under the impression that he could read or write. But my point is that Jesus did not really give a big speech, he just announced that the spirit of the lord was upon him. The message that he did give – is that those were not just ancient words – but living words. He said that the scripture had been fulfilled today. He opened the doors of the church, he gave us an opportunity to be in mission. How are those words being fulfilled here today? We have accepted new members in our midst, we will have an opportunity to support Methodist women in ministry to the community. But what else? What else needs to be done? Each year we follow the life of Christ, every year we learn about Jesus call to ministry, we think about our call to ministry, to follow jesus to be children of God. The spirit if the Lord is upon each of us. How do we fulfill this scripture in our lives today? Let us pray…. Prayer for others (I know it is long, but I am hoping with spacing that all of it can be included) Prayer for Others (inspired by Psalm 19:14) Creator God, we come before you asking prayers for those who lead nations cities churches homes. As you poured out your love in the Word may we hear your word and follow; may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts lead us to you. Holy One, we come before you - a people broken into shards of lives sick, poor, hungry hidden by the limitations of our eyes. Help us to see as You see as you poured out your love in the Word. May we hear your word and follow may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts lead us to you. God of Mercy, we come before you – seeking to live as you command, but often failing, and thus we are torn by cries of despair anger power control lost to foolishness and stumbling blocks despite your love in the Word Help us to hear your word and follow May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts lead us to you. Gentle God, we come before you giving thanks for all our blessings the gift of life hope faith love family friends all we care for this day. Help us to be Your hands. Incline Your heart, O gracious God, and teach us to love O Christ, our rock and our Redeemer. Amen. ~ written by Terri C. Pilarski, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. http://revgalblogpals.org/2012/03/11/sunday-prayer-lent-3b/ Lord’s Prayer Song Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing UMH 57 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook The Spirit of God is upon you. We go forth proclaiming God's love and liberation. The Spirit of Christ is upon you. We go forth to live lives of justice and freedom. The power of the Spirit is upon you. We go forth as one body, one spirit, one witness to the promises of our God. From The Abingdon Worship Annual edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © Abingdon Press. Community Time Benediction You have been called and anointed. You have been strengthened and enlightened. You have become one body in Christ. Now go to spread joy and liberation in word and in deed to all the world. From The Abingdon Worship Annual edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © Abingdon Press. Children’s Sermon People make promises every day. Sometimes we give something to another person as a sign of our promise, sometimes we sign our name to seal our promise, other times we just give our word to another person that we will do something. I'm sure you have all seen a ring like this. (Show the wedding ring.) When a man and woman get married, they usually make promises to one another. They say something like, "I promise to love you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health as long as we both shall live." Then they exchange rings as a symbol of that promise. This is an ordinary letter like the ones we receive in our mail box every day. Right in the middle is the name and address of the person for whom it is intended. What do you see up here in the corner of the envelope? Right! It is a stamp. When the Postal Service sells you this stamp and you put it on a letter, it represents their promise to deliver it to the person to whom the envelope is addressed. It doesn't matter if it is cloudy or sunny, raining or snowing, hot or cold, the mail gets delivered. That is the promise that this stamp represents. You are too young to have a credit card, but one day you probably will. Most adults have a credit card which they use to buy things. When you buy something using your credit card, you have to sign a ticket. When you sign the ticket, you are promising that you will pay for the items you purchased using the credit card. Your signature is your promise. People make promises every day. Do they always keep their promises? Unfortunately, some people don't. God makes promises too. The Bible is full of God's promises. Does God always keep his promises? Yes he does! One of my favorite verses in the Bible is one that says, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:20) That is what our Bible lesson teaches us today. Jesus was in the city of Nazareth on the Sabbath day so he did what he always did on the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue. He stood up and began to read the words of the prophet Isaiah from the scripture. He read where it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come." When he had finished reading, he sat down. All eyes were on Jesus. Then he began to speak to them. "The scripture that you have just heard read has been fulfilled this very day!" Jesus came to earth to fulfill the promises of God. All of God's promises are fulfilled in him. Wouldn't it be great if you and I were as faithful in keeping our promises to God as he is in keeping his promises to us? Our Father in heaven, thank you for your faithfulness in keeping your promises. Help us to be faithful in keeping our promises to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Additional Illustrations He Came to Help Us See Besides freeing us from fear and guilt, Jesus came to help us see. He wasn’t talking about physical blindness, but rather, spiritual blindness. We can’t see because we are trapped by habits, addictions and illusions of happiness. Therefore we are trapped, oppressed by our own choices and situations. Some of us are in denial. Others of us are reinforced through the enabling of other people. Consequently, we are not free. One night a tiger trainer was performing at a circus. He went into the cage with the tigers and a huge hush came over the crowd as the doors were locked behind him. Skillfully, the trainer put the tigers though their routine, entertaining the crowd. But, suddenly there was a "pop" and the all the lights went out under the big top. The trainer was locked inside the cage with the tigers in complete darkness. They could see him with their night vision, but he could not see them. All he had was a chair and a whip for protection. Finally the lights came back on and the trainer finished his performance. Later in a TV interview, the trainer admitted how scared he was. Then he realized that the tigers did not know that he could not see them. "I just cracked my whip and talked to them," he said, "until the lights came on." (from "Tigers in the Dark," God’s Little Lessons on Life for Dad, Honor Books) Keith Wagner, Liberated and Free Fulfilling Others? And the marvel is this: Jesus somehow fits the void in all the far flung instances of human longing. When medieval European artists painted the Holy Family, they usually painted them with typical German, Italian, or Flemish features. It was not imagination or prejudice which made them do so, but the instinctive feeling that Jesus belonged to them; he was one of their people. In our time, Christian artists in Africa and Asia paint the Holy Family with features and coloring appropriate to their world. Again, it is because they feel that Jesus belongs to them. The mountain church, where a duet twangs out country-western music on a guitar, may seem to have little in common with a Bach rendition from a four-manual organ; but each is seeking to show its adoration of Jesus in its own best way. Here is the common bond between a ghetto storefront church and the massive Gothic structure some miles away: they both bear the name of Jesus Christ; and they each seek, in their own way and setting, to fulfill the human longing. What about you and me? What is the longing in our lives which Christ has filled? "Today," Jesus said, "this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." For you, for me? To what degree are we in the business of fulfilling the scripture in the lives of others? J. Ellsworth Kalas, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company Hope Do you remember the story of Pandora's Box in Greek Mythology? The lovely Pandora was sent by Zeus to be the bride of Epimetheus. One of Pandora's more endearing charms was her curiosity, but that quality also proved to nearly be her undoing. One day Mercury, the messenger, sent a box to the young couple. It was meant for them to enjoy, but under no circumstances were they to open it. Well, of course, it is the old story of the forbidden fruit. Told that she could not do it, it became the thing that she desired to do the most. So one day she pried it open and peeked inside. Suddenly out flew swarms of insects that began attacking them. Both lovers were stung with the poison of suspicion, hatred, fear and malice. Now the once happy couple began to argue. Epimetheus became bitter and Pandora wept with a broken heart. But in the midst of the quarreling, they heard a tiny voice cry out: Let me out, to sooth your pain. Fearfully they opened the box again, and this time a beautiful butterfly flew out. It touched the couple and miraculously their pain was healed and they were happy again. The butterfly we are told was hope. It is hope that sustains us; it is hope that sooths our pain. Staff, www.eSermons.com.