Wednesday - "Pride and Jubilee All Year Long"

 

Reading: Luke 4: 14-21

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 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 let the oppressed go free,
 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."

   

 

Wed. 6-16-21

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

This is the very start of Jesus’s ministry. He has just returned from being baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, and from 40 days of being tempted in the wilderness. Full of the Holy Spirit, he returns to his hometown. He has only been doing a bit of preaching and teaching, no healing yet, or casting out any demons, or distributing any loaves and fishes. In his home town especially, he was still “just Mary’s kid,” born amid town gossip – even back then, people knew when the math between the wedding and the birth didn’t “add up.”

He was “that kid” who got “lost” in Jerusalem one year when he was twelve. And as an adult, he was turning out a bit off-beat – perhaps “goody-two-shoes,” a John the Baptist groupie, and unmarried adult man … which was unusual that culture. But he was still a very active synagogue attender, and that week when he was handed the scroll to read, he preached his first sermon and maybe even the best one ever. It certainly was one of the shortest – “today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Boom. Mic Drop.  

The passage that Jesus read was from the prophet Isaiah and refers to the “Jubilee year” or the “Year of the Lord’s Favor.” We learned a lot about the mentions of the Jubilee year in other parts of the Old Testament, as we learned during synod assembly from Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Old Testament, Chandler School of Theology at Emory. According to Dr. Bonfiglio -  Just as after 6 days we are to take a day of rest, after 6 years the land and fields get a year of rest, depts are forgiven, and slaves were freed – THAT is the jubilee year.

Jesus came to stand in solidarity to the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus came to release those who are in bondage of any kind. Jesus came to heal and reveal. Jesus came to bring freedom to the exploited and demoralized. Jesus came to make a Jubilee Year forever. All are freed, all are loved, and all are welcomed into the kingdom of God that Jesus is ushering in.

We as a congregation and we as the broader church like to say that “all are welcome here.” But when we say this, do we truly mean it? Do we truly extend the welcome that we ourselves have received from Jesus? Or do we – consciously but usually unconsciously – put caveats on our welcome?

We say, “all are welcome,” but we MIGHT mean – you can come to worship here, but we may not talk to you at coffee hour (in the before times). You can come and sit in our pews (in the before times) but only if you aren’t sitting in MY pew. You CAN come, but you might not find an easy way into our building, or you might not find a bathroom you feel comfortable using, or you might not hear God in a way that feels accessible to your experiences or language.

But when we are REALLY welcoming to people, we are doing it in the name of Jesus, in our language, symbols, and actions. Stating our preferred pronouns. Advertising our “Reconciling in Christ” designation. Emmanuel should be proud that we chose to do the work, and it tells the whole world that WE MEAN IT when we say ALL are welcome… but it does not mean that our work is done.

A few of us on staff are reviewing the new book “Made Known Loved,” about creating an LGBTQIA inclusive youth ministry. The author reminds us that Jesus knows what it’s like to not be welcomed, even in the hometown of his youth. Jesus was born from a woman who was not yet married when he was conceived. Jesus grew up with two fathers. As far as what the Gospels tell us, Jesus was not married, but instead surrounded himself with a “chosen” family, as we heard a few weeks ago, when Jesus referred to his followers as his mothers, sisters, and brothers.

Right after Jesus preaches this sermon today in that synagogue, some people are amazed, but some wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff. This turned out to be the pattern for Jesus’s ministry – Jesus going viral, but also making some people very angry.

If Jesus’ message of freedom and love makes you feel glad when you used to feel sad – blessed are you! The kingdom of God is yours. If Jesus’s message makes you feel uncomfortable – great! That means you’re growing! Let’s keep exploring together. If Jesus’ message makes you feel angry – don’t leave. Jesus preached freedom to those who are in bondage, and he cast out all kinds of forces that draw us from God, and Jesus is still doing this even now to you and to me.

This is how Jesus chose to embody God in the world – announcing release, recovery, freedom, good news.  Then Jesus embodied it, putting his body, his life on the line. As his followers, we welcome and invite in Jesus name, because all parts of us are welcome in Jesus name.

We join our bodies with that of Jesus, pray the Spirit of God rests upon us and live compassionately and justly. We don’t “just” love and honor our welcome our LGBTQIA siblings just during pride month. Like sabbath isn’t just one day, we should not just love and show solidarity with our LGBTQIA siblings for one month out of the year. Share your pronouns all year long. Wear your rainbows all year long. Proclaim the Lord’s favor to everyone, all year long.  Because you are freed, all year long. Jesus said it, so we believe it. Thanks be to God.