The Plight of a Prophet

February 2, 2025 Luke 4:21-30 The plight of a Prophet 4th Sunday after Epiphany Year C Prelude Greeting A Call to Plenty Leader: Our call to “plenty” today on this third week of our worship series is to plentiful healing. Indeed there are plentiful wounds in this world, and plentiful threats of more wounds to come. It was as true in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. People came to Jesus carrying wounds of body, mind, and spirit. This week we continue the story of Jesus in his own hometown. Especially when wounding hits “close to home,” we tend to panic. Fear and anger may set in. The antidote? Join Jesus in his economy of healing for all people. God’s abundance is for all, no one is left outside, kin-dom come, all people one in trust and love abide. In this world of striving, we feel the yearn to earn. The world measures our worth in those earnings. But Jesus had different ideas. When they demanded special treatment, he offered healing and wholeness for all – not just for some. When we feel our own resources are lacking, we can view our lives and practices again from the economy of Jesus. Let us pray: God of Restoration, we come to you today, bringing a laundry list of things that we wish we could change about the world, ourselves, and each other. In the midst of our longing, remind us that your goodness is not earned by our being good, and that we are called to share your mercy with everyone inside and outside of this faithful community. Amen. Song Take My Life and Let it Be UMH 399 A Sermon for all Ages Children, we are so glad you are here [and for those joining us through the screen, welcome to you, too]. Remember these six big stone jars from last week? We are talking about the generosity of Jesus and these BIG jars represent how BIG the heart of Jesus is for each one of us. He wanted everyone to have plenty of everything they need, and now it is up to us to keep helping him do that. Have you ever read the story about Winnie the Pooh? And do you remember what his favorite snack was? [let them respond] Honey! And his honey was in a stone pot, maybe not as big as these, but big enough for his big appetite! Do you like honey? [let them respond] What if these jars were filled with honey? Oh, my goodness, that could get really sticky! But I’ll bet honey is something Jesus would want us to share. Jesus wanted people to feel better, and honey was one of the medicines of his day. People would use it for sore throats. Maybe our Jesus Piggy Bank jar for this week has honey in it! Let’s see [pick up the third piggy and shake it gently] Hmmm…. I’m not sure that sounds like honey… not that honey would sound like anything! Just like the last two weeks, there is a note on it [open a note that has been taped to the piggy bank]. “Dear children. You are practicing really good sharing… thank you! Remember that instead of putting things INTO this piggy bank, we take things OUT of it so we can share. We don’t keep things locked up all the time just filling our banks with more and more and more. We look at what we already have, and the fun is in figuring out how to give it away! Always yours, Jesus.” I wonder what is in this one! [open it and take out the notecard for each child] Oh, look! It has a jar of honey on it with something Pooh said once, “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” Let’s see what it says inside: “Dear ___________ [name of a health worker or facility], this is your friend _________ [your name].” I am thankful that you help make people better. Thank you for the healing you provide when people are sick or injured. Here is a snack of appreciation to help give you more energy and more love for your work.” So cool! We can deliver a snack this week to care for someone who helps care for others! Maybe that is a school nurse or someone who works at the hospital, doctor’s office, or nursing home. It will be so fun to decide what snacks to share to encourage those who help people every day and thank them for what they do to make the world a better place. I can’t wait to hear what happens when you give away all of this goodness! Let’s pray a repeat-after-me prayer, and then we’ll go [instructions per usual for your church]. Dear Jesus… [children repeat, etc.] thank you for showing us… how to to share… thank you for showing us… how to to care… help us to know… that there is no doubt… the gifts that you give us… can never run out… there’s so much in store… that we’ll give it away… making sure there’s enough… for ALL every day… Amen… Responsive Reading Psalm 71:1-6 UMH 794 The Peace Leader: Just as our worth as humans is not dependent on the bottom line of our bank accounts, our relationships are not dependent upon the earning of favors and the limitations of “quid pro quo.” The peace of Christ has no limits, and we get more just by giving it. So may jar-fulls of peace be with you today. People: And also with you. Leader: You are invited to pass the “plethora of peace” among you, remembering to pass it to those joining us remotely. Scripture Luke 4:21-30 Sermon The Plight of a Prophet Imagine, it is football season – and you are all set to go to the game and to cheer your team on to victory. You have on the right colors, you even have your seat picked out at the stadium so that you can sit next to your friends. You are ready for a good game – and the first half of the game is perfect. That young man, Jesus doesn’t disappoint you. He is out of the field and he is doing everything right. His technique is perfect. You are so proud of this young man, he grew up in this town, you know who his parents are, you watched him play in the field as a child. He scores his first touchdown and everyone is cheering, every one is excited. Then halftime comes – and he doesn’t allow the band to come out on the field – he has something important to say. He tells announces with a bull horn that you are doing it all wrong. This is not how you play the game. He points out that before the game everyone prayed to God that your team would win – that is not it. God does not take sides – God wants both teams to win. At this point, you are a little irritated, but this is a hometown guy, so you listen. Then he says that we shouldn’t be on opposite sides. He insists that the other side come across the field and find a place in the hometown bleachers. You know this is highly unusual – but he is a hometown guy, so you tolerate it. Then he tells everyone that instead of cheering when your team does something, everyone is going to cheer for every child. Afterall, they are all our children, and we have to encourage them all. The last straw – halftime is over with and this guy is still talking. He won’t let the game continue. This time the crowd runs down from the stands, and physically removes this guy – so that the game can go on, the way everyone is used to playing it. This is the scene that plays out in scripture. Jesus comes home to speak to his hometown crowd. At first they are happy and excited to hear what he has to say. Little Hometown Jesus has become a big time prophet. But after awhile, things get nasty. So nasty in fact that they want to throw him off of a cliff. Somehow when the crowd comes to get him, Jesus manages to escape, he goes on to spread the gospel to another hometown and another, and people are listening to his preaching and changing their lives. The good news of God’s love is spread all over the world – but Jesus never returns to his hometown. Lucky for us. Luke is a master story teller – he wants us to truly understand the message of this hometown messiah. He is not what we expected. He didn’t come to make us happy – he came to show us the meaning of grace. Grace goes beyond our selves, our beliefs, our feelings. Grace that is revealed to us, is shown to all people. That is a hard lesson, we want to believe that grace is just for us. Remember last week I said that Luke likes to tell us about the spirit. In every story that Luke tells, somehow the spirit always shows up as a character. The spirit shows up in the anger of the hometown crowd. The crowd gave up on Jesus, Jesus never gave up on the crowd. In and Out of Favor How quickly the opinion of crowd can change (cf. Acts 14:8-19). Amazingly, these were the same people who, moments ago, "were speaking well of Him". Fast forward three years and we witness another extreme shift in attitude during Jesus' last week of ministry. "Hosanna" (an expression of adoration to God) would swiftly turn into the deadly cries of "Crucify Him!" Sonny Jurgenson (former QB for the Washington Redskins) was being interviewed by a reporter after winning a game and the losing the next. The reporter asked him, "don't you ever tire of the yo-yo nature of the press?" He said, "nah, I've been around long enough to know that each week you are either in the penthouse or the outhouse." Source Unknown, ChristianGlobe Illustrations Epiphany is the season of seeing the light, but it is also the season of recognizing the dark. Luke wanted to tell us the story of Jesus winning, but also losing. The story of the messiah as a hero, but also as an outcast. So that we could hear both sides of the story. In this story is a foreshadowing of the whole passion and resurrection. Jesus teaches, Jesus is crucified by the hometown crowd, Jesus is resurrected to keep spreading the good news. Devine Defiance Many of us have heard the story about Abraham Lincoln. He was defeated seven times for elective office before winning the Presidency of the United States. He certainly defied the odds. And he did not give up. Then there was Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh earned all of $85 from his paintings during his lifetime. One hundred years after his death, just one painting alone, Dr. Bachet, sold for the incredible sum of $82.5 million. Then there was this itinerant, middle eastern preacher who lived some 2,000 years ago his ideas were definitely rejected by the people of his hometown, as well as the religious leaders of his time and country. Yet he continued his ministry as he understood it to be Devine Defiance? The point is clear. If Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, or Jesus of Nazareth had let rejection rule their lives, and let it keep them from doing and saying what they felt sure to be right our world would be incredibly impoverished today. Dianne O, Devine Defiance We can be grateful that Jesus’ hometown rejected his message – so that the message could go out into the world and spread the message of grace and love and peace to our hometown right here. A part of their anger, what that Jesus told them what they already knew about God in their hearts, but they didn’t want to accept in their actions. The most effective messages are the ones that we already know. They knew that scripture that Jesus was telling him, they just didn’t want to believe that it was to be fulfilled in this moment. Reminding Us of What We Already Know When I began my work as a preacher, I spent a lot of time poking around the pages of Scripture for something unusual. My only objective was to find something that would prompt me to say, "This will get them." I would find something in the book of Obadiah and preach on it, murmuring, "I'll bet they have never heard this before." I was right; they had never heard it before. As a result, it had no power. No authority. No sense of importance or urgency. Once in a while, I would give in and turn to a text that everybody had heard before. At coffee hour, folks would say, "Whew! You really gave it to us today!" Little by little, it began to dawn on me: The power of the prophetic word does not come from roaming a far country where no one has gone before. The real power of the gospel comes from reminding the people of God of what they already know. William G. Carter, Praying for a Whole New World, CSS Publishing Company _______________________________________ Are We Ready for Revelation? Our hymnals contain a variety of hymns which plead for an epiphany -- a moment of revelation. "Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart," we sing. Or, "Open my eyes, that I may see / Glimpses of truth thou hast for me." And again, "Talk with us, Lord, thyself reveal, / While here o'er earth we rove." But I'm not sure how ready we are for such a revealing. Often the revelation begins with new insight into ourselves; and that "revealing" is usually a painful process. The people of Nazareth managed pretty well with Jesus' revealing of himself; they found his words gracious. It was when he began to reveal their own persons to them that they became upset. His suggestion that they were like their ancestors in Elijah and Elisha's day -- who were bypassed for blessing while "outsiders" were favored -- was utterly unacceptable. J. Ellsworth Kalas, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company As we hear the word of God – to bring peace and healing to all, not just to some. Let it resonate with what we already know about God. God loves us all, enough to send his Son Jesus to show us the way. Let us pray……… Song What Does the Lord Require of You TFWS 2174 Prayers of the People Leader: In the economy of Jesus, we are not running a for-profit industry. God’s love cannot be earned, and no one gets special treatment, even the people who follow all the rules. We welcome all people into the healing experience of witness and connection that we find in this community. Leader: Each week of this series we will be focusing on naming gifts of abundance we have received in the week, instances where we have seen the abundance of Christ at work in the world, and we will ask for the wisdom and strength to change so that abundance is more available to all. In this pause, O God, we ponder the many gifts you have given us. Our gratitude seems never enough for the plenty you provide. We call to mind the gifts of creation, of relationships, of sustenance. [pause] In this pause, Christ Jesus, we ponder the ways your love is still at work in the world. Our awe and wonder at the goodness of others is profound. We call to mind acts of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. [pause] In this pause, Holy Spirit, we come asking you for strength. The temptation to live by the economics of not-enough is so strong in us. We ask for revelation in our thinking and doing, so that we might live with healing in the house. [pause] Loving God, Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit, we are yours. We bring to you now the concerns of our day, of our communities, knowing that already you are present, already you are working to bring about comfort and healing. Today we pray for…. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment In Luke 4 Jesus returns to his home synagogue, is invited to read and then reflect on the scripture text. The listeners hear his sharp words declaring Jesus doesn’t expect to provide special action for his “homies.” For us, that points the way to recognizing Jesus’ message and actions aren’t limited to the people connected to that one community of faith. We live out that truth, knowing the gifts you bring Sunday by Sunday as our offering, include financial support for this congregation, but also go beyond these walls. (Name one or two ways the offering becomes a blessing for others. (Through your food pantry? Your support of a mission outreach? Your connection to caring for those impacted by fire, hurricane, power outages? Your engagement with warming spaces for people living on the streets?) We worship a loving God who is served in a variety of places and supported through use of the dollars we freely provide. Let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving Giving God, We recognize the reality of Jesus’ work in our lives today when we lovingly share our offering. Thank you for the week-by-week awareness that your love isn’t limited to this congregation, this community, or this country. Please help us utilize these gifts to continually expand our horizons, reaching out to share bread, clean water, safety and love not only here but to the ends of the earth. AMEN Invitation to Communion The gifts we have before us each time we come to the Lord’s Table include this congregation (both here and online), musicians, clergy, and the simple, basic elements placed here. They may be presented in chalice and paten or in special trays and plates, but they are simply bread and grape juice. However, they carry significant meaning: bread which points us to the body of Jesus, and juice which reminds us of his blood. The call before us is this: “Remember!” We’re invited to put the elements into the bigger picture, re-membering the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This comes from the one who spoke clearly in the synagogue, and later in the upper room, nearly 2000 years ago. His words echo down the millennia: “This do in remembrance of me”. Paul reminded the church in Corinth “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.” All is ready; come! Communion Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook The jars are full in the Kin-dom of God. The house is full of the healing we need and the healing we are called to give away. We are transformed in the economy of Jesus, bearing the witness of dividends of grace. We have heard the call to invest our interest in the transformation of our communities. And so we go, doing likewise in the world, with the help of God, the guidance of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Now and forever. Amen. Community Time – Joys and concerns Benediction May God our Creator renew in us the creative Spirit that brings healing and life to our world. May Jesus the Christ uphold us in grace and love. May the Holy Spirit fill us with courage to be bearers of God’s song of hope in our hometown and beyond. Amen. Adapted from the Pilgrim Uniting Church website. https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=256. Additional Illustrations Good and Mad - Luke 4:21-30 Before we start the message this morning I need you to do something for me. I want everybody on this side (point to the right side) to move over here (point to the left side). I want everybody in the center to move there (point to the right side). And I want everybody on this side (point to the left side) to move to the center. OK, let's go. After everyone has moved, and is uncomfortable, mad and grumbling. Did that make you mad? Of course it did. It probably made you "Good and Mad" We don't like change. We don't like being told what to do. We don't like being inconvenienced. Do we? And we get angry. We get "Good and Mad" when are. Today we find out a little bit about a time in Jesus' life and ministry when the crowds got "Good and Mad" at Him. Let's look at Luke 4:21-30. (Read the Scripture) The people of Nazareth, the people Jesus grew up with, the ones He had probably built furniture for or repaired a roof for. The people who He had attended Synagogue with, got "Hopping mad" when He confronted them about how unaccepting they were. They got "Madder than a hornet" and attempted to throw Jesus off the cliff upon which the town was built. They weren't just irritated, they weren't just mad, they were "Good and Mad"... _________________________________ Tell the Cats to Turn Around We despise people who challenge our cherished myths and kick us out of our comfort zones. The truth is that when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to the spirit of Christ. Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of a previous generation. He was conducting a crusade in a particular city. In one of his sermons he said something critical of the labor conditions for workers in that area. After the service, several prominent businessmen sent a message to him by one of the local pastors. The message was this---Billy, leave labor matters alone. Concentrate on getting people saved. Stay away from political issues. You’re rubbing the fur the wrong way." Billy Sunday sent this message back to them: "If I’m rubbing the fur the wrong way, tell the cats to turn around." Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, eSermons.com _______________________