When [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is 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.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
-Luke 4:16-21

Jesus gets baptized. He goes out into the desert to contemplate who he is, and what his life is going to be about. And then he heads back to his hometown, ready to get started. He goes to synagogue, as he always does--nothing unusual about that. He reads from the book of the prophet Isaiah. And then he sits down. Again, nothing weird. It was the custom to stand to read, and then to sit down, among the people, to preach. Everyone watches him - not because he's strange, but because this what you do - you wait for the preacher to get started. Up to this point, Jesus is doing pretty well.

Then he says something that turns their world upside down. "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Surely not, they must have thought. He's crazy. He's an idealist. He's a dreamer. He's lost his mind. He's arrogant. He's confused. No doubt they had a hundred reasons not to believe him.

Can you blame them? They lived in exile. Their land was occupied by Rome. Life was not fair, not just. People were poor. People were sick. People were difficult to get along with. Families fought. Decisions were hard. How could Jesus say that Isaiah's words had been fulfilled? They were looking for a vision of a new world, a day when things would change for the better, a day when they would be free from all life's burdens, and all would be well. Little wonder that, just after this week's text, they run Jesus out of town. Sometimes it's easier to get rid of someone than to take them seriously.

“The Spirit of the Lord is 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.”

Is it any easier for us to believe Jesus than it was for the people of Nazareth? We who go to church and call ourselves Christians--is it any easier for us to believe that these words have been fulfilled, that God's kingdom is here?

With a new semester gearing up, perhaps you're eager to settle into a new routine. Perhaps you're eager to get everything under control... but where might God have other ideas?

You never know--God might show up and say: Something big is going on in your life right now. Something big is going on in the world right now. You're invited to be a part of it. Bring good news to the poor. Proclaim release to the captives, preach recovery of sight to the blind. Let the oppressed go free. Proclaim my favor.

God's kingdom is always here, and always coming. You and I are invited to respond to that every day of our lives. We can hear God's love for us, and share the good news with the world. Or we can run God out of town. What are your plans for the next semester?