THE FOURTH SUNDAY

AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Year C
January 31, 2016
Volume 20, Number 9
ISSN 1071-9962

CONTENTS:
A Thought on Preaching
Title
Sermon in a Sentence
Scripture
Biblical Commentary
Children's Sermon
Sermon
More Sermons on this Text
Thought Provokers
Hymns & Hymn Story
Bibliography
A THOUGHT ON PREACHING: The English author, Aldous Huxley, said that
effective public speakers create a zeal "whose intensity depends not on the rationality of
what is said or the goodness of the cause that is being advocated, but solely on the
propagandist's skill (in using) words in an exciting way."

Clergy are apt to turn up their noses at that kind of zealousness, which, admittedly, can
lend itself to demagoguery. However, we need to realize that zealous preaching is a tool
which can be used for goodand then we need to practice it in behalf of preaching the
Gospel.
TITLE: A Sermon We Don't Want To Hear!
SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Christ calls us to broaden our vision of God's mercy to
include those whom we don't like.
SCRIPTURE: Luke 4:21-30
BIBLICAL COMMENTARY:
LUKE 4:14-30. JESUS' VISIT TO THE NAZARETH SYNAGOGUE
The common lectionary divides the story of Jesus' visit to his hometown synagogue:
Verses 14-21 (Epiphany 3C) tell of Jesus' initially favorable reception and his reading
from the scroll of Isaiah.
Verses 21-30 (Epiphany 4C) continue Jesus' remarks and record the hostile response of
the congregation.
As noted in the exegesis last week, Luke places this story at the very beginning of Jesus'
ministry, not because of concern for chronology, but because this story is a paradigm for
Jesus' ministry and for the ministry of the church in the book of Acts (also written by
Luke). It is the story of Jesus and the early church writ small so we might see it at a
glance.
Jesus first comes to the Jewish people in a stable in the city of David (macrocosm); now
he comes to the synagogue in his hometown (microcosm).
Just as the Jewish people will receive Jesus favorably because of his teachings and
miracles (macrocosm), so also the people of Nazareth "wondered at the gracious words
which proceeded out of his mouth" (microcosm).
Just as the crowds, at the instigation of the religious leaders, will turn on Jesus and
demand his crucifixion (macrocosm), so also the people of Nazareth become enraged at
his preaching and try to throw him off a cliff (microcosm).

 Just as Jesus' resurrection will overcome the crucifixion (macrocosm), so also "he,
passing through their midst, went his way" (microcosm).
This is also the basic outline of the book of Acts. In that book:
The apostles begin their ministry in Jerusalemevery Jew's hometown.
The people receive them favorably on the day of Pentecost, and three thousand people
are baptized (Acts 2).
The story quickly turns, and the church is persecuted, often severely.
Nevertheless, the church spreads rapidly. The book of Acts concludes with Paul in
Rome, where he spends two years welcoming "all who were coming to him, preaching
the Kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all
boldness, without hindrance" (Acts 28:30-31).
LUKE 4:21-24. TODAY!
21

He began to tell them, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22All
testified about him (Greek: emarturoun autowas testifying or bearing witness to him),
and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said,
"Isn't this Joseph's son?" 23He said to them, "Doubtless you will tell me this parable,
'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in
your hometown.'" 24He said, "Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable (Greek:
dektoswelcome) in his hometown."
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (v. 21). Jesus' preaching
begins with the word "Today." The prophets conveyed promises for the future, but Jesus
conveys promises for today. The waiting is over. The time has come. The Spirit of the
Lord is upon Jesus now. He brings good news to the poor today. He proclaims, at this
very moment, release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. He has already
begun to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (v. 18). In this
Gospel, Jesus will speak on several occasions of the kingdom of God as being already
present (11:20; 16:16; 17:20-21).
The Jewish people have waited centuries for the messiah. They have seen God work
miracle after miracle throughout their history, from the parting of the Red Sea to the
incineration of the prophets of Baal, so we would expect them to be ready to receive the
messiah but we would be wrong. As we will see in this Gospel lesson, they are
anything but ready. It has been four hundred years since they have seen a prophet, except
for John the Baptist who is now preaching in the wilderness, and they don't expect today
to be the day. It has been a long timecenturiessince God promised a messiah, and

they have grown weary of waitinglike a guard fallen asleep at his post. Jesus says,
"TODAY this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." TODAY! But they aren't
ready today! They begin by speaking well of Jesus (v. 22), but almost immediately turn
on him and try to kill him (v. 30).
This story should be instructive to us. Jesus has promised to come again. It has been a
long time since he made that promise, and our guard is downwe have grown weary of
waiting. The day will come when Jesus will announce, "TODAY!"and everything will
hinge on our readiness to receive him. "Jesus' claim that 'today this scripture is fulfilled
in your hearing' places both listeners and readers in the position of having to make a
choice. No fence-sitting is possible" (Bock, 87).
"All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out
of his mouth, and they said, 'Isn't this Joseph's son?'" (v. 22). Some scholars think of
this comment as negative. Who does Jesus think he is? Has he gotten too big for his
britches? The reference to Joseph could point to the embarrassing circumstances of
Jesus' birth. Matthew 13:54-56 and Mark 6:2-3 reinforce this by characterizing the
people's response as negative from the beginning. However, in Luke's telling, this
hometown crowd "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth."
It seems that they are surprised at the kid from down the block who has begun an exciting
work and whose presence now fills their pulpit.
"Isn't this Joseph's son?" (v. 22b). Green characterizes this as a "subtle joke between
narrator and reader, (because) we (Luke's readers...)... know that Jesus is Son of God, not
son of Joseph; he comes to fulfill the purpose of God, not to be restricted either by the
demands of the devil (4:1-13) or, now, by those of his own townspeople" (Green, 215).
"Doubtless you will tell me this parable, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we
have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown'" (v. 23). Luke has
not yet reported on the things that Jesus did in Capernaum, but instead has Jesus going to
Capernaum immediately after this visit to Nazareth (vs. 31). However, as noted above,
Luke places the story of Jesus' visit to Nazareth earlier than do either Mark or Matthew
because his interest is emphasis rather than chronology. Matthew tells us that Jesus left
Nazareth "and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea" at the very beginning of his
ministry, even before he called his disciples (Matthew 4:13). Mark has him teaching and
working miracles in Capernaum at the very beginning of his ministry (Mark 1:21-34).
John has him going to Capernaum immediately after working his first miracle in Cana
(John 2:12). It seems almost certain that, by the time Jesus addresses the Nazareth
congregation, he is living in Capernaum rather than Nazareth.
Jesus' comment makes it clear that he has done wonderful things in Capernaum, and the
hometown folk expect him to do at least as much for them. It is a call for Jesus to match
his "gracious words" (v. 22) with great deeds. Capernaum has many Gentiles among its
population and is thus (in Jewish minds) less deserving. Now that Jesus is among his
own peopleGod's peopleNazareth expects great things of him.

In context, the phrase "Physician, cure yourself!" (v. 23) appears to mean, "If you were
able to heal the undeserving people of Capernaum, you should be able to do even better
for your own people." It is a call for loyalty to the in-crowd. At the cross, scoffers will
respond to Jesus in much this same way. They will jeer, "He saved others. Let him save
himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!" (23:35).
"Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown" (v. 24). Jesus
cannot accept the narrowing of his mission that the people of Nazareth would impose on
him. He cannot reserve his generosity for hometown folk. He cannot devote himself to
the local arena. Instead, he must tell these hometown folk a truth that they do not want to
hear, and he can predict their response. They are not going to be happy.
Indeed, Israel has a long history of rejecting prophets (2 Chronicles 36:16; Jeremiah 2:30;
Amos 2:12; Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; Hebrews 11:32 ff.).
Prophets are seldom popular, because God sends them to say unpopular things. They tell
of judgment and call people to make changes that they don't want to make.
LUKE 4:25-27. THERE WERE MANY WIDOWS IN ISRAEL
25

"But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the
sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
26
Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman
who was a widow. 27There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet,
yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian."
"But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of ElijahElijah
was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who
was a widow" (vs. 25-26). This story from 1 Kings 17 would be familiar to this crowd.
In the midst of a life-threatening drought, God sent Elijah to Zarephath to ask a poor
widow for water and bread. She protested that she had just enough for one loaf for
herself and her son, and then they were going to die. Elijah asked her to obey in faith,
promising, "The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day
that Yahweh sends rain on the earth" (1 Kings 17:14). She responded as requested, and
was duly rewarded. Later her son died, and Elijah prayed successfully that his life might
be restored. There is only one problem with this lovely story. The widow was a Gentile.
"There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of
them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian" (v. 27). This story from 2 Kings 5:114 is equally familiar, but subject to the same flawNaaman was also a Gentile. Jesus'
mention of Naaman must be especially galling to this Nazareth crowd, because Naaman
was a Syrian army commander, and the mention of his name would bring to mind the
Roman soldiers who now occupy Israel.

Luke already reported John's warning to the Jewish crowds in the wilderness, "Bring
forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say among yourselves, 'We
have Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to
Abraham from these stones!" (3:8). The Jewish people must not consider their
relationship with God to be an exclusive franchise. Jesus reinforced that message by
beginning his work in Capernaum (see Matthew 4:13), a place where many Gentiles live.
The Nazareth crowd has not yet rejected Jesus, because they expect that he will do even
more wonderful things in Nazareth. Now, however, he speaks clearly and decisively,
drawing from their own scriptures to dash their expectations. They cannot expect
exclusive privileges just because they are Jewish.
LUKE 4:28-30. THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH WRATH
28

They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things. 29They rose
up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built
on, that they might throw him off the cliff. 30But he, passing through their midst, went his
way.
"They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things" (v.
28). Jewish people think of Isaiah 61:1, which Jesus quotes at Nazareth (vv. 18-19), as a
promise to Israelthat the messiah will bring good news to oppressed Israel, will bind up
the brokenhearted of Israel, and proclaim liberty to captive Israel. They think of the
phrase, "the day of vengeance of our God" in Isaiah 61:2which Jesus did not include in
his quotationas promising judgment on Israel's enemies. In other words, they expect
the messiah to deliver Israel and to wreak vengeance on Israel's enemies. However, Jesus
reminds them of a low point in their history, when God brought famine on Israel as a
judgment but saved a Gentile widow. Jesus also reminds them of God's mercy on Gentile
Naaman. His message is the opposite of the one that they expect to hear, and they are
furious. We should not judge them too harshly, however, because we, too, are easily
angered when someone tells a truth that we don't want to hear.
"They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that
their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff" (v. 29). This could be
a stoning procedureaccomplished by pushing a person over a cliff or into a low place
so that the crowd can stand above and throw stones. Leviticus 24:14 required such
stonings to take place outside of town (see also Acts 7:58; 14:19). Stoning is appropriate
for a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-11). However, it is also possible that the crowd is
simply functioning as an enraged mob with no agenda other than venting rage and
eliminating its source.
As stated above, this story is a paradigm for the rest of Jesus' ministryand also for the
ministry of the early church in the book of Acts. It prepares us for:
Jesus' continuing emphasis on ministry to out-groups.

 The growing opposition to Jesus by Jewish leaders and the crowd's insistence that Jesus
be crucified (23:18).
The persecution of the church in the book of Acts (also written by Luke).
The eventual acceptance of Gentiles into the church that will begin with Peter's vision in
Acts 10.
Paul's statement, "Be it known therefore to you, that the salvation of God is sent to the
nations. They will also listen" (Acts 28:28).
"But he, passing through their midst, went his way" (vs. 30). Luke will tell other
stories of miraculous escapes:
An angel will free Peter from prison (Acts 12:6-11).
The crowds will stone Paul and leave him for dead, but he will revive and continue to
Derbe where he will resume his ministry (Acts 14:19-20).
An earthquake will free Paul and Silas from prison, resulting in the conversion of the
jailer and his household (Acts 16:25-34).
Forty Jews will form a conspiracy against Paul and bind themselves to an oath to kill
him, but they were unable to lay a hand on him (Acts 23:12-22).
Perhaps we could summarize by saying that, when a person responds faithfully to God's
call, God will not allow interlopers to thwart that call. That falls short of total protection.
God's servants have been imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, and even martyred
but they have not been stopped. As Julian of Norwich put it: "God said not, 'Thou shalt
not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted,' but he said,
'Thou shalt not be overcome.'"
CHILDREN'S SERMON: All Spoke Well of Him
By Lois Parker Edstrom
Object suggested: Memento or picture of a well-known person specific to your area.
Do you know of a famous person who grew up in your town? Perhaps there is a street
named after that person or a museum that contains information about a well-known
person from your area.
In my small town the famous person is a sea captain who sailed from the east coast of the
United States, around the tip of South America, to the west coast of the United States. He
settled on an island in Puget Sound and our small town is named after him.

Stories have been told about the famous sea captain because he was brave and
adventurous. He helped early settlers form a community where they could live together,
build a church, start a school, and set up businesses. (Tell the story of a well-known
person who is unique to your location.)
People become famous for many reasons. We know of those who are famous because
they invent things; others are great artists, musicians, writers, or actors; still others may
excel at sports or have discovered a cure for a troublesome illness.
Jesus became famous because he brought God's love to the world. He traveled to many
towns, teaching and preaching the good news of God's love. He healed people of their
illnesses, brought sight to the blind, and set people free.
As an adult he traveled back to his hometown where people had known him as a boy. For
hundreds of years prophets (people who talked about what would happen in the future)
had spoken about the Son of God who would come to bring God's love to all people.
The people of his hometown could hardly believe that Jesus was this famous person of
whom the prophets had spoken, but he told them, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing" (4:21). This meant that what the prophets had foretold was happening
for all to see Jesus offering God's love to all people.
The Bible tells us that "All testified (spoke well) about him, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth" (4:22). You can learn more about Jesus in
the Bible.
SERMON:
Jesus spoke in his hometown synagogue. He started off all right! He read a passage from
Isaiah about good news for the poor and freedom for the oppressed, and the people loved
it. They figured that he was talking about them. He was bringing them good news. He
was bringing them freedom from oppression. Luke says, "All testified about him, and
wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth" (v. 22). Wasn't this
Joseph's son! Wasn't he the kid from down the block! How had he grown up to be
somebody? Where did he get his talent?
But then something went wrong. Jesus spoke just a little longer. By the time he was
finished, they were ready to lynch him! The hometown crowd was ready to throw him
over a cliff! His friends and neighbors wanted to kill him! What happened? What
caused this sudden loss of support? Why did the people of Nazareth turn against Jesus?
The answer is very simple. Jesus had worked miracles in Capernaum, a town not far
from Nazarethand not very refined by Nazareth standards. Lots of Gentiles lived there.

It would be going too far to call Capernaum "Paganland," but that is how the people of
Nazareth felt about it. They looked down their noses at Capernaum.
Now that Jesus had returned to Nazarethreturned homethe people expected that he
would work even greater miracles. They were not sure why he had started his ministry in
Capernaumperhaps he was just warming up therebut they were sure that he would
give Nazareth a special dose of his magic. When he read the scriptures about good news
for the poor and freedom for the oppressed, they said, "Yes!" Give us some good news!
Give us some freedom! Lay it on us!
But then Jesus disappointed them! He told them that they were expecting a great deal
from him now that he was back home, but he said, "Most certainly I tell you, no prophet
is acceptable in his hometown" (v. 24). Then he told them two stories from their
scriptures. They were very familiar stories to that synagogue crowd, but they are
probably less familiar to you.
The first story was about Elijah. There was a great famine. People were starving. God
told Elijah to go to a widow in Zarephath, and he did so. The woman was in a pitiful
situation. She had a young son, and the famine had ruined them. He had only a handful
of meal and a bit of oiljust enough for one pitiful meal for herself and her son. Once
they ate that, she had nothing else. The cupboard was bare. They were doomed to
starvation.
When Elijah found the widow, he asked her for something to eat. She told him that she
couldn't help him. She told him of her handful of meal and her little bit of oil. She told
him that she and her son would soon die of starvation. Elijah told her not to be afraid.
He told her to go ahead with her plans, but he told her to bring him a small cake of meal
first. Then he made her this promise. He said, "For thus says... the God of Israel, 'The jar
of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that (God) sends rain
on the earth'" (1 Kings 17:14). The widow did as Elijah had asked, and his promise came
to pass. "The jar of meal didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the
word of (the Lord), which he spoke by Elijah" (1 Kings 17:16).
It was a lovely storya story guaranteed to tug at the heart of any parent who had ever
despaired of providing for their children. There was only one flaw in the story. The
woman was a Gentile. Jesus told the people of Nazareth that there had been plenty of
needy Jewish widows, but God had sent Elijah to help this Gentile widow.
Then he told them about Naaman, a Syrian army general with leprosy. A servant girl told
Naaman's wife that there was a prophet in Samaria who could cure the leprosy. Naaman
went to Elisha, who ordered him to bathe seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman was
not pleased. Bathing in a river would not cure leprosy. Besides that, they had better
rivers in Syria than this muddy stream in Samaria. If bathing in a river would cure
leprosy, Naaman would have bathed in one of the Damascus rivers. He started to leave in
a huff.

But one of Naaman's servants came to him and said, If the prophet had asked you to do
something difficult you would have done it. Since he asked you to do something easy, at
least give it a chance! Don't give up! Try it! So Naaman bathed in the Jordan seven
times. The first six times, nothing happened. Then, after he immersed himself a seventh
time, he came up out of the water and his skin was "restored like the flesh of a young boy,
and he was clean" (2 Kings 5:14).
Again, a lovely story. There was only one flaw in it. Naaman was a Gentile. Jesus told
the people of Nazareth that there were plenty of Jewish lepers, but God had decided to
cure this Syrian leper.
The people of Nazareth were not stupid. They knew that two plus two equals four. They
could read Jesus' lips. He had started his ministry among Gentiles, and now he was
reminding them of God's special grace to Gentiles.
Jesus was telling them that, as Jews, they had no exclusive franchise on God's love or
mercy.
He was telling them that they, as his hometown neighbors and his countrymen, had no
special claim on his affections.
He was telling them that he was bringing good newsand he was bringing it to
Gentiles as well as Jews.
And they didn't like it! They didn't like it one little bit! They had assumed all their lives
that they had a corner on religion. They had God locked up! They might not be a great
nation like Egypt or Babylonia or Rome, but they had God in their pocket! God was on
their side, and that meant that God was against everyone else. The enemies of Israel were
God's enemies. God would lift the Jews up and grind their enemies down.
But Jesus said, No! God loves the Gentiles too! Your own scriptures tell you that! Just
look at them! Just look at the widow of Zarapheth! Just look at Naaman! Don't their
stories tell you anything!
And the people of Nazareth got so angry that they tried to kill Jesus. They tried to throw
him off a cliff. They tried to dash him on the rocks. He had preached a sermon that they
didn't want to hear, and they tried to silence his voice forever.
And we say, How stupid! How parochial! They had ears, but they could not hear! They
had eyes, but they could not see! Couldn't they understand that God is big enough to get
his arms around all of us! Couldn't they see that God can be generous to one person
without taking it away from another person! Couldn't they understand the implications of
their own scriptures!
But are we any better? Are we?

10

Some years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold
these truths to be self-evident; that all men were created equal.'" And
people got very angry.
King said, "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the
sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able
to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." And they put him in
jail.
He said, "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a
state sweltering with the heart of injustice, sweltering with the heat of
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice."
And they brought out the dogs.
He said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in
a nation where they will not be judged according to the color of their
skin but by the content of their character." And they bombed a church
and killed little girls.
He said, "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be
made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
And they pointed a rifle and pulled the trigger.
In those days, I was the pastor of a small church. One of the elders in
that congregation said, "If Martin Luther King is such a fine man, why
does trouble break out wherever he goes?" I said, "But he doesn't
cause the trouble!" He said, "But trouble follows him wherever he
goes!" I said, "What about Jesus? Trouble followed him too!" But that
just made him angry. I could see it in his face. That elder would have
been happy to hurl me off a cliffpreferably right behind Martin Luther
King, Jr. It was a difficult time for me personallyand a terrible time
for our country.
We can say, Those days are behind us. Thank God we don't have to go
through that again. But those days are not over. Those days will not
be over until we can get our arms around the people whom God loves.
We aren't even close.
I was talking with friends about the problems of violence in prisons.
How do you control a violent population? One of my friends said that
he could solve it! Just bring in guns and mow them down! Our arms
are not very long yet, and our hearts need filling with love.

11

Our nation is preparing to elect a new president, but we are so divided.

Can we pull together! Can we make decisions based on what is right
for the nation rather than what is right for a particular group? I don't
know! Our arms are not very long yet.
The situation in the Mideast is about as tense as it has ever been. It is
a powder keg surrounded by people trying to light the fuse. Is there
any hope? I don't know. Our arms are not very long yet, and were not
inclined to reach out to those who are different than we are.
We would like Jesus to smooth all the rough places in the roadand make our lives
easier. Sometimes Jesus does make our lives easier. I am convinced that my lifetime
walk with Jesus has conferred blessing upon blessing on me. I am often able to sleep at
night after turning a problem over to Jesus. Often I awake with the solution lighting up
my horizon.
But Jesus did not come to bless us with an easy life. Instead, he has come to give us a life
full of purpose and meaning. Let us never forget to pray for guidanceand let us never
forget Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love Godand a second
commandment is like itto love our neighbor. If we will do those two things, we can be
assured that Jesus will bless us in ways that we could never have imagined on our own.
FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT:
Go to http://www.lectionary.org/
On the LEFT side, under SERMONS, click on the "By Book of Bible" link.
Then click on the "Luke" link in the right-hand column.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
If Jesus Christ were to come today,
people would not even crucify him.
They would ask him to dinner,
and hear what he had to say,
and make fun of it.
Thomas Carlyle

* * * * * * * * * *
To this day the fact remains that when a man is brought face to face with Jesus Christ,
he must either hate him or love him;
he must either submit to him, or desire to destroy him.
No man who realizes what Jesus Christ demands can possibly be neutral.
12

He must either be his lover or his foe.

William Barclay

* * * * * * * * * *
The only real Jesus is one who is larger than life, who escapes our categories,
who eludes our attempts to reduce him to manageable proportions so that we can claim him
for our cause.
Any Jesus who has been made to fit our formula ceases to be appealing
precisely because he is no longer wondrous, mysterious, surprising.
We may reduce him to a right-wing Republican conservative or a gun-toting Marxist
revolutionary
and thus rationalize and justify our own political ideology.
But having done so, we are dismayed to discover that whoever we have signed on as an
ally is not Jesus.
Categorize Jesus and he isn't Jesus anymore.
Andrew Greeley's introduction to Lloyd C. Douglas's The Robe

* * * * * * * * * *
Our society has taken Jesus and recreated him in our own cultural image.
When I hear Jesus being proclaimed from the television stations across our country, from
pulpits hither and yon,
he comes across not as the biblical Jesus, not as the Jesus described in the Bible,
but as a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant Republican....
God created us in his image,
but we have decided to return the favor and create a God who is in our image.
Tony Campolo

* * * * * * * * * *
A man who really thought of nothing but getting safe to heaven
would be as bad as a man in a shipwreck who thought of nothing but getting himself safe
into a boat.
Bernard Bosanquet

* * * * * * * * * *
I have three English walnuts, and both my sons want two of them.
In every realm, that's the major problem in the world today.

13

Abraham Lincoln

* * * * * * * * * *
HYMNS:
Baptist Hymnal (BH)
Chalice Hymnal (CH)
Collegeville Hymnal (CO)
Common Praise (CP)
Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW)
Gather Comprehensive (GC)
JourneySongs (JS)
Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW)
Lutheran Service Book (LSB)
Lutheran Worship (LW)
Presbyterian Hymnal (PH)
The Faith We Sing (TFWS)
The Hymnal 1982 (TH)
The New Century Hymnal (TNCH)
United Methodist Hymnal (UMH)
Voices United (VU)
With One Voice (WOV)
Wonder Love and Praise (WLP)
Worship & Rejoice (WR)
GATHERING:
From All That Dwell Below the Skies (BH #13; CH #49; CO #563; CP #344; JS #447;
LBW #550; LSB #816; LW #440; PH #229; TH #380; TNCH #27; UMH #101)
How Firm a Foundation (BH #338; CH #618; CO #452; CP #527; ELW #796; GC #606;
JS #404; LBW #507; LSB #728; LW #411; PH #361; TH #636, 637; TNCH #407; UMH
#529; VU #660; WR #411)
PROCLAIMING:
Father, We Thank You, for Your Have Planted (CO #374; CP #81; ELW #478; GC #568;
LSB #652; TH #302-303; UMH #563,565; WOV #704)
Also known as "Father, We Thank Thee"
God of Grace and God of Glory (CH #464; CP #577; ELW #705; LBW #415; LSB #850;
LW #398; PH #420; TH #594, 595; TNCH #436; UMH #577; VU #686; WR #569)

14

God of Love and God of Power (UMH #578)

Help us Accept Each Other (CH #487; PH #358; TNCH #388; UMH #560; WR #596)
In Christ, There Is No East or West (BH #358; CH #687; CO #650; CP #484; ELW #650;
GC #738; JS #443; LBW #359; LSB #653; PH #439-440; TH #529; TNCH #394, 395;
UMH #548; VU #606; WR #603)
Lord Christ, When First Thou Cam'st to Earth (CO #617; ELW #727; LBW #421; PH #7;
TH #598)
Lord of the Dance (CO #527; GC #708; JS #554; PH #302; UMH #261; VU #352; WR
#118)
Also known as I Danced in the Morning
Lord, Speak to Me (BH #568; ELW #676; LBW #403; PH #426; TNCH #531; UMH
#463; VU #589; WR #593)
Also known as Lord, Speak to Us
O Young and Fearless Prophet (CH #669; UMH #444)
Thou Art the Way, to Thee Alone (CP #515; LBW #464; LW 283; TH #457)
SENDING:
Here I Am, Lord (CH #452; ELW #574; GC #686; JS #528; PH #525; UMH #593; VU
#509; WLP #812; WOV #752; WR #559)
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (BH #292; CH #540; LBW #324; PH #384; TNCH
#485; UMH #480; VU #658; WR #446)
HYMN STORY: Lord, Speak to Me
Frances Ridley Havergal wrote the hymn, "Lord, Speak to Me." She also wrote other
hymns, the best known being "Take My Life and Let It Be."
The daughter of an Anglican clergyman who devoted himself to the improvement of
church music, Frances was a gifted poet, pianist, and singer who followed in his
footsteps. Her passion was bringing people to Christ. Her charming personality helped
her to do that, and her musical gifts continue to nurture our faith even today.

15

Her original title for this hymn was "A Worker's Prayer." When you read the words of the
hymn, it becomes clear that she was speaking of a Christian workera worker for the
Kingdom of God.
The hymn is a prayer that God will speak to us so that we might, in turn, speak for God.
It is a prayer that God will teach us so that we might be able to teach others. It is a prayer
that God will fill us until our hearts overflow with kind thoughts, glowing words, love,
and praise. It is a prayer that God will use us however he chooses until that day when we
see him face to face.
Let us make this hymn our prayer.
NOTE: See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright)
modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard
Version (ASV) of the Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text
New Testament. The ASV, which is also in the public domain due to expired copyrights, was a very good
translation, but included many archaic words (hast, shineth, etc.), which the WEB has updated. We are
using the WEB because we believe it to be the best public domain version of the Bible available.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Luke (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew
Press, 1953)
Bock, Darrell L., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke, Vol, 3 (Downers
Grove, Illinois, Intervarsity Press, 1994)
Borg, Marcus J., Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Luke, Study Book
Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D.,
Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSVYear C (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)
Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation: Luke (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching
Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994)
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX. (Nashville: Abingdon,
1995)
Evans, Craig A., New International Biblical Commentary: Luke (Peabody, MA,
Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1990)

16

Evans, Craig A., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological
Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Fitzmyer, Joseph A., S.J., The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke (I-IX) (New
York: Doubleday, 1970)
Gilmour, S. MacLean & Bowie, Walter Russell, The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8.
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Green, Joel B., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of
Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Hendriksen, William, New Testament Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1978)
Johnson, Luke Timothy, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical
Press, 1991)
Nickle, Keith F., Preaching the Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox,
2000)
Nolland, John, Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 19:20, Vol. 35A (Dallas: Word
Books, 1989)
Ringe, Sharon H., Westminster Bible Companion, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John
Knox Press)
Stein, Robert H., The New American Commentary: Luke (Nashville: Broadman Press,
1992)
Tannehill, Robert C., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Luke (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1996)
www.lectionary.org
Copyright 2016, Richard Niell Donovan

17