Preach Good News to the Poor, Budde

by The Rev. Dr. Max Lynn
SCRIPTURE READINGS Psalm 19:1-14, Luke 4:14-21
Transcribed from the sermon preached on JANUARY 26, 2025

Psalm 19
¹The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. ²Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. ³There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;

⁴yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, ⁵which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. ⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and nothing is hid from its heat. ⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; ⁹the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. ¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. ¹²But who can detect one's own errors? Clear me from hidden faults. ¹³Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. ¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

 

Luke 4:14-21
¹⁴Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸"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 set free those who are oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

 

The heavens are telling the glory of God. It has been a busy week. I don’t know about you, but I think it is in order to remember just who is God. Expand our focus out beyond the immediate news and demigods to the One the Heavens sing to and the scripture testify to. The psalmist is out in nature, looking up to the heavens, and he hears a chorus of praise. It lifts him up and settles him down. No matter what is happening, there is a God bigger than it all. A God whose intentions and decrees come through written text but also through the heavens and Creation. We can rest in this faith, take joy and inspiration in this faith. Have a solid rock foundation with this faith. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and redeemer.

Now the Gospel reading this morning we get the first words recorded of Jesus in his public ministry. Luke starts with the birth narrative, then moves on to John and the baptism of Jesus. Then Jesus goes on his vision quest, fasting in the wilderness and temptation by Satan for forty days. Filled with the Spirit, he returns to Galilee and news spreads about him. Then he goes into the synagogue and opens the scroll to the prophet Isaiah and reads:
“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 set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Given that these are the first words of Jesus ministry, we might call this a mission statement. It is worthy to note others have approved of other missions for Jesus, but this is what Jesus said of himself.

And since we are followers of Jesus, we can assume this is also the mission statement for us. Now I’ve exegeted this passage for you more than once so today I’m going to give you the narrative and stream of thought.

Back in December we hosted the play entitled Little Central Americas. It was a story of the communities that formed here in the US by Central American refugees who were given Sanctuary. In the play, they honored Bob and Marilyn and Fred Goff for the wonderful work they have done in founding and sustaining the Sanctuary movement. Also, the family we are currently helping, refugees from Columbia played the role of a refugee family. Since they are literally living the role they played, it was very powerful.

Since we had to rehearse as well as do the play, I got to hang out with Fernando and Cindi, and their daughters Maria Paula and Sarai. They are wonderful friends who fled their home for their lives and found a home and friends for a new start here. This last weekend Glenda and I went to the presbytery office to help other churches think and plan about becoming a sanctuary church. Lots of our Latino Presbyterians were there, and several pulled me to the side and asked specific questions about what might happen to them and how much danger they were in. Fernando was one of them. If we are already into the court process for refugees, will they round us up too? I said I do not know, but tried to be as positive as reasonable. A day or so later I dropped in to see Gamil and Refca and baby Marvy to pray for healing and continued medical insurance coverage and give thanks for medicine and doctors who work for healing. A couple days later I spoke with one of our members who is a lesbian who hoped for continued welcome and support from her church and pastor as she and her partner feared being ostracized and marginalized in the larger society. If we stay true to the mission of Jesus, all are welcome and have sanctuary here. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Government will do what they will do, but we answer to a higher power. The heavens are telling the glory of God.

So anyway, the producer directors of the play asked me to do a welcome each night and then asked me to choose a quote from a person who has been inspirational for me and helped motivate me to do this work with refugees. They sent me a couple of examples of what other pastors had done. The other pastors picked inspirational quotes from contemporary justice workers.

I thought for a minute of a few people: Romero, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Harriet Tubman, MLK, the poem on the Statue of Liberty, Cesar Chavez, the late great Presbyterian preacher William Sloan Coffin…hmmm, who have I been most inspired and motivated by? Who did all those I just mentioned feel inspired and motivated by. That is an easy question. Jesus.

Now which quote to use? As The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde, I thought of the many quotable lines in the sermon on the mount. Speaking at the Episcopal cathedral in Washington this past weekend she spoke of building the national house on the rock of Jesus teachings. By the way, Joby our liturgist this morning flies back East 2 times a month to lead worship in Washington and is a colleague with Bishop Budde. Particularly Budde spoke of unity. And since I’m thinking of quotable people, I am going to take another detour and give her some time because I figure you only heard a short quote on the news.

Every week there are pastors preaching beautiful, powerful sermons, doing their best to stay faithful to the mission of Jesus. I have to admit sometimes it feels the liberal mainstream media ignores or even opposes us. They so often report the preachers of vitriolic judgement of those who are different from them and act as if the merciful and welcoming ones don’t exist. So it is nice to see of a Spirit anointed one come as a voice out of the wilderness, preaching good news to the poor and attempt to give sight to the blind. This was classical, poised, calm, clear, biblical preaching.

“Unity is a way of being with one another that encompasses and respects differences, that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect; that enables us, in our communities and in the halls of power, to genuinely care for one another even when we disagree. Those across our country who dedicate their lives, or who volunteer, to help others in times of natural disaster, often at great risk to themselves, never ask those they are helping for whom they voted in the past election or what positions they hold on a particular issue. We are at our best when we follow their example.

Unity at times, is sacrificial, in the way that love is sacrificial, a giving of ourselves for the sake of another. Jesus of Nazareth, in his Sermon on the Mount, exhorts us to love not only our neighbors, but to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us; to be merciful, as our God is merciful, and to forgive others, as God forgives us. Jesus went out of his way to welcome those whom his society deemed as outcasts.

Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.

Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.”

-  The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

As much as I am drawn to the Sermon on the Mount, I didn’t pick my quote from there. No, I picked the first words of Jesus ministry in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 4, quoting Isaiah and his mission statement. “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 set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Now with so much in the bible we can interpret this passage in multiple ways. We can use it is a mystical, metaphorical, personal psychological way. It is often preached this way. Each of us is spiritually poor. Each of us find ourselves captive to various habits, relationships or addictions. Each of us is ignorant and blind, or conveniently ignore or choose not to see certain truths about ourselves or the world. Each of us needs help to be liberated from our sin. And God’s grace through Christ makes us rich, liberates us, gives us eyes to see, and sets us free. It is ok and important to know and experience the grace of Christ personally.

But there is nothing in the text that implies Jesus just means this to be metaphorical. Nor is it some future thing we finally get in heaven. He says, “This scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, right here right now Jesus, and by implication those who follow him, are to be about preaching real good news to the poor, release to people in real captivity, sight to the blind (medicine and healing), and liberation to the oppressed. So, I hope you will join me as a fellow Christian and follower of Jesus, in taking this as our mission statement, as what we are to be about. So, lets open our bibles to Luke chapter 4 and read together verses 18 and 19. “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 set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Amen