From Wikipedia: The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the observable universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution. The model describes how the universe expanded from a very high-density and high-temperature state, and offers a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), large scale structure and Hubble's law (i.e. the farther away galaxies are, the faster they are moving away from Earth).
Also from Wikipedia: Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago, approximately one-third the age of the universe, by accretion from the solar nebula. Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the early atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates from at least 3.5 billion years ago. There is evidence that life began much earlier.
To put all of this scientific jargon in religious terms (as all religions attempt to do) and specifically in Judeo-Christian terms, the ancient writer of Genesis told a story to explain the phenomenon of creation because he did not possess the same scientific knowledge and jargon that we have today. The story he told is, of course, not literally true. Instead, it is mythological, which is not to say that it is made up or fake news. However, it is to say that it holds a truth deeper and more profound than language so long ago could ever convey.
And so, in short, we say that, at the moment of creation, God had a dream. God had a vision. And the Spirit of God hovered over the abyss, the void, the nothingness, the waters of the deep, and God said, “Let there be…”
Let there be light. Let there be life. Let there be birds and animals and all sorts of flowers and vegetation. Let there be humanity, women and men, you and me, whose sole purpose it would be to care for creation and to continue the creative work of building God’s realm, working in partnership with God to fulfill the sacred vision. In addition, let there be Someone, let there be a way, let there be “The Way” to guide you and me and to be a model for all of humanity who choose to follow that path. Let that Someone, that Way show us how to affirm our partnership with God and with each other in this creative project called “life!”
And so it was….And so Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was upon him - hovering – just as it had once at the very beginning of time hovered over the abyss, the void, and nothingness, the waters of the deep. And Jesus went to Nazareth, his home town, and on the Sabbath, he went to church – and preached his first sermon. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me….’
On blogger I read described the scene this way: “The synagogue is stuffy and crowded . The air is electric, People are whispering to each other about their hometown boy who is making such a name for himself. And he is back in town! As a matter of fact, there he is, sitting near the front. Surely he will be asked to speak….
A sudden hush - the service is beginning. The usual prayers, a Psalm, and yes, they are asking Jesus to come forward. Someone was handing him a scroll. He’s unrolling it, looking for the passage he wants. Now he begins.
…Yahwe/God has chosen me….to bring good news to the poor; Yahweh/God 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.
Slowly, reverently, Jesus rolls up the scroll and hands it back to the attendant. Then, as is the custom, he sits down to teach. Everyone’s eyes are riveted on him. They all hold their breath, thinking, ”Well, he certainly picked a well-known passage. Let’s see how well he remembers what his teachers told him about it; let’s see how good he is at recounting the lessons he’s learned.”
(Now Jesus might have preached his first sermon on the past, highlighting the wisdom of the acclaimed Isaiah and the prophet’s vision of a world characterized by justice and peace. Then again, Jesus might have elaborated on the world to come – milk and honey, a glorious promise. “How we long for that,” he might have said. “How we pray all the time for that, but it seems so terribly slow in coming.”)
But what Jesus says next is not what (the congregation) expects at all. He doesn’t repeat the teachings of other rabbis (who might have focused on the past or the future). Instead he says, “Today, the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
It is the shortest sermon ever. It is as if he is saying to them: “Isaiah was talking about me. This is my mission. And, guess what folks, the time is now. The time is today.”
There is an intensity in Jesus’ words and in his presence. The congregation is expecting something, though the men and women do not yet know what that something is. Of course, with 20/20 hindsight, we can pretty confidently say that, put simply, the something is this: This mission, my mission, is your mission too. Youare the tools, the supplies, God needs to make God’s dream a reality.
And guess what? I speak neither of the past nor of some future time. I speak of now. I speak of today. This passage of the ancient prophet Isaiah – the good news, the release, the recovery, the freedom, the proclamation has come true – beginning today.
At first, the congregation was quite impressed by Jesus’ sermon – maybe because it was so short and to the point or because congregations generally give the benefit of the doubt to wet-behind-the-ears young hometown preachers. At any rate, Jesus got excellent reviews that first time around. Not like the preacher who solicited sermon feedback from the9- and 10-year-olds in his congregation who attended worship one morning as part of their Sunday School lesson. Afterwards, each child wrote a letter to the minister reflecting on the experience. Among the comments were these:
Dear Reverend, I liked your sermon Sunday. Especially when it was finished. --Ralph
Dear Reverend, I like to go to church on Sunday because I don't have any choice. --Margaret
Dear Reverend, Thank you for your sermon Sunday. I will write more when my mother explains to me what you said. --Justin
Dear Reverend, I think more people would come to church if you would move it to Disneyland. --Loreen
As I said, Jesus, on the other hand, received heart-warming and positive comments: Good sermon, Rabbi. I could hear every word you said, and I was sitting in the very back of the synagogue.
Hometown boy made good, it would seem. However, if we were to continue to read the next few verses in this Gospel of Luke, we would learn that Jesus’ words, when the congregation really thought them, did not sit too well. Good news? Release? Recovery? Freedom? Proclamation? Not here, not in this synagogue!
The Gospel writer of Luke tells us that the people who heard that first sermon, a couple of days later, tried to put an end to this man who outed their greatest fear, that of actually having to do ministry. They ambushed Jesus, dragged him out of town, took him to the top of the hill on which the town was built, and tried to toss him off the cliffs.
However, Jesus managed to weasel his way out of such a sudden and ignoble death – and, of course, ministered and healed and modeled compassion and justice and reconciliation, clearly and graphically outlining all that he stood for, the essence of God’s dream, until he stirred up the Pharisees and Roman authorities in Jerusalem some three years later and was tried and executed.
However, all that he stood for – the compassion, the forgiveness, the justice, the non-violence, the good news to be brought to the poor; the release to be offered to the captives and to all who are imprisoned by their bodies or their spirits or their past, the recovery of sight to the blind and to all who cannot see the brokenness in the world and the fragility of human life, the freedom to be given to all who are oppressed by whatever or whomever they are oppressed by, the proclamation that the time is now…all that Jesus stood for would live – as he did.
All that Jesus stood would trickle down through the ages, through the centuries to us sitting in our church this morning – and we too would listen to his words and we too would know that today – today - is the time of the lord’s favor.
Episcopal priest Rick Morley wrote a thought-provoking blog on this passage from the Gospel of Luke. He ponders whether we today are all that different from the synagogue congregation that listened to Jesus’ first sermon. He wonders: “Don’t we all go to church expecting something? But, do any of us really take the time to articulate what that something is?
Some, I suppose, expect to hear a good sermon (he writes). Not too long, not too short. Some expect to sing a nice (i.e. familiar) hymn or song. Some expect to be welcomed, and to see people we know. We expect when it’s all over that we’ll have a cup of coffee.
But, how many of us go to church really expecting the Spirit of God to actually show up? Do we expect news so good that it might shatter the despair of the poor? Do we expect release, recovery, and the ending of oppression? And, do we really want all of that to begin with—and would we rather just receive a little comfort, a little encouragement, and nothing that will rock the boat?
Or, do we come ready (Morley asks) and open to see God’s expectations manifest themselves before our very eyes?” Do we come, I wonder, seeking to know more clearly how we fit into God’s realm, God’s dream? Do we come hoping to define our own dreams and passions that lie within that sacred dream? Do we come intent on being co-creators with God of a transformed world?
In our worship series over the next few weeks, we are going to connect with that creativity that lies within each one of us. We will nurture this all too often forgotten but foundational aspect of being human.
We are going to explore what it means to be a co-creator with God. We are going to affirm our birthright: to imagine and create. We will have opportunities here in worship to really think about questions like these: What brings you alive? What truly moves your soul in the very deepest way?
So often our lives are dictated by being “driven’ rather than by being “drawn in”. We focus so much on what we “should” do and so little on what we feel excited about and compelled to do in our lives and in our world. In our worship series, we will hopefully uncover reborn, resurrected, renewed energy for ministry that reflects our passions, so that we are better able to do some creative problem solving to make our world a better place for all.
And because we are a faith community, we also will reflect on the creativity inherent in us as a congregation. What are our passions as a church community? What is holding us back from letting our gifts and talents create a path forward for us?
Is it a fear of change? Is it anxiety about letting go of ministries and programs that have perhaps run their course and no longer meet the needs of our community and those to whom we seek to minister? Is it trusting that indeed, just as the Spirit of God hovered over the abyss, the void, the nothingness, the waters of the deep at the moment of creation, just as the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus, so the Holy Spirit is swirling about these four walls, waiting to guide and to lead us forward.
American religious author Diana Butler Bass wrote: “Faith communities are often consumed with memories of the past and hopes for the future. Speaking of the past may take a form of maintaining buildings and structures, of teaching ancient texts, and passing on patterns of life and values from ancestors. Speaking of the future is often wrapped up in hopes for salvation and eternal life, desires for answered prayers, for the children to hold onto faith or "come back to church."
Both past and future are important to vibrant communities; healthy and life-giving practices of honoring our ancestors and embracing a hopeful future derive from the witness of the whole biblical tradition. But both "past" and "future" as the primary location of faith have their shadow sides (Bass writes). Overemphasizing the past results in nostalgia - the belief that the past is better than either the present or the future - a disposition that is steeped in grief and fear. Overemphasizing the future -the belief that all that matters is that which is to come - often results in thwarted hope, doubt, and anxiety…..
But (a belief in the power of) "today" is a deeply dangerous spiritual reality - because today insists that we lay aside both our memories and our dreams to embrace fully the moment of now. (Bass concludes that) the past romanticizes the work of our ancestors; the future scans the horizons of our descendants and depends upon them to fix everything. But "today" places us in the midst of the sacred drama, reminding usthat we are actors and agents in God's (dream) for the world. ‘Today’ is the most radical thing (Bass writes that) Jesus ever said.”
So – over the next few weeks, we are going to be radical. We are going to be - heaven forbid – revolutionary in our thinking and being and doing. We are going to embrace our creativity.
We are going to celebrate our partnership with God. We are going to reflect on our passions, what makes us come alive, and just how those passions might further the ministries of our church.
We are not going to throw away the past. We are not going to disregard the future, but we are going to affirm today. We are going to see what it would be like to dare to dream bigger – because, well, because with God, the sky is the limit, as we say. We are going to dream God’s dream – along with God – and we are going to embrace the same Spirit that hovered over the abyss, the void, the nothingness, the waters of the deep, the same Spirit that hovered over Jesus in that synagogue long ago.
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