MISSION: POSSIBLE!
a sermon based on Luke 4:14-21
by Rev. Rick Thompson

     Some of us remember the old television series, Mission: Impossible”.  Many of us are familiar with the more recent movies by the same title, with Tom Cruise in the starring role.

     In the show and movies, the Mission: Impossible team is always given a secret, undercover task to accomplish.  There is an international crime ring or terrorist organization planning some dastardly action that threatens the security of the Western world.  The team is given information about the people involved and instructions for foiling the evil plot.

     And there is a reason for the title Mission: Impossible.  The assignments the team is given do seem impossible.  The odds against are great, and the chances of success small.  But, of course, this is TV and the movies, and the good guys always win!  The Mission: Impossible team consistently beats the odds and accomplishes their mission.

     Today we read about Jesus going public to announce his mission.  He has been baptized, and assured that the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon him.  He has gone into the wilderness and been tested by Satan.  Then, filled with the power of the Spirit, he has gone around Galilee teaching in synagogues.  People are praising Jesus for his deep insight into God and God’s ways, and the word begins to spread that something powerful and profound is happening!

     And then Jesus steps into an incredibly difficult situation.  He goes to his hometown synagogue, in Nazareth.  We’ve heard it said, “An expert is someone more than 50 miles from home.”  And Jesus wasn’t!  This was his home town!  As an adult Jewish male and a visiting rabbi, Jesus had the right to speak at the Sabbath service.  So he stood up and was handed the scroll of Isaiah.  He read the ancient words of liberation and promise:

                        The Spirit of the Lord I 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.

     Then Jesus sat down, and announced, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

     It seems like an impossible mission, this one Jesus has accepted.  Good news… liberation…freedom…healing.  How can such a thing be?  How can Jesus make such a bold claim, “Today…TODAY…this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!”

     Jesus can make that claim because of who he is.  Luke has made that clear to us in preceding stories.  The Holy Spirit has been involved in all the events that come before this: the birth of John the Baptist, the birth of Jesus, his astounding growth into spiritual wisdom, the baptism of Jesus, and his temptation.  Now, empowered by that Spirit, Jesus has burst forth into the public eye.  He has chosen to announce before the people who watched him grow up that he is on a mission from God.

     And it is a difficult mission.  It is difficult, but not impossible.  Why?  Because of the power Jesus possesses.  He is full of the Holy Spirit.  He is the only-begotten Son of God.  He pours out the power of God, releases it, into the world in which he dwells and into the lives of those whom he touches in the world.  In the ministry of Jesus, we see his mission being fulfilled: the blind do receive sight, and the poor do hear good news, and those bound by the power of evil are set free!

     And, in case we should doubt, we only need to remember how Jesus finished his career on earth.  In case we wonder about his power to do what he claims to be able to do, let’s not forget something.  Let’s not forget his death—his terrible, awesome death, in which he battled the powers of sin and evil.  And let’s not forget that he rose from the dead, bursting with power—God’s power of life and forgiveness!

     When Jesus says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!” he has the power to back up his claim!

     Now, of course, we look around us and wonder if there’s any substance to this promise.  Where’s the evidence that this scripture has been fulfilled?  Where’s the evidence that the blind are receiving sight, the poor are hearing good news, the oppressed being liberated?  When people go to bed hungry, and children are mistreated, and the poor can’t find a decent place to live, how can Jesus claim that this scripture is being fulfilled?  When violence goes on and on and on in the Middle East, and around the globe, how can we believe that the promise of Jesus is being fulfilled?

     There’s an important little word in the announcement of Jesus: “today”.  “Today,” Jesus says, “this scripture is being fulfilled.”

     That word “today is a significant one in Luke’s story of Jesus.  It reminds us that God is at work, even when it doesn’t seem that way.  God is at work to fill the world full of justice and mercy, forgiveness and peace.  God is at work in the one who came to suffer and die, to change human hearts and human history.  God is at work to make things good and right!

     God was at work in Jesus, who showed in his life, death and resurrection from the dead that his mission was indeed possible!

     And God is still at work today!

     The work of Jesus goes on.  Healing to those who need it, liberation to the oppressed, and good news to the poor—it’s still happening today!

     The mission of Jesus is still possible!  It is possible because Jesus still lives—and he lives now in us!  It is possible when we are faithful to Jesus and his promises!  The church—as frail and fragile as we are—are the hands and feet and voices and heart of Jesus who continue his mission—TODAY!

     YES, IT IS EVEN POSSIBLE THAT THIS COMMUNITY OF FAITH CAN BE A CENTER WHERE THE MISSION OF JESUS IS HAPPENING IN POWERFUL AND LIFE-GIVING WAYS!

            In fact, I’ve seen it happening here.  You are living proof that the mission of Jesus is possible!  God’s church is living proof that the mission of Jesus is possible!

     Douglas Arey is a member of St. Dysmas Lutheran Church in Jessup, Maryland.  Dysmas is the name Christian tradition has given to the repentant thief crucified beside Jesus.  St. Dysmas congregation is located inside a prison.

     Douglas has been there many years.  Prisoners in a South Dakota prison wanted to start a similar congregation.  Douglas heard about it, and sent a gift—a gift of $1,000!  He had saved the money over the years from his $7.50/week prison job.  Others in the Maryland prison congregation sent an additional $200.  These men, despite their captivity, have discovered the freedom, the good news, the transforming love available in Jesus Christ!  They have discovered that the mission of the Jesus, the mission of the church, is possible!

     “I’ll never be out of these bars,” said an inmate in the South Dakota prison.  “I’ll never have anything, but now I know forgiveness.  Now I look forward to heaven!”

     That’s what the church can do—give people life and hope and liberation through the power of Jesus Christ.  Our mission IS possible!

     A pastor named Dennis experienced this in a powerful way one Sunday morning.

     A family in his church had adopted a child from Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Calcutta.  The child, a little girl, was severely disabled, born with paralyzed legs and other physical problems.  

     When the family brought the little girl home, they immediately sought medical help for her.  Over the next several years, the girl underwent a series of major surgeries.  All this time, the congregation prayed fervently for her well being.

     When the girl was twelve, and the surgeries were finally behind her, the family realized they had been so focused on her medical needs and surgeries that they had not had the girl baptized.  Pastor Dennis was delighted to plan the baptismal celebration with the family.

     On the appointed Sunday, the family arrived late for worship.  When they came into the sanctuary, Dennis already reading the gospel.  The family needed to sit in front for the baptism, so they started down the aisle.  Their daughter, dressed in a beautiful baptismal dress and smiling radiantly, led the way, walking on her crutches.  It was the first time the congregation had seen her walk under her own strength.

     In the scripture reading, Jesus replying to the question of a disciple of John the Baptist, “Are you the Messiah?”  Jesus replied, “Go, and tell John what you see and hear.”  As the little girl continued walking down the aisle, Dennis read on through his tears” “the lame walk, and the poor have good news brought to them.”  And, as this newly-healed child of God sat down in the pew and awaited her baptism, Dennis looked at the congregation and said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

     Somewhere today, perhaps in this very room, this scripture is being fulfilled again.  Jesus is liberating and setting free someone who has been bound by the power of sin or evil or death.  Someone, through the faithfulness of the church, is having his or her life fulfilled and restored by the good news of Jesus Christ.

     The church has a mission.   It is to continue the mission of Jesus.  It is a difficult mission, but not impossible.

     Because, after all, Jesus is alive—and he lives in us!

     Jesus dwells in us and empowers us.  And that’s what makes our mission possible!