Advent Lutheran Church

"The Spirit is Upon You! (Lent 1 midweek)"

            Grace and peace to you from God the Creator and the Lord Jesus.  Amen.

            These reflections during the Wednesday night Lenten vespers services will focus on this brief passage from the Gospel of Luke, which forms the basis for Jesus’ first sermon and in which he sets out his agenda for his ministry.

            When Jesus began his ministry he was about 30 years old.  Up to this point Luke has narrated the story of Jesus’ birth, his baptism and his temptation by Satan in the wilderness.  Now, he begins his public ministry.  The scene is his hometown church, the synagogue in Nazareth.  They know him well there; in fact, he has signed up to be the lector at that particular worship service.  The worship leader hands Jesus the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read.  They would have been very familiar with Isaiah.  He was a prophet who lived about 700 years before Jesus, and he preached to a people who were sunk in despair, a people who lived in fear of being invaded by foreign armies and being carted off into exile to foreign lands (both of which eventually happened).  So Isaiah preached to a people who were, in a way, under the gun.

            Jesus takes the scroll from the worship leader, and takes it from there.  He unrolls the scroll and finds the place he’s looking for, the passage that begins, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … .”  These words might have been written by Isaiah, but they are claimed by Jesus as he claims for himself the mission that Isaiah announced.

            We’re familiar with that mission here at Advent.  Right now our mission team is halfway through its weeklong experience on the Gulf Coast.  They’re assisting in the cleanup effort that’s still ongoing five years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  I’ve been on enough of these wonderful trips to know that our mission team will be greeted with gratitude and appreciation for their efforts, probably overwhelmed by thankful folks who really do experience their efforts as a Godsend.  Our mission team is truly anointed with God’s spirit, blessed to do God’s work with their hands, and will bask in the gratitude of those they serve.

            It does not, however, always work out that way.  For example, in this story from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus causes quite a stir.  After reading from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus sits down, the traditional posture of a prophet, and begins his sermon.  (In those days, the lector was also expected to deliver the sermon.  Lectors, aren’t you glad that things have changed?)  Only his hearers are disturbed by what he says.  And as he goes on with his sermon, they become incensed!  He says that there have been times in the nation’s history when God has simply favored people other than the nation of Israel!  And they consider themselves to be God’s chosen people!  How outrageous! 

            Jesus’ listeners become so offended that they try to kill him that morning, but he simply slips through their midst and goes on his way.  What an impact from his first sermon!  But Jesus seems almost serene as he passes through the midst of the crowd that wants to do him in.

            Here’s the point: Sometimes, peace with God means conflict with the world.  And when it did for Jesus, he was able to enter that conflict with courage and boldness and confidence, because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.

            That same Spirit is upon each and every one of you.  In your baptism, the holy Spirit of God was blessed right into you!  And it won’t ever come out!  It’s there to stay, there for good!  Most of us walk around without any conscious awareness of that Spirit, and of the confidence and courage and responsibility that the Spirit brings with it, but it’s there nonetheless, built right into us.

            So, to remind us of a central truth of our lives, I’d like you to do two things.  First, I’d like you to take out that small piece of paper that was handed to you as you walked into worship tonight.  Let’s say this verse in unison, because it’s as true for us as it was for Jesus: “The Spirit … .”

            Next, I’d like you to fold that little piece of paper and put it in your pocket and take it home.  Don’t throw it away!  Keep it as a reminder of a basic fact of your life.  When you go to work tomorrow, or get together with your friends, remember it.

            Just as you have said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you.  The question is: What will you allow that Spirit to do?

            Amen.