An enduring model of ministry
Commentary
We do not know the name of the prophet whose words provide the Old Testament reading for this day. He belonged to a post-exilic circle of prophets and Levites who were being pushed outside the sphere of public influence by the growing power of the Zadokite priesthood in Jerusalem.
He remains anonymous, but his words reveal a person of courage and compassion who stood against official indifference and reached out to those dispossessed by greed and arrogance. We have no way of assessing the immediate impact of his ministry. The evidence suggests failure. His words rested dormant in the prophetic scroll.
Some few centuries later a young man in Nazareth, impelled by strange stirrings within, sought to understand and define the vocation that was his. He pored over the sacred scrolls and through these words of a long dead and anonymous prophet he began to understand the shape and character of that vocation. One day he stood up in his village synagogue, requested the scroll of Isaiah, read these words and electrified the hearers by announcing, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21) This was a very local incident that was in fact a pivotal moment in history. Strange are the ways of God. Kneel in wonder!
In that moment in the synagogue Jesus by his endorsement also set down the standard by which all ministry in every time and place is to be tested and judged. In the epistle lesson the admonition of Paul rings out, "Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil." But how do we test the words of those who address us in the name of God? There is no little need to do this in a world and nation where militant and retrogressive fundamentalisms are on the scene, cultic leaders lead their followers into bizarre nightmares, and celebrity preachers present dazzling television spectacles. There is an enduring model certified by our Lord. Do we hear any pleas for justice for the oppressed, compassion for the broken-hearted, inclusion for the rejected?
In the gospel lesson John the Baptist is presented as a model preacher and evangelist whose words and style test all of us. He is open to the questions and scrutiny of the larger community. He makes no pretentious claims for himself. Humility does not come easy to powerful and spellbinding preachers. It doesn't come easy to any gifted person.
OUTLINE I
The romance of the gospel
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
A sermon springing out of this reading could go in one of three directions. There is the story of the unknown prophet, his words, his frustrated ministry and the destiny of his words in helping to shape the vocation of Jesus. Brooding over this leads right into the romance and mystery of our faith.
Another direction is suggested by our Lord's use of this passage. In pre-lectionary days in mainline churches one of the Sundays of December was called Universal Bible Study. A sermon lurks here on the place of Bible reading and study in the life of Jesus.
The third direction can link up with the epistle and gospel lessons and deal with the validity of and the need to test various ministries including our own.
A. v. 2b. Note that at Nazareth Jesus omitted the words "and the day of vengeance of our God." He did some editing. The written word is subject to the authority of the Living Word. "We urge Christ against the scriptures." So spoke Martin Luther. There are activists in our midst who espouse a militant bibliolatry and who would impose upon us if they had political clout some of the most punitive laws found in the biblical record.
OUTLINE II
A time to test
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
It has been an axiom in our culture that "it does not matter what you believe just so long as you are sincere." Sincerity is made the highest of all virtues. Yet one can be sincerely wrong, sincerely misguided, sincerely stupid. The fact is what we believe in and belong to matters decisively. When the beliefs of Adolph Hitler became the ideology of a political party and captured a nation the result was a human tragedy. The early church did not hesitate to put competing gospels under scrutiny. The apologia was a distinct type of sermon that directed ideas in the public arena.
A. v. 19. "Do not quench the Spirit." One can quench an idea unawares its source might be the Spirit. That is why a continually creative society needs to be a society in which the market is open to the voicing and circulation of ideas.
B. vv. 20-21. We have presently on the scene groups bearing titles that lay claim to prophetic or religious authority. The Christian Action Committee and the Christian Coalition are two such politically active groups. By what criterion do we test their understanding of ministry? The understanding of ministry articulated in the Old Testament lesson of this day and edited and lived out by Jesus is our enduring model. There are groups abroad in our world that would reverse the Spirit's work and bash every head that rises and resist every group that seeks fairer treatment.
OUTLINE III
Keeping the roles straight
John 1:6-8, 19-28
A. v. 6. There is an echo of ancient differences between the young church and the followers of John the Baptist. John the Evangelist presents the Baptist as a model of Christian witness. He is a man sent from God. Each of us called to ministry wants to think of oneself as a woman or man called by God. We also want to remember that we are not the light.
B. vv. 19-23. Others have been sent from Jerusalem to check out the Baptist and his message. John carefully defines his own role as a herald. He is a voice crying in the wilderness. This is accented again in verses 24-28.
John's vocation does not give him any special status before the One who comes.
On a rainy day any pastor is apt to hear the question, "Can't you do anything about this weather?" It is ego satisfying to think that we might be able to change the weather, even to hear a parishioner suggest that we might have such power. I had never known how to answer such a question until this answer came to my attention: "I am in sales, not in management." It is a good distinction for all of us to keep clear.
