Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Luke 4:14-21
At Batesville Presbyterian Church on January 21, 2007
This week I received an appeal for help from one of our Elders in the form of an email addressed to me and others. Here is an excerpt from that email.
Dear friends,
This is the story of a grandmother who is raising her three grandchildren. The parents of these children sadly, are both drug addicts and not able to contribute to the welfare of these children.
The grandmother has asked for our help and prayers, too. Two of the children are having medical problems due to their unfortunate birth situation. One of the children was so severely malnourished at the time his grandmother took him into her care that he was terribly underweight for his age.
Before Christmas, the family's house burned down. They lost everything and had no insurance. Things seem to keep snowballing and they are falling deeper into poverty. Currently, they're living in a one room building out on Nash Road. They have gotten a trailer, but can't move into it because they don't have the money to pay for the $2,200 septic tank and installation. Last night the grandmother called me about her situation. She is only receiving $175 a month for the care of all three children, not to mention the fact that they have lost everything that they own. They have become absolutely destitute and she is desperate for help.
They are on food stamps, but this is not enough. As we can only imagine, they need everything. They need appliances - washer, dryer, gas stove, and refrigerator. Also needed are sheets, blankets, and towels.
The family needs clothes, too. They all especially need boots to get through the muddy yard. The grandfather wears a men's size 11, the grandmother wears a ladies' size 8, the third grade girl wears a girl's size 3, and the two little brothers wear boy's sizes 10 and 11 in boots.
The grandmother called me last night on a prepaid cell phone. They have no house phone, and her own cell phone has been cut off and she owes $300 to get it reconnected.
If you or your church could donate to this very needy cause, please let me know - no amount is too small to give. I'm going out to her house either this afternoon or tomorrow to take her some things and talk further with her. To help them, you can give a check to our church labeled "fire victims" or you can write one to the grandmother - Betty Henry - and give it to me.
Thanks so much, Molly
That email struck me because of the desperate situation of the family it described. It reminded me of the theme of Jesus' first sermon. His first sermon came shortly after he returned from a period of temptation in the desert. The devil had tempted Jesus to act as a breadmaker, a materialist, a producer of consumer goods. Jesus said no. The devil then tempted Jesus to take upon himself a mantle of glory, authority, and political power. Jesus said no to the devil. The devil finally tempted Jesus to manifest his spiritual power, demonstrate his religious authority, control unseen powers, manipulate angels. Jesus said no to the devil and told him to get lost and the devil left him alone.
Jesus then made the rounds teaching in the synagogues of Galilee until he returned to Nazareth. There we find him in his childhood synagogue, on the Sabbath day. He stands before his hometown congregation and opens the sacred scroll to the prophet Isaiah. He reads the text. He rolls up the scroll and sits down, as was the custom, to teach the text. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Here is the sermon text of Jesus' first sermon in his hometown. From the prophet 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." (Luke 4:18-19)
Jesus says God has sent him to bring good news to the poor. We should not be surprised that ministering to the poor was the first item on his agenda. After all, his mother, Mary, in her magnificat, her song of elation, praises God for, as she puts it:
"He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."
(Luke 1:52-53)
I suppose we could say Jesus takes after his mother in his compassion for the poor. That is a message we don't hear much from pulpits across America today and I think that is a shame. For today, perhaps more than ever, we need to hear about God's concern for the poor. Yes, it is true, as some are quick to remind us, Jesus did say, "The poor you have always with you," at one point in the gospels. But it equally true that he said we will be judged by God according to the simple criterion of whether we visit prisoners, clothe the naked and feed the hungry. (cf. Matt. 25) If we truly believed what Jesus said, that God will judge us according to whether we feed the hungry, then there would be a waiting line of Christians wanting to work at the Food Pantry. Instead, we have trouble finding volunteers for the Food Pantry.
Contemporary theologian Jurgen Moltmann challenges the church to return to the model of servant leadership portrayed in the Bible in the book of Acts. To make ourselves known as the people who care and demonstrate our charity by our actions, by what we do and how we do it. In some measure, we are doing that. For instance, the appeal I read to you earlier has had some results. Someone responded and had their business donate a septic tank to this desperate family. They still need many things but people have responded to the request. One of the little known facts about Mississippians is that we respond to specific requests for help. Percentage wise, we give more to charity than most Americans. In that respect, we live what Jesus preached.
Lord, open our eyes so we may notice the desperate people that live all around us. Open our ears that we may hear their cries for help. Help us, like Jesus, to bring good news to the poor. Isaiah said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." Jesus said: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." We say, Lord, we also will bring good news to the poor -- not because we want to -- not because it convenient -- not because it is politically correct -- but because Jesus brought good news to the poor, and because we are followers of Jesus, and because he commands us to do it. We will do it. We will respond to Jesus first sermon. We will continue to feed the hungry through the food pantry. We will continue to bring good news to the poor. That is who we are. That is what we do.
