Pentecost +20, "Fearless Generosity Pt2," October 11, 2015 thoughts going in

Luke 4:16-21:  6 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

            We continue this week with our four week journey into the topic of Stewardship. The overarching theme this year is FEARLESS GENEROSITY--a theme gleaned from Ephesians 3:20-21: 20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Throughout each of the four weeks we'll look together at different aspects of Fearless Generosity.

            Our theme verse holds up the reality that it is GOD who has the power (Gk dynamis) to do abundantly far more than we can ask or imagine. And, as mentioned before, the word rendered abundantly is a triple compound: hyper-ek-perisou. It would be like saying, literally in the English, WAY-SUPER-LOTS-MORE-OVER-AND-ABOVE. *This is what the power of God is able to accomplish, and fascinatingly, Paul says that power/dynamis is within us! Last week we saw how that empowers us to FEARLESS LIVING. This week the emphasis is on how we are empowered to FEARLESS SERVICE.

            There are layers of things going on in the Luke passage above that's been appointed for this week's focus. Jesus, reading from the Isaiah scroll is obviously quoting a passage that had a significance to its original audience. But it's also true that within the Isaiah passage (61:1-2), the prophet is referring to a concept much older than himself--Jubilee Year (see Leviticus chapter 8).

            So, let's start at the bottom layer and work forward. Jubilee Year was a string of 7 Sabbath years. God had commanded that when the Israelites took possession of the land he was giving them they were to give the land a rest every seventh year; the land was to have a Sabbath year. Agriculturalists speak of the concept of soil becoming malnourished if crops are never rotated or if it's over-farmed, and so some have always seen a sort of divine husbandry concept in the idea of the Sabbath year. Not that I disagree, but there's something much deeper at work. When God tells Israel to let the ground lay fallow every seventh year... literally, to not plant any crops for a year, but rather live on their stores, something spiritual is happening. God is telling the Israelites to TRUST that they will be alright under this arrangement. One commentator also very appropriately points out that part of this trust is the necessity of adopting a "simple living" lifestyle, at least for two years... the year leading up to the Sabbath year, and the Sabbath year itself.

            Sidenote:  Christians in particular are historically known for an ethos of simple living. Do we still? What does simple living enable us to do that we would otherwise not be able to do?

            To continue, in Leviticus 8 God commands that a string of seven Sabbath years will constitute a SUPER Sabbath year known as Jubilee. During Jubilee, not only does the land lay fallow; not only do God's people engage in simple living; not only is it an exercise of faith that they'll be ok, it's also to be a massive reboot. Those who had fallen on hard times and sold themselves into indentured service are to be SET FREE. Land that had been acquired from a family down the street that had fallen on hard times was to be RETURNED TO THEM. Debts were to be canceled! Jubilee was a radical idea. In our English it sounds like a cause for excitement and celebration--after all, Jubilee sounds like Jubilant! But stop and think, if you had profited and grown fat on the misfortunes of others, you may not be that excited that Jubilee was happening....as what's good for the downtrodden is bad for your net worth. There's a spiritual lesson there as well. In God's economy you may be allowed to profit on the misery of others, but not indefinitely. God never takes his eye off the downtrodden. Well, as I say, ALL of this is just from layer #1.

            Then the prophet Isaiah comes along and refers to this concept in his day, saying the Spirit is upon him, and he has been appointed to proclaim a year of the Lord's favor (a Jubilee). To whom? In his case, Isaiah was talking to those who had spent the last 70+ years in captivity during the Babylonian exile. He was telling them that their lot was changing; that God had looked favorably now on them in their misfortune. Like debts being canceled, and like the giant reboot of things going back to where they belong, Isaiah was telling his audience that God was moving in their midst now to guide them back to their homeland.

            Last of all Jesus comes along, and once again refers to this concept in his day...more or less directly quoting the Isaiah passage about the Spirit of the Lord being upon him and to proclaim a year of the Lord's favor. His immediate audience is comprised of 1st century Jewish hearers who are languishing under a cruel Roman occupation. But in the wider sense, Jesus' audience is any and every person who has access to St. Luke's gospel. And this is perhaps the most important part: the original concept of Jubilee... the original idea of a year of the Lord's favor was only scheduled to occur every fifty years; Isaiah's application of this concept to his own ministry of inspiring people to return home after the end of their long captivity... Isaiah's year of the Lord's favor only happened once. The year of the Lord's favor that Jesus proclaims is ONGOING. He is ever, and always, proclaiming that the time is NOW; TODAY'S date is when this scripture has been fulfilled in your life. Jesus, God's own son, has come to preach Jubilee to you... release from all of the world's enticements that have held you captive; sight ... healing your spiritual blindness... FREEDOM.

            But now the question is freedom to do what? The original Isaiah passage is informative. After telling his hearers that the year of God's favor has come for them, Isaiah tells them: They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God (61:4, 6).

            In other words, God is setting them free to SERVE; to DO; to MINISTER. This is a recurring theme that we find throughout the Bible. God leads his people out of Egypt, setting them free, to BE; to DO; to SERVE. St. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 that salvation is solely thanks to the generous gift of God's grace, but that it's GOAL is to create God's workers here who will BE; DO; and SERVE.

            In the end, "stewardship" could be viewed as a modern way of talking about Jubilee--or at least a component thereof. The year of God's favor has come to us. How do we live in it? How do we live simply? How do we exercise our faith? How do we sense the anointing and inspiration to BE, DO, SERVE, and LIVE for others in this time of God's favor?

Cheers,

T.M.