Call to Truth - Luke 4 - Epiphany 4C

The Call to Truth

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based upon Luke 4: 21-30, 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13, Psalm 71, Jeremiah 1:4-10

Opening prayer (from Psalm 19)

It is fitting to round out that opening with this from Jeremiah, “And the Lord said to me, “now I have put my words in your mouth.””

This is similar to another call story in Isaiah 6.  This one is said to the prophet Jeremiah so that their words become truly prophetic, resonating throughout the land and generations.

So too, I pray that my words are given this same prophetic capability. 

That I pray this and that I stand before Beloved like you saying these words are not mere rhetoric but words that reveal the Truth and power of that Truth.

Jesus, in Luke, preaches in his hometown, but it doesn’t necessarily go as planned.  It would be sort of like me going and preaching in Rockwell City, and they would tell me to “doctor, cure yourself” despite the truth that I say.

This story in Luke reflects a measure of hospitality, specifically hospitality to truth - a truth that is for “all.” The miracles of Jesus do not belong to one group over another. The Word of the Creator does not exist as only those that say what we like but also those that challenge and push us into the “all” of the world.  

The question for us is whether we are willing to witness as truly “all.” 

People take offense at what Jesus says then, and even today, the words and actions of Jesus cause offense to people. 

But why?

Jesus calls upon us to do and to say; to be genuine and to walk with God in our hearts all times and to all people. That, Beloved, is not easy, even uncomfortable. 

Beloved, that uncomfortable is revolutionary because we know our world wants us to pick “us vs them” and wants us to declare winners over losers. Our world wants us identify us as the better over many. 

Good thing for us, that is not what Jesus proclaims. 

For being uncomfortably revolutionary, Jesus is threatened with violence, pain and more by his hometown, later by elite political and religious folks as well. 

You see, Beloved, the Word of God is not always just peaceful scenes of grace and love, but also scenes that challenge and push us, regardless if we acknowledge or want it. 

The call of Jeremiah reflects this as well, “I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” There is give-and-take.

These prophetic words of Jeremiah, Elisha, Elijah and Jesus (and dare I say me) are words of God that lay well with those who agree but may weigh heavy upon those who disagree - even to the point of being offended.

I, as a queer minister, preaching these truths may offend those and may cause stir among those who disagree with me. 

Yet the truths are that: truth. 

Should the word be preached differently so as to put sugar on the medicine that is the Word when it might be received with less welcoming tones?  Should I deny who I am, or should Jesus deny who he is, just because the audience might receive it differently or not at all? 

Should we, in the audience, turn and tell ourselves, “they don’t really mean what they say…” somehow diminishing actual truth because we think we know something discrediting them that has nothing to do with the truth that is revealed. That is “ad personam” fallacy thinking.

Should we discredit a bishop that speaks truths to powerful people or somehow declare “that isn’t the time or place” for such prophecy? 

I argue this is exactly the time and place that such should be done. 

For us preachers, such opportunities are rare to get that kind of audience and prophets need to preach to power. They do so throughout the scriptures. For example, Nathan does to David. Jeremiah does to the people where they want to hurt and jail Jeremiah for telling it like it is; speaking truth to power and to the masses

Why ? Because the need is there, and the truth is unvarnished, does not need to be sweetened. Sometimes, it may sting, but it is truth no less. 

Yes the Word of God goes both ways.  For some is “to build and to plant” and for others, “to pull down…”, especially for us who need to be corrected - even when we don’t want it or want to acknowledge that need.

What is good news for some is not always received as “good” news by others. Yet, truth is not something we can long ignore. It takes courage from prophets to reveal truths that we have ignored. (Unfortunately, prophets have to live with ignored truth while waiting for folks to realize.)

I pray that the words of my mouth and meditations reflect these truths that God puts forth from me. I have gained and prospered and I have had challenges, even poor choices of my own, but when I acknowledge the prophetic truth that is God and that God is among us, there is possibility and there is growth.

You may disagree with me on points, but my Words reflect these truths that have been passed to me through the Spirit into this world that needs it the most; to you, who need it the most - even if you desire it the least.

Be grateful that God gives us refuge and possibilities in the truth. 

Trust in the fortress that is God, in the word that is given to you to do good and to be the love that God wants you to be.  

As Paul writes, be the love that does not “not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in truth.” For love bears, believes, hopes, and endures… “love never ends.”

For that Beloved, we say…

Thanks Be to God