It has been a while since I wrote for this blog. Part of the reason is that things have gotten busier in the churches since we are in the season of annual congregational meetings. Another is that we have had some truly wintry weather. We have had to cancel a church service and a meeting, which we always regret, but do so for the safety of those who might venture out. We had one mild week in terms of temperatures, but it also brought with it freezing rain and rain. The roads in the rural areas are a mess. So, for those who missed the sermon last Sunday, here it is:

Luke 4:14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When 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, 17 and 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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And 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. 21 Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (NRSV)

FOUNDERS’ DAYS”

Back before I moved to Minnesota, I lived in Iowa. Back there, I shopped at a chain of grocery stores which have now spread into this state, HyVee. They had what they called “Founders’ Days” in which they recalled the beginnings of the chain. It goes back to the early days when they were the “home town” grocery store in Iowa. But in doing so, they went back to the reason they were in business and those were quality goods at a low price with excellent service, at least according to them. Their jingle for their TV commercials tried to capture that goal, “Shop HyVee. Shop HyVee. Where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle.” That was how they started out in the business. That was their purpose and they wanted to communicate that to us. Those who run the business today want us to know the values of the founders and that they are still active.
The Gospel reading is of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He had just been in the wilderness and successfully resisted the temptation by the devil. He returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee and went to his home town, Nazareth, where he went to the synagogue. In worship, he was given the scroll with the writing of the prophet Isaiah. He found and read a portion of it and then said that it had been fulfilled that day. It is the description of Jesus’ life purpose: The Spirit of the Lord anointed me to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And to make sure that Jesus’ ministry will begin, he has been anointed by the Spirit, has been given the presence and strength of the Holy Spirit.
People and organizations often go back to their beginning to define who they are and what they are about. One of the most famous is the U. S. Constitution which was established at the beginning of our country and states the purpose of this new nation in the preamble:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That is a statement from the founding fathers of our nation of where we came from and where we are going (if we hold fast to it). Those who put it together were guiding the government of our country for centuries to come. Such statements of purpose help us. We can compare actions, decisions, and policies with to see if they continue to fulfill the intent of the founders and continue on the role and work of our government at home and in the world. With it we can test our deeds to see if they live up to the purpose.
A statement of purpose for an organization is valuable because it tells others what this thing is and what it does. It can also tell if a thing is living up to its purpose. The HyVee stores grew into a chain because they, like other stores, did well what stores do. If they had stopped doing that, the question could arise, as it would with any organization, as to whether it was needed.
We hear Jesus’ words because he is the founder of the church. With them he declares his purpose in life. As we follow him, his purposes become ours. The church sometimes is in doubt about its purpose and can use how Jesus took the passage from Isaiah to show why he came and what he was about to do.

The first purpose of the church is to preach good news to the poor. Sometimes it is obvious who they are and the church is called to help in people’s struggle for existence. Other times that struggle is less obvious, but the church is still to give a word of hope, good news in all its different forms. Liberation Community Church is such a place in one of the poorer parts of Memphis. The church has the motto—“Building a church without walls”, which means outreach into the neighborhoods, beyond the four walls of the church, beyond one hour on Sunday, and to go to where the people need good news in their lives. The pastors are J. Herbert Nelson II and his wife, Gail Porter Nelson. This is how she describes how they came to the church: “‘There was this one member,’ Gail Porter Nelson recalls, ‘who said, ‘We would love for you to come help us increase our faith.’ That struck me. I knew they needed to increase their numbers, but their faith? That really resonated with me.’”
The work of developing a ministry to the poor has had challenges. “‘We were struggling to keep this church alive,’ J. Herbert Nelson says. ‘There were times when I’d look at Gail and say, ‘Should we leave?’ And she’d throw the question back at me and say,’ ‘Are we still called to do this work? Then we need to go on and do what the Lord would want.’” One person describes the ministry to those who have become self-destructive by their alcohol and drug abuse this way:
Aaron Cross was one of those people. In 2000, while Cross was in an addiction recovery house, he was taken by a friend to a service at Liberation. He says it was one of the most important moments of his life.
“They came with open arms and have loved me ever since,” Cross says. “They hug you and get to you on a one-on-one level. They become friends. You’re not just a number. It feels like an extended family. I’ve had a few of my friends join also because of that.”
While Liberation will extend a hand, the church does not believe in hand-outs.
“We will assist you, particularly with work and legal struggles, things that are hurdles to you,” Nelson says. “But just to watch you sit and expect to get some money from everybody on Sunday, we don’t do that. We’re about empowering people to do for themselves what we know they have the ability to do.

Jesus proclaimed his mission while in the synagogue, but it was not just for the synagogue, it was for all God’s people wherever they are.

The church is to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. The church is to share the power of the Spirit. Part of the good news is that we are to proclaim to others the healing power of God in their lives. Sometimes we experience God’s healing power for the health of our bodies, but other times it is for our minds and our souls. Marilyn Morgan King tells this story of how she found God’s presence in her life:
Celtic Christians, while believing that all things are sacred, honor certain places as especially holy. These are called “thin spots,” where the line between eternity (heaven) and time (earth) is very thin. Standing in such a place allows one to experience, more fully, the presence of God. Wells are particularly honored as places of healing. While we were in Wales, we visited a number of holy wells. The one that felt most like a thin spot to me was St. Seriol’s Well.
In April, I’d had surgery on both my feet. It was now September and my feet were still very weak, to the point that fellow pilgrims often had to help me climb or pull me up after I’d fallen. Sitting at the edge of St. Seriol’s Well, I surprised myself by suddenly removing my shoes and putting my feet into the water. I’d like to be able to say that I was instantly healed, but it didn’t happen that way, and I admit I was disappointed.
Then a retired university professor who spoke to us that day called our attention to an interesting fact. The well water looked absolutely still and yet it was perfectly clear. How could it be so still without being stagnant? It was, in fact, coming from an underground spring. The water was actually moving, even though on the surface nothing seemed to be happening.
In the bus on our way back to the hotel, I realized that this was also true of healing. Even though on the surface, it may seem that nothing is happening, still the deep healing waters are truly moving according to the Creator’s timetable, not mine! I wanted to remember this next time I prayed for healing.
It’s October now, and even though my feet are still weak, they aren’t hurting anymore. I choose to believe that my healing began at St. Seriol’s.

Jesus’ purpose, which is also the church’s purpose, is to share the good news of liberation and healing and the power of the Spirit, to bring God’s movement to us, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. While we await the coming of this time, we are also reminded by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth, that this is the beginning. The time is now.

Jesus went to his home synagogue and there told the people what he was going to do. It was there that he laid out his vision for his ministry. It is a ministry which gives good news to people, meets their needs. It is a ministry which brings the power of the Holy Spirit among us. It is a presence that heals. This is the vision of the church, too. It gives us a vision which we can carry out into the world to share with our neighbors. It is a vision that can guide our lives of faith. This message by Jesus becomes our purpose, too. This proclamation, this statement, perfectly describes who Jesus is, God with us, God for us. To be shared with the world.

Peace, Tim