The Rev. Charleston Wilson
In the Name of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
God’s blessing is as close to us as our very next breath.
His handiwork is as near as the person sitting closest to you. [As C.S. Lewis reminds us, the second most holy thing, next to the Blessed Sacrament, is the person sitting next to us (paraphrase on a quote in The Weight of Glory).]
His mercy and His forgiveness are as near as a contrite heart and the Book of Common Prayer, which is in the pew pocket directly in front of you.
His blessing, His handiwork, His mercy: Don’t reject them! Receive them!
In the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, our Savior is still where He was last week – reading and speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth. You’ll remember from last week that He read from Isaiah:
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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He clearly does a good job; St. Luke tells us the people were “amazed” at the “gracious” words He spoke.
But, at some point, He provides some commentary – a mini-sermon, let’s say– and tells them that the prophecy they have just heard has “been fulfilled in their hearing,” putting them on notice, if you will, that He – a local young man raised by a simple peasant woman and a local carpenter – is actually the long-awaited Messiah, the One who will proclaim the Lord’s favour and redeem Israel.
And it goes downhill from there, doesn’t it? St. Luke tells us the people were filled with “rage.” In Greek, “rage” means a lack of sense or an inability to use one’s senses in light of being shocked, alarmed or angered.
So there they were – truly blessed beyond measure to behold a prophecy being fulfilled in their own midst and to be given a chance to receive the proclamation of the Lord’s favour – yet they lacked the sense to receive it, because shock and anger took over.
So, the people – His own family, friends and neighbours – reject Him.
And away He goes, escaping miraculously just as they sought to kill Him. St. Luke says, “He passed through the midst of them and went on His way.” St. Mark elaborates a bit more, saying that “He could do no mighty work” among them, and He even “marveled because of their unbelief.”
There are two things that stand out to me – one thing that absolutely terrifies me and another that brings me to my knees with tears of thanksgiving.
First, did you notice that the first response to the incredible blessing in their midst is rejection?
And, boy, do I understand this predicament?!? The old Adam (or Eve) in each of us is slow to die. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love,” as the hymn puts it.
Sometimes I think God could walk right up to me and I’d find some way to go the opposite direction! St. Paul confesses, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Wretched man that I am!” And I know St. Paul is not alone; we all are in this together, rejecting all too often God’s blessing, grace, mercy, and love.
So what’s terrifying to me is how the passage ends: because of their rejection, the Blessing packs up and moves on to another town, leaving the very ones for whom the blessing was intended in a spiritual state not of blessedness but of deep depravity.
The point is this: rejecting God – rejecting our Saviour’s glad tidings – is both totally possible and totally dangerous.
But the part that brings me to my knees with tears of thanksgiving is rooted in how the blessing manifests itself – sort of sneaking in – right in the middle of an ordinary town going about ordinary, everyday things.
Right there in a simple kind of a town – we used to call them “Podunk” towns in Alabama – just as they were simply going about their routines, the blessing sneaks and bubbles up in their own backyard.
And receiving that blessing changes everything!
“How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.”
If we, too, are to be disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, that same blessing – the news of God’s favor, forgiveness, and love – must spring up in us today: in our lives together and in transforming our community with God’s love.
So it becomes not rejection, but redemption, you see!
And that is precious, sweet news. And it should bring us to our knees in thanks and praise and adoration.
You see, in order to experience God’s blessing, it actually turns out that we don’t have to walk the Way of St. James or climb Kilimanjaro, although those are wonderful, even enviable, things to do.
His blessing, His handiwork, His mercy: they are all right here among us. Don’t reject them; it’s too dangerous. Receive them!
Today, as you know, is what we’re calling “Celebration Sunday,” the day we set aside truly to celebrate all that God has done and is doing right here in our own parish.
Never – no, never – let it be said that the Blessing was rejected and moved on.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Charleston D. Wilson
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Fourth Sunday after The Epiphany
31 January 2016