"Fear of Great Expectations"

Sermon 01.24.10
“Fear of Great Expectations”

One day in July, a farmer sat in front of his shack, smoking his corncob pipe. Along came a stranger who asked, “How’s your cotton coming?”
“Ain’t got none” was the answer. “Didn’t plant none. Afraid of the boll weevile.
Well, how’s your corn,” the stranger asked.
“Didn’t plant none,” the farmer replied. “Afraid of the drought.”
“How about your potatoes?”
“Ain’t got none of those either”. “Scared of ‘tater bugs,” came the reply.
The stranger finally asked, “Well, what did you plant?”
“Nothin’” the farmer answered. “I decided to play it safe.”
What we have here is a fear of failure.

Now, every time a preacher begins a sermon in a pulpit there is a certain amount of apprehension and fear. Even if you are as accomplished as Billy Graham or Joel Olsteen, each message is for a different audience and in many cases you are trying to put a new spin or generate novel thoughts on subjects that have been spoken on by experts over many, many years.

The only person who seems to be cool as a cucumber in doing this is Jesus, when he speaks in the synagogue in Galilee from Luke’s text this morning. Maybe it is because he has being doing this for several years. Some of you may recall that our lectionary a few weeks ago was about Jesus remaining in Jerusalem after the Passover and his parents’ finding him in the synogogue. He is accustomed to reading and teaching there, and you can just imagine that when he accepts the scroll from the attendant and unrolls it, there’s no fumbling, dropping or losing one’s place.

Calmly, Jesus selects a text from the prophet Isaiah and begins to read at exactly the right spot, a spot that he may very well have chosen himself. He says the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he had 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.

Just as neatly, he rerolls the scroll and handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. The text tells us that all eyes were on him, waiting for him to give a lesson on Isaiah. And then he blows them away by saying “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

I can imagine the buzz in the synagogue after that statement because it certainly isn’t modest or demurring. Jesus has just admitted to the learned men and scholarly priests that he is the chosen one, he is Harry Potter, so to speak. And he plans to do everything that he just read, through the power of the Holy Spirit. There are great expectations laid out in the scripture from Isaiah, but Jesus has no fear of failure.

No doubt there was mixed reaction to his statement. It would be like me reading the gospel of John and saying that I was the Word made flesh. I think most of you would be skeptical of that admission. Or like when Miss American says she wants to work for world peace. Another pipe dream that rarely holds water. Or most claims by politicians to lower taxes made by them at rallies before they are elected.

Some folks thought that there was a lot of hot air rising in the synagogue that morning. After all, this was a carpenter’s son, not born into a priestly family, and up to this point in Luke’s gospel no miracles have been performed. Jesus just seems to have the knack for public speaking. I’ll bet that there was a lot of eye-rolling and bulletin shuffling during the service at this point, and perhaps some disgusted people got up and left. The nerve of this unknown peasant, they clucked. How dare he claim to be the Messiah?!

Yet for others, the message was welcome. The people of Israel had clung to the passage in Isaiah, awaiting a savior who would proclaim good news and miraculous works to the marginalized peoples. Perhaps their response was “Oh My God – it’s him” with their jaws flapping in the wind. One thing is reasonably certain – when Jesus sat down and gave his pronouncement, no one’s reaction was neutral.

And indeed, when you continue with not just Luke’s gospel, but all the others, Jesus makes good on Isaiah’s words. He tells the people, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” He releases people from their demons, cures those who are blind, and gives freedom to those who are in bondage due to their status or physical conditions.

The question I would propose for our consideration this morning is “How are we continuing this work now and how should we continue it in the future? Christ Jesus lays out great expectations, and I dearly want this congregation to pick up its dreams and move forward according to the gospel message. Isaiah has depicted a situation that is still with us today, over three thousand years later. We are the body of Christ, the saints anointed for ministry, and disciples committed to following Jesus’ lead.

How do we address the same concerns in a modern world, where there are people held captive by their addictions, there is poverty of material goods and spirit in the community, and there are those who need to be released from abusive situations? How are we, St. Mark’s United Church of Christ, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor? I would suggest to you that our fears and doubts are not about failure, but fear of great expectations. There are a ton of crops to be planted.

But there is another example of faith that I would like to share with you – a story about attitudes, which speaks to St. Mark’s current condition, about where we are as a congregation.
There’s a well-worn story about a man who approached a laborer who was laying bricks and asked him, “What are you doing?” The laborer said, in an annoying manner, “Can’t you see that I’m laying bricks.
The man then walked over to another bricklayer and asked, “What are you doing?” And the workman answered with pride, “I’m building a cathedral.”
One man had a job, there other had a vision. One man was just working on a building, while the other was dreaming of the finished project. They both had the same number of bricks to work with.

St Mark’s has done it’s share of walking the talk, as the saying goes. But we are not done yet, we are just beginning, starting over, getting our second wind. Jesus has great expectations for us, not simple tasks. And we need not fear them because we might fail. With God all things are possible. The needs are great in this neighborhood, and at times it may seem daunting to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. But we have an example to follow, and the Spirit of the Lord is indeed among us, and has anointed us for this purpose as well.

How shall St. Mark’s meet its challenges to thrive in a changing environment, to continue its tradition of extravagant hospitality, to be a beacon of light and hope in this community? As the new Council Members are installed later in the worship service, let us commit with them to not shy away from Christ’s great expectations, but find new ways of tending to the poor, the oppressed, and the captives. Unlike the farmer in my first illustration, let us plant all the crops that we can, expecting the harvest to be bountiful. The love of God and neighbor has permeated this sanctuary and these buildings over the years. Through grace and the direction of the Holy Spirit, may our efforts be worthy, true, faithful and fruitful. Amen.