The Problems with New Perspectives
Luke 4:21-30
January 27, 28, 2007

I have a secret to share with you, a message that most ministers don't care to mention. Are you ready? Here it is. Most preachers have a difficult time going back to preach at the churches where they grew up. Oh, in some ways it is wonderful! The folks are glad to see you. They are eager to hear about what you have doing with your life, your family, how things are going. But when it comes to preaching, standing before them and sermonizing, well-they're not always as receptive. Suddenly, the folks see you-not as the all-grown-up-experienced-preacher-come-home. No, they often begin to flash back to years ago-and remember things you would just as soon forget. They'll remember you as that little holy terror who used to tear through the hallways. They'll remember you as that noisy little nuisance who used to disrupt the worship services. They'll remember you as the awkward adolescent who seemed to have no clue as to what was going on. When you open your mouth and begin to speak, everything you say will be filtered through decades-old memories! It is difficult for a preacher to go back home. Everybody knows you-they know your family. And that is the problem-preachers and their families live in "fish bowls"-most everybody knows your history and your hiccups.

But we preachers find strange comfort in knowing that the problem has been around a long, long time. We find strange comfort in knowing that not in just one-but in all four gospels-Matthew 13, Mark 6, John 4, and in today's passage from Luke 4-Jesus has the same problem. Time and time again, he says, "No prophet is accepted in a prophet's hometown!" You become an unprofitable prophet! Or, as is often said about speakers and consultants in general, "You become an expert only after you move at least a hundred miles away from home!"

BY THAT DEFINITION, JESUS BECOMES AN EXPERT FOR US. The words he speaks in today's text were proclaimed long ago and far away-but I wonder if we can hear them-I wonder how we will react to his message? We are in the middle of the season of the church called "Epiphany." Some of us simply pass over this time as just another phase of the church calendar. Others of us may recall that this time of the year is associated with the coming of the magi, the wise guys, who brought their gifts to Jesus and came to symbolize the revealing of Jesus to the Gentile world. Others may consider the definition of the word-"a sudden, intuitive perception into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by common occurrence or experience." Epiphany is a season to see God and Jesus and the Spirit and our lives revealed in new and meaningful ways. So it will come as no surprise to you that I'll be sharing a sermon series along those lines.

The messages continue with the theme we considered during Advent and Christmas-"All Things New." Today, and in the coming weeks, we'll be considering scripture passages that invite us to think about new perspectives, new purposes, and a new sense of the grace and glory of God. Normally, the word "new" has very positive connotations. Advertisers and marketers often come out with a "new and improved" version of an old product in an effort to entice us to purchase it. Generally, folks assume that "newer" is "better." But that's not always the case-as we have undoubtedly experienced with products that have a planned obsolescence. And sometimes "new," especially when it comes to ideas and perspectives, really rattles our cages and rocks our worlds.

That happens to the people who listen to Jesus' first sermon in his hometown. After reading the magnificent prophecy of Isaiah-that tremendous text from Isaiah 61-about the One who would proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind-the One free the oppressed free-Jesus announces that the scripture was being fulfilled that day! Jesus' fame had already been spreading. The headlines in the Nazareth News would have read something like, "Hometown Hero Returns: Jesus, Son of Joseph, to Speak in Synagogue." And if Jesus had stopped talking at verse 21, he would have been fine. The reaction of the congregation is encouraging! Luke tells us that they "all spoke well of him-they were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth."

Hold it right there, Jesus! Don't say another word. But he does. Actually, they expect to hear other words-the rest of Isaiah 61:2-and "the day of vengeance of our God!" Now, that would be true Messiah talk! But Jesus moves away from the script-he begins to ad lib and offer his "new and improved" version of God's vision. In bold and shocking terms, Jesus announces that mercy and peace would be more important than standing over the smoldering bodies of the enemies. Eyes pop open; faraway looks turn to puzzled stares. This was not the happy ending they had expected. And to make matters worse, Jesus adds a dramatic twist by reminding the people of two times in their own history when God extended mercy to "outsiders"-first, to a Gentile woman, the widow of Zarephath, and second, to a staunch enemy, Naaman, the Syrian. This Messiah, God's Messiah, announces a new and improved, God-inspired job description-to bring grace to those who most desperately need it-regardless of their affiliation, heritage or status. And the congregation goes crazy!

Jesus goes from hero to zero, from Nazareth Idol to Nazareth Nut, from respected to rejected, from welcomed home to hurled out! And so it would be for the rest of his ministry-It is a difficult thing to remind people of the painful realities of their own history, their waywardness, their need to turn around, their condition. But Jesus challenged that congregation in Nazareth, and continues to challenge us today. We are called to bring light and love and grace and peace to this world-not just to our own people-but to those who are different.

OH, THE PROBLEMS WITH NEW PERSPECTIVES! But, oh, the powerful progress that can be made when we catch the vision. There was a meeting in Georgia recently. Evangelical Christians and scientists have agreed to put aside their differences and work together. Rick Cizik, vice-president of the National Association for Evangelicals, said, "Whether God created the Earth in a millisecond or whether it evolved over billions of years, the issue we agree on is that it needs to be cared for today." Oh, the potential of new perspectives!

Rev. Oliver "Buzz" Thomas is coming out with a new book, Ten Things Your Ministers Want to Tell You (But Can't Because They Need the Job.) It will be available in March-I have already pre-ordered on Amazon.com because I am curious-what a provocative book title! Anyway, bits and pieces of the book are being published.
Thomas is a minister and a lawyer-now there's a dangerous combination! But one of his "10 Things" has to do with religious tolerance in our country. He says, "Being American, of course, has nothing to do with our gender, economic status, skin color, or where we go to church. Being American is about the principles and ideals set forth in our framing documents, namely, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." He points out that scholars sometimes refer to the United States as the world's first "new" nation-America was the first nation to be founded not upon blood line or kinship-but upon principles and ideals. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thomas calls for us to live by a new Golden Rule-a "civic" Golden Rule-where we protect the rights of others. Oh, the potential and promise of new perspectives!

Some of you remember Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch, who faced an all-white jury that had that had earlier tried to lynch his black client. The movie hit the theaters just as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists prepared to march on Washington. King and others called for a change in a country marked by years of racial prejudice and injustice. In the movie, Finch's stand cost him his reputation. In our country, King's stand cost him his life. But in his sacrifice, thousands of others have found inspiration and courage to continue the quest-not with guns, but with love.

I was moved by an article written by Rabbi Gerald Zelizer, who talks about King's legacy of faith. Reflecting on a speech that King shared just a few days before his death, Zelizer says, "I could not know that the evening's speaker would be murdered 10 days later. "I could not realize how his words would affect my rabbinate for the next 40 years, or how sharply his message would contrast with today's most prominent voices that speak for religion." Zelizer says that King had a remarkable vision of what the world could be-and that he had the ability to unite all people-regardless of race, gender-or indeed-religion. King's words that night-powerful and poetic-still resonate: "All too often I have seen religious leaders stand amid the social injustices that pervade our society, mouthing pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. "All too often the religious community has been a taillight instead of a headlight." Zelizer adds: "Oh, how I miss that kind of consistent, universal voice of faith today."

Oh, the potential and promise and power of new perspectives! But do we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear? Will we get caught up with the crowd, or are we willing to walk with Jesus? Will we be threatened by the Good News, or will we dare to live life on the growing edge of discipleship? Will we be silent, or will we try to speak the truth to a world that doesn't want to hear it?

Bill Bouknight shares an experience from his childhood. "When I was around 7, I was running barefoot through a neighbor's yard and stepped on something that badly cut my foot. "I ran and hid. "Why? "Because I had heard that in such cases a doctor would stitch up the wound. "Nothing sounded more dreadful to me than having somebody sticking a needle and thread into me repeatedly like I was a piece of cloth. "Fortunately, one of my loud-mouthed friends told my mother and I was discovered. "To my great relief the doctor did not stitch me up, though he probably should have. "My fear of the cure was much worse than my wound." Our relationship to Jesus is a little like that. "We want the cure that Jesus brings. We want Jesus to forgive and save us, but not to make us change, especially if the changes hurt. We are like the little girl whose bedtime prayer sounded like this: 'Dear Lord, if you can't make me better, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.'"

But in order for Jesus to heal us, to help us, to unite us, he must first expose our prejudices and problems, our myths and our misunderstandings. Friends, that process is not pleasant. It made the folks at First Church, Nazareth, furious. It is still making people mad today. Oh, the problems… But oh, the potential, the promise, the power, the peace… Of listening for… And living by… The new perspectives of God.