On the Way to Wonder

“Sight” is a point of struggle for me right now. Yes the mask over the nose and mouth fogs the glasses and impairs my ability to look down as I already have the tendency to stumble and not lift up my feet is irritating. So seeing is just frustrating. Jesus came to proclaim “recovery of sight to the blind. Luke 4: I suspect Jesus was not a medical vision specialist. And I am convinced he did not have all the fancy equipment that is used on me for diagnosis and check ups. No, he could not have been talking about the health of the eyeball that processes sight.

The second thought that comes to mind is our saying, “The eyes are the window to the soul,” supposedly said by William Shakespeare. By looking into someone’s eyes, I can tell something sbout their feelings? That has always baffled me as I probably read smiles and frowns more accurately. Blind people have feelings but I suspect they do not use eyes to convey them.

I am going to go with the conventional understanding that faith allows us to not only see the world as it is physically but it also allows us to see the potential because of the spiritual dimension. I look at my child and can envision the wonderful person the child will become and the budding talents that will bless our world. I look at a friend with love not because of what I see but because of a combination of factors including who the person has been to me, physical attractiveness perhaps, and belief in the other. Sight envisions the future yet to unfold, sees the scars of the past and helps us navigate the present.

But Jesus is preaching recovery of sight. Our sight can be damaged by sin. I must look past the terrible scars of fire, disease, war and pain to see the beauty that is before me in any arena. Hope is impacted by how I understand my world. If I see life as bleak and with no purpose, then I am essentially blind. Jesus restores hope, restores faith, offers forgiveness and helps us learn to see beyond the surface. I do not know what visual challenges you will face today, whether it is a dark future, a fearful outing in Covid, a lonely day sheltering with the TV or what. But I do know that I do know that Jesus preached hope for a better tomorrow and that we will be better people with him walking into that future. He holds us in his hands, holds the future and sends his Holy Spirit to help us see. Blessings.

P.O.W. stands for “prisoners of war,” a term first used about 1610 and originally meaning “a non-combatant – whether military member, an irregular military fighter, or a civilian – who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict.” Going back to early history, captives expected to be slaughtered or used as slaves. The definition has evolved legally through the centuries but I gather it means someone caught by the enemy with certain legal procedures for being returned to their home country whether by exchange of prisons or paying of ransom. Prisoners have no status in their captured state and only have value to the one who wants them. So, we come to Luke 4:18, Jesus came to proclaim “freedom for the prisoners.”

Prison means there has been a clash of laws, powers, and the person is held powerless by one side. Spiritually we would say that in the war between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of this world, we are prisoners of the world. We are held here powerless and of little value, doomed for death or slavery. Jesus, who sent disciples out to declare that “the kingdom of heaven is near,” also came to proclaim our freedom. We are of value to God and he is wiling to “pay the price” – the cross. That is a picture of salvation using a modern idiom. We are prisoners of a spiritual war going on in our reality, a war we cannot see except in the battle scars of killings, murders, abuse, poverty and hate. We see what we know is wrong and what we know we don’t want our lives to be impacted by but perhaps the question is whether we want to accept the freedom being offered and switch sides.

Jesus is proclaiming freedom to us who have been prisoners of sin but perhaps like POWs, we are still in the process of returning home, clothed in rags, wounded, hanging on the shoulder of a friend helping us. War is ugly and recovery is a lot of work. Some of us struggle with PTSD. Let us be gentle today with our fellow POWs who have found freedom and are recovery from the battles they fight. Take heart. We are valued and we are ransomed! God has said it. It is so.

What is your favorite dessert? Ice cream sounds pretty nice on these hot days. But then if I have to pick a flavor, I am slowed down because I like many flavors. Luke 4:19 says Jesus came to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” “Year of the Lord’s favor” is only cross referenced to Luke who quotes Isaiah but the word “favor” is common in Scripture. “Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord” and so he and his whole family were saved in the flood! Lot found favor with the angels and so did not have to flee to the hills but only to the closest town to escape judgment. Jacob did not find favor with Laban and ended up fleeing with his wives and children. Finding favor is a huge thing. It feels to me like finding love and approval and blessing. I suspect we all need that, not just from friends and loved ones, not just from government and ruling authorities but also from God. Jesus came proclaiming “the year of the Lord’s favor.” God’s favor is not momentary but stretches out. Our family likes to sit around the table on Dec. 31 and take a piece of paper, write down the twelve months and then see how many blessings we can remember for each month. How easy we forget. When we pull out our planners, it is amazing how many good things happen in a week, a month, and especially a year. Take a moment today to rejoice over the blessings you have experienced recently. Jesus came to proclaim a year of God’s favor! Blessings.

“Release from oppression” is one aspect of good news Jesus came to proclaim. Perhaps for the first century, the oppression was the rule of Rome over Israel and the realization that one’s humanity was not recognized nor was there value in one’s abilities. I suspect today we would go for the definition of oppression as that which weighs heavily on our hearts and minds draining energy and enthusiasm and hope. What oppresses us? Finances, relationships, guilt over mistakes? Many feel very oppressed today and undervalued. The shootings in the news are the tip of the iceberg. The riots and destruction are also alarming. It is easy to have that dull sense of fear and anxiety as we face the world we live in and the future we suspect is approaching.

Jesus came to proclaim release from that oppression. How do we experience that release? Could it be a matter of how we focus and the voices we listen to? Does my value come from Rome, from education, from wealth, from loved ones or does my value come from the mouth of God? I sit on my porch and watch the birds at my feeder and tell them, “You do know sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds you.” The verse in Mt 6:26 reminds me that I am of more value than they. I shift my focus to the truth of God’s word. As I watch the destruction and uncertainty of news on TV, I remind myself that Christ is preparing a place for me for eternity. I may not die in a riot or from Covid but some day I will go to live in a better place. Death is inevitable but the destination is not. The sun rises and sets even over the good and the bad. I am a sinner but I am a forgiven sinner! So many things can oppress us and steal our joy and energy and ability to cope but Jesus came to proclaim release from oppression. The world’s lies are not truth and its pressures are temporary. Rafiki in Lion King, hits Simba on the head with his stick. Simba yells, “Ouch, that hurts!” Rafiki responds, yes but the way I see it, you run from it or learn from it.” We do not need to be running today away oppression but perhaps running towards the truth of God’s word. You are valuable and you are God’s creation with gifts. Blessings as you focus on him today.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:9)”

Jesus came “to preach good news to the poor.” Perhaps that is the materially poor or it it may mean the spiritually poor whom Jesus declares blessed. Poverty physically or emotionally feels to me like oppression, a weight I cannot get out from under, a cloud hanging over everything I do, a very low energy day. I know that feeling. Going from Luke to Proverbs to Psalms, I read this verse and soaked in the promise. The Lord is a refuge, not a solution. He is the place I run when life is just not working. He does not forsake and change like the shifting sands of life. But I must seek Him. For me that takes the form of music, reading His word, and prayer. I do not claim to have some sort of auditory impression in prayer but I know my heart lightens like sharing a burden with a friend. Nothing changes at the moment, perhaps a new perspective is given and thus hope, but I know I am not walking alone. The Lord is our refuge when we feel “poor”. We are never alone. Thank you Lord.

Today we start grappling with what most consider the meat of Luke 4:14-21. The Spirit of the Lord has anointed Jesus “to preach good news to the poor.” First mentioned are “the poor!” If we flip over to Matthew 5 and the Sermon on the Mount, I note that the first mentioned for blessing are also the poor. “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What would I hope to hear? Perhaps we can imagine what it might be like to win the lottery.

True, we invested to buy the ticket but the value of the prize is of so much more worth than the effort we put forth. For all my whining about tithing, having to go to church, all the spiritual disciplines the church teaches, the ultimate good news is that for the little I invest, the future is so much more than I can even imagine.

True, we invest in buying the ticket but the prize is still a gift. I don’t “earn” the lottery reward, the check is handed to me. I bow my head and admit my sinfulness, my need for God in my life and my willingness to live by his rules but God is the one who saves me on the cross, empowers my life now, hears my prayers and leads and guides me. That is all gift, not to mention eternity.

True, we invest to buy the ticket and there is a temptation to look at others who seem to be cutting corners or cheating and so to feel like the game is rigged. But ultimately I imagine few lottery winners truly understand exactly show the decision is made. Comparisonitis is a pothole we can fall into.

But faith is not a game of chance. There is not just one winner. The good news is that eternity is so much more than we can even imagine. Salvation is a gift, not earned. We do not need to compare ourselves to others to be worthy or better than they. We are God’s unique creation. Truly the Gospel is good news to the poor along any spectrum. We may not believe in gambling to win the lottery but we can smile and rejoice that we are in a relationship with a future. Blessings as we live trusting the future that is secure.

“Because.” “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach…(Luke 4: 18)” Because is the word that jumped out to me this morning. My first thought was that “because” signals cause and effect. Jesus needed a special anointing to preach. I flipped over to Proverbs 6 as today is July 6 where the writer links many things together, ants’ industriousness without a leader gather and eat, sluggards without work come to poverty, scoundrels inherit calamity, and adultery inherits wrath. Not once are cause and effect linked by “because.” Yet mentally I put in “because.”

The dictionary says “because” “introduces a word or phrase that stands for a cause expressing an explanation of reason.” A picture of Luke 4:18 comes to mind of the Spirit of God with a jar of oil, pouring it over a head, much as Samuel anointed David to be king at some future date. July 4^th “Sleepless in Seattle” played on TV and love was experienced as a “magical” moment when two people touched hands and “knew” they were meant for each other. The Holy Spirit anoints us and we just know we are suppose to…. marry, follow a profession, do a certain deed. Because can signal an inspirational moment when something pops into existence that was not foreseen before.

But it could it also be an explanation for a reality that is the outgrowth of internal reality. Because Jesus is God and is in unity with the Holy Spirit and because it is the very nature of God to communicate and love, Jesus is in this passage declaring the it is the very nature of God to reach out to those struggling.

How does this apply to us today. I suspect often we wait for a “magical” moment when we feel the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to do some deed. We debate over calling someone on the phone or sharing an experience of God working in our lives. As we go through today, may we be aware that the Spirit within us, by the Spirit’s very nature, longs to bubble forth and bless those around us. It isn’t magic, it is the heart of God reaching out through us. Help me be aware today of your Spirit moving in my life. Blessings.

July 4^th stirs up many memories of tail-gate dinners at the Rose Bowl with friends while we waited to watch fireworks over the walls, free for us peons! Bar-b-ques of strips of meat “off the bone” in Kenya and hot dogs and hamburgers in the USA. Patriotic music Is on the radio. Our family tradition is to watch Independence Day and one of our favorite lines we love to banter between us comes near the end when Will Smith gets the direction backwards for flying the space craft, “Ooops, let’s try that again.” Countered with, “We have got to work on our communication skills!”

I read Luke 4:14-21 this morning and focused on the verbs used by Isaiah and quoted by Jesus as fulfilled, “preach and proclaim.” My heart pondered what words of July 4^th have deeply impacted my life. Immediately the Boston Tea Party came to mind, not the Declaration of Independence! “No taxation without representation.” Those words speak to me in ways that assure me that I, a nobody, cannot be erased from the political scene and legislated against without me having the opportunity to represent myself. The words for Isaiah give a similar message. All of us who do not have health, wealth, power, talent – all that the world values – are not erased from God’s view. I do not have to represent myself for the God of the universe has remembered me and acted for my “freedom,” “independence” from sin, and my eternal security. I will one day appear in God’s presence and will certainly have to confess that, “Oooops, I got the directions backwards” but I will also fall on my knees and request “to work on our communication skills.” Then I will have done as Proverbs 4:23 advises, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Blessings as you celebrate today!

Jesus was anointed to preach “good news” (Luke 4: 18). What good news would you or I like to receive from God today? I turned to Proverbs 3 for July 3. Proverbs 3:3 assures us, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” I find it comforting that God does not require great knowledge and intelligence, great wealth and tithing, nor great deeds of bravery in the face of war. Love and faithfulness focus on our response to the challenges of the moment. Perhaps it is the challenge of keeping my eyes on God who helps me forgive and forget the imperfections of others and myself and the God who helps me persevere when I am so weary and tempted to give up. For me, today, I am grateful for that good news I can focus on before I think about the rest of Luke 4. “Favor in the eyes of God” results from the love in my heart and the faithfulness of my hands. Lord, help me today to be loving and faithful that I might gain favor in your sight. Blessings.

It seems rather poetic that as we draw near to July 4 and all the celebrations of our “independence” that I have been challenged to read Luke 4:14-21 each day this month and ponder the different ways the passage touches my heart, soul. Luke records Jesus quoting Isaiah 61, “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news.” Isaiah feels “anointed” by God to share his message, that Jesus said was fulfilled in him, and which the church uses today to cry for justice.

It seems to me today that one of the difference between the Declaration of Independence that professes the belief that all people are created equal “with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness…” and our Luke text is the word “anointed.” The Declaration is a statement of belief agreed on by our founding fathers and that we are still trying to work into reality. But the good news being preached is an anointment, is a message sent from God, about a fact that happened. Both documents have very similar themes but “anointing” implies divine authorship. It talks of a reality that we may not experience but which is true and backed by a God who has the power to make it happen. Anointing is mentioned 168 times in the Bible.

Baptism is a kind of anointing, marking a child with the sign of the cross, affirming God’s declaration of faithfulness to that child, sealing a relationship. God holds on to that child and to me even when I am weak, confused, doubting and He is creating the conditions that follow. Jesus affirms, “today this scripture is fulfilled.” Perhaps as we prepare for the celebrations of this weekend and all the fireworks and concerts, we could take some time to ponder the freedoms we have in Christ. I am so faithful that my freedom of faith is “anointed” and sealed with the cross and secure for eternity. I look forward to the freedom of worship on Sunday that our government allows, even if we are sheltering! Amen! Blessings.