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Upon Hearing the News
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24 January 2010 Some of you may remember the story of a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be guide and ‘go-fer’ to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales. The monk was thrilled, imagining how much he could learn from the living saint. But of course, his imagination didn’t include the possibility that he would never have the chance to say one word to her–there were always other people for her to meet. Finally at the end of her tour, when she was scheduled to fly to New Guinea, the monk spoke up in desperation: If I pay my own fare to New Guinea, may I sit next to you on the plane so we can talk and I can learn from you? Mother Teresa looked at him: You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea? Yes, responded the monk eagerly. Then give that money to the poor. You’ll learn more from that than anything I can tell you. There is a profound irony in Mother Teresa’s response. The axiom, “Preach the gospel always, and when necessary, use words,” is attributed to the founder of the Franciscan order, Francis of Assisi. The earnest monk is a monk of the Franciscan order...but it took Mother Teresa to remind him of his own call to preach the gospel, the good news, in his living. Doing the gospel is absolutely central to ministry of Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. And doing the gospel, doing the good news is central to Jesus’ ministry. News by its nature is from the past. It may be the recent past, as in the nightly news, or even breaking news, but one way or the other, news deals with past events. Jesus ends his reading of the prophet Isaiah with the words, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Those who hear Jesus’ reading, bringing good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed, have heard these words, that vision, before. The text comes from Isaiah 61, from the writer contemporary scholars call Third Isaiah. It was written after Jews exiled in Babylon have returned to Israel, roughly 600 years before Jesus. And as much as the exiles hoped and prayed for their return from captivity, things didn’t go as well as they anticipate; life for the returnees is very harsh. Third Isaiah writes good news for Israel’s recent past, offering hope to those oppressed by the exile and the long journey home, those physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted by the grueling work of rebuilding a country and a home laid to ruins. Third Isaiah reminds the returnees that they are God’s people. As God’s people, Israel is to be the host of God. So when things get out of balance, God’s people are to be God-like, and restore balance in the Jubilee year, the year of the Lord’s favor. We don’t know if a Jubilee year ever took place historically, but the vision in Leviticus is that a Jubilee year is to occur every 50 years. Slaves and prisoners are freed. Debts are forgiven. The grace of God is especially visible because the poor and the enslaved are given options.[1] That vision of hope and restoration and balance is the text of Jesus’ reading. When his is finished, Jesus announces that Isaiah’s prophetic words are fulfilled in their hearing. For a people chafing under Roman occupation, for a people who have known too many sons and daughters arrested and imprisoned by Rome, these words voice an ancient vision as more than present hope. Today these words are fulfilled in your hearing. This is current reality. I nearly left those words out of today’s reading–not by intent–I just didn’t highlight the last verse when I printed out the scripture reading. Jim Russ caught my omission, and sent me a quick email: I relish those words which state that today this scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing. It gives me and maybe others such a wonderful explanation of why we read the Bible – i.e. because we want to see those promises fulfilled in our own lives. I would add to that one more piece–that the Bible doesn’t shy away from things as they are, even at their very worst, but it doesn’t leave us there. The Bible’s promises help us envision that which may yet be...that which God so fervently desires for each of us. Just last week, we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose own vision gave options to the poor and the oppressed. His vision loses nothing in the intervening decades. [King] wanted to see spiritual transformation being translated into political, economic and social transformation[2], not just here in the United States, but also in countries where the US is involved. At the time, that was Viet Nam. Other countries now claim that mantle. Sadly, even when events as a-political as Haiti’s earthquake lay a country in ruins and decimate a people, religious and secular voices can still speak out against options for the desperate. Pat Robertson blames the people of Haiti because some of its Napoleonic-era citizens purportedly made a deal with the devil to rid Haitians of French rule. Rush Limbaugh sees Haiti’s crisis as an opportunity for the President to get closer to the ‘light-skinned and dark-skinned black [communities] in this country’, and believes that the U.S. has ‘already donated to Haiti’ [through] the U.S. income tax.”[2] Jesus reminds us of a deeper, more generous, more compassionate vision, and calls us to make it so. With the help of the Spirit, may his words be fulfilled in our hearing. *** [1] Bev Lewis, 3 EpiphanyC10Luke4 |