In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I wonder how many people here have read this little book--The Purpose Driven Life? It made quite a splash some 5 years ago and sat on the Best Seller List a very long time.

I think that’s the case because it speaks to our yearning to know what we’re here for, what life is really all about, what our role is in the “Big Picture.” In all truth this book is a little too strident in places for me, but nonetheless it did strike quite a chord in our cultural psyche.

Today our gospel tells the story of Jesus telling out HIS purpose to those family and friends who were with him in the synagogue in Nazareth. This little Gospel passage says so much. Let’s take a look at it together.

First we see that it’s from the fourth chapter of Luke, near the beginning of the gospel. That gospel begins by giving us the promises of God to Mary and Joseph, to Elizabeth and Zechariah. We read about the birth of Jesus and a little bit about his youth--but not too much. Then we see him next as an adult, baptized by John, his kinsman, in the Jordan and we hear God’s blessing upon him, “You are my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.” And we see the Spirit lighting on him like a dove.

Right after his baptism Jesus is forced out into the wilderness by the Spirit where he fasted and prayed, readying himself for what was to come. And he was tempted by the forces of evil, and was sheltered by the Spirit while he was out there. And then we pick up with this episode.

Jesus returns to his home town after his desert experience, “filled with the power of the Spirit.” This Holy Spirit was with him through it all.

He’s handed the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, and he finds the lines to read, by himself. He selects them, by way of announcing his purpose to the people there. And here is his purpose:

“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.” That’s it. Nice and concise. Quite a mission statement.

He is to
bring good news to the poor
proclaim release to the captives
proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
let the oppressed go free
and finally he is to proclaim the year--the time--of the Lord’s favor.

Now we could easily take these things literally and stop right there. For instance, Jesus did bring good news--and bread--to the poor. He did heal people who had been born blind or who had become blind. But of course in reading Holy Scripture we do interpret it metaphorically--how else are we to make sense of trees clapping their hands or the waters of creation which abide above the skies?

So let’s take a look for a minute at Jesus’ mission statement, reading it as metaphor.

He’s to bring good news to the poor. What is “good news?” In the gospel it’s the code word for the encouragement and reminder that things which are broken down will be raised up and things which are old are being made new. Above all, good news means salvation and love, reserved especially for those who are impoverished in any way: those whose lives are depressing or filled with grief, those people struggling to heal from accidents or natural calamities like the people of Haiti, those who don’t have enough to make ends meet. Good news to the poor.

He is to proclaim release to the captives--release--that means a loosening of tight bonds, a setting free from what is making it hard to breathe. The captives--well that could be anyone--any of us--who is caught up in a cycle of addiction or co-dependency; anyone who is paralyzed by poor self esteem or anything of that nature; or it could be anybody who cannot break away from habits or a lifestyle that puts them in service to something less than good. And Jesus is here to help people be released from these things.

Recovery of sight to the blind--Sight means seeing things as they really are. Having perspectives on life that are filled with trust in God to bring about good things. Seeing how we ourselves may be making choices that are not very healthy. Seeing how important God really is in our lives. Seeing Jesus as our savior but also our friend. Many of them 2000 years ago--many of us--insist on living blind. There is much recovery of sight to be done.

Letting the oppressed go free--that should be evident in light of what we’ve just covered about the sight of the blind and the release of captives. It’s another poetic way to describe the freedom that’s sitting there waiting for us to claim when we belong to Jesus.

Proclaiming the year of the lord’s favor is literally telling the people that the year ahead is the Biblical year of Jubilee--when the slaves go free, the cultivated land goes fallow, debts are forgiven, and people generally get a rest. Doesn’t that sound attractive? A year when people are taking a break from the rat race. And the metaphorical interpretation of course is that the year of the Lord’s favor is any time when we stop, take a break, take care of ourselves, allow ourselves to breathe and to trust, and break free from what other people may expect from us. That’s the time of the Lord’s favor.

So those things are all a part of Jesus’ mission statement. And as his followers should not OUR purpose reflect and be strongly informed by his?

SO--how are we doing as a church? What’s our purpose--our mission statement? Let’s take a look at it for a minute and see where we might measure up to Jesus or where we might fall short.


And now let’s get interactive, too. Let’s take a look at this mission statement and go through it phrase by phrase--and see how it may or may not measure up to what we hear from Jesus in today’s gospel.

** Christ Church is a welcoming community
literally welcoming on Sunday mornings
renovations = warm and welcoming space

** of loving Christians
how do we show it?
are we willing to work on problems with each other and those outside the parish when they arise?

** exploring our faith
is there any talk of “faith” in Jesus’s statement? NO it’s all action--doing. But is not the faith implied?

** serving others
how far do we go to serve? how far do we push into where it’s uncomfortable?
extra $2000 in Mission--Christ Church Cares
serving = mission for others; meaning out in the world and within. maintaining this parish to be a beacon for newcomers
this includes breaking the chains, setting people free, making it easier for people to breathe

** growing in God’s love
how are we growing--where do we see that?

The huge question--are we truly engaged in bringing sight to the blind; proclaiming release to the captives; bringing good news to the poor? And how might we grow in these areas? This is our call--to grow.

And we of course may ask ourselves individually about how closely we are adhering to the mission of Jesus in our own lives. That is one of the subtexts of The Purpose Driven Life, of course--how closely do we follow and adopt the mission statement of Jesus as we live out our own missions?

There is a story told by the Jewish scholar Martin Buber. He says that a teacher was asked, “In the Talmud it says that the stork is called hasida in Hebrew, that is, the devout or the loving one, because he gives so much love to his mate and his young. Then why is he classed in the Scriptures with the unclean birds?
And the teacher answered, “Because he gives love only to his own.”
Source: The Edge of the Enclosure for January 24, 2010, meditation 3.

It’s so easy to keep our love and our gifts in tight and share only among those in our tight circle. May we have the courage to break out of our small comfort zones and listen to the call of the Spirit:
may we have the courage to touch other people and
bring them good news
remind them that they can be free;
and help them see again--AND--

thereby fulfill our greater purpose in Jesus. Amen.