Fourth Sunday of Epiphany – morning
Sunday 27th January 2019
Epiphany 4 – morning
1 Cor. 12. 12-31a
Luke 4. 14-21
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
When you picture Jesus taking up the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and preparing to read this passage to his friends and neighbours, what sort of setting do you imagine?
Something like the building we are in at present? A grand temple-like structure?
Well in all probability it was a room approximately 20 – 24 feet square, which is not much larger than any of our parlours, sitting rooms or lounges at home. Quite a domestic sort of setting – indeed synagogues in the time of Jesus would often be held in someone’s house – not a public building at all, unless the community were wealthy… and we know that Nazareth at the time of Jesus was a very modest settlement – hardly worthy of mention. So the chances are that he was sitting very close to everyone else there that day and they were within touching distance of him! And probably no more than 20 or 30 people crammed in there.
Synagogues acted as a kind of community centre and place for meeting and teaching as well as for worship – much more like the village hall than the village church!
The Temple in Jerusalem was a much grander affair of course, but there was only one Temple – that is why it was so important for observant Jews to visit it at least once a year.
And the most precious possession of the synagogue was its copy of the Torah – the scrolls of the first five books of the bible from which the Leader of the Synagogue might read, seated on the special ‘Moses chair’ as it was called – symbolizing the authority of Moses in giving the Law to God’s people.
The next set of readings, called the Hephtarah, was taken from the writing of the prophets and any adult male member of the synagogue could be invited to read from them and comment on them. Which explains how Jesus came to be reading from the book of Isaiah…. And at first the assembled crowd would have been smiling and nodding as they heard the familiar and comforting words of one of their greatest prophets, read out by one of their own – Mary and Joseph’s son; the carpenter/builder they knew very well.
But then comes the shock and scandal as Jesus comments by saying, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”.
Jesus was good at stirring up controversy in his lifetime. His was not a ministry of peace and goodwill – however we may think about it now. He upset people, scandalised them and excited and inspired them by turns. No doubt opinions were sharply divided about him. Was he inspired by God? Or possessed by the Devil? If they had held a referendum on the subject, how would you have voted do you think?
Divided communities are uncomfortable as we are all discovering only too well. I am not going to mention the ‘B’ word, but you all know, I am sure, to what I am referring?
But it doesn’t do to start demonizing those who do not think the way you do!
In that, I am in total agreement with Her Majesty! We are the better for it when we listen to those with whom we disagree and try to understand their view of the world. Because we all still need each other – despite disagreements – as Paul reminded us earlier. Just because the eye and the hand experience the world differently, does not mean that they are better off without each other!
Today is notable for two reasons. Firstly it is the day when we exchange readers and intercessors with churches from around the West of Wolverhampton. Some will come from Anglican churches much like this…. or maybe not? Some will come from other denominations. Well, whichever, we extend a very warm welcome to you and thank you for enriching our worship this morning through your presence.
Secondly, it is Holocaust Memorial day – when we remember with shame the atrocities that human beings can commit when they start to demonize people who seem different in some way. And that is what happens when we forget quite how interdependent we are one with another. We cannot / must not try to ‘go it alone’ – in the sense that we forget how reliant we are on other countries whether in or out of Europe. Not only does it not make economic sense but we as a nation are diminished when our gaze turns too inward and we neglect the wide world around us. And I think it runs counter to what God intends us to be. Wonderful human beings who learn to rely on each other to survive and thrive. And if we could learn that lesson it truly would be good news to the poor, the captives, the blind and oppressed.
It is a message that both challenges us and could change the world. And it all began in that small, ordinary synagogue in an insignificant backwater in 1st Century Palestine. So if that happened then, what might God have in mind for our own churches, be they big or small, now?