The Power of the Word

His forgiveness is the catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning. It is the lifting of a burden, a canceling of the debt.” [ML King, 1957]

That description fits what we see of Jesus in this Gospel.

There is tenderness of beginning where the people are, with scripture they already know.

There is toughness of interpreting it is the needed way.

There is tenderness of proclaiming freedom, release, and sight for those in such misery.

There is toughness in throwing out the .crowd's cherished notions of superiority.

In the verses following our reading, we hear the crowd's reaction: astonishment, consternation, and condemnation.

They were overwhelmed by Jesus' unique combination of toughness and tenderness, and they could not see that the offer of forgiveness and freedom was intended also for them!

They locked themselves in a room with open doors!

Rejection was what the people gave Jesus' sermon.

Thanks be to God that this is not the end of the story, but only the beginning.

The rest of Luke—Acts chronicles the relentless spread of God's Word in spite of such rejection,, how the Word will at length overcome all objections,

the Word of tough-minded, tender-hearted love,

the Word which can transform an old situation into a new opportunity.

Abraham Lincoln had a profound insight and understanding of the power of words and actions that change things.

There are many stories about him taking time to listen to the pleas of soldiers and others who had made serious errors in the noise and confusion of the Civil War.

As many times as he could, he would scrawl a note on paper that happened to be close at hand.

“This man shall not be shot, but returned to active duty immediately, pending further orders.”

And of course Lincoln never issued further orders in these cases.

He was harshly criticized by many, but he would reply, “If a man had an extra life or two, then maybe a little hanging would brace him up a bit; but since he has but one life, let's encourage him to make better use of it! The man is pardoned.”

Do we ever see that kind of powerful word?

Is it ever active in and through us?

Is the word one of freedom, one which opens a new future?

I'll relate a few of my experiences:

1) Funerals are often seen as confining, depressing occasions.

Sometimes family members will stand or sit impassively, seemingly unaffected by the words voiced by the congregation assembled around them.

After one such service when I thought to myself “Well, I tried, but I don't think the family was hearing the Word,” one family member, the quietest of them all, came to me and said that he was profoundly moved, that the service had given a ray of peace and understanding where he had seen none.

2) In happens when I step in a hospital elevator and mark off a little space which no one is to invade.

A couple, unsure where they are going and what to expect when they get there, steps in after me.

I risk saying something: “It's just one more uncertain thing, isn't it?”

And that is enough to open the floodgates of conversation, and out pours their anxieties about appointments and visits and the future.

I can listen for a few moments and encourage them.

3) A telephone call to one stuck at home often includes: “Thanks so much for calling. I was lonely.”

4) During Confession and Forgiveness at home communion, tears flow now and again as an especially painful situation is remembered. Sometimes we need to stop and talk about it right then, so it can be laid aside.

5) Perhaps there will be a sigh of wistful hope at the words in the Holy Communion service: “...together with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your holy Name, evermore paining you and singing....

6) A person who knows that death is approaching often gives a trusting nod at the Epiclesis in Holy Communion where we pray “Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, so that we may receive our inheritance with all your saints in light.”

7) I will always remember the eyes of fear as a family got off the plane at the old Harrisburg airport and came toward us, wearing light jackets and sandals from SE Asia in that raw winter night, and what the words of our interpreter did to those eyes of fear: “We're here, we will help you to make a new home.”

They were words and actions which opened a new future where those folks could not see one.

8) Another refugee family, years later, the recipient of gifts of food from the congregation, was so pleased to receive them.

But then came the unexpected: out of their meager resources, the family made egg rolls for everyone, and suddenly a new future was opened for the congregation, where the family was not just a recipient and the congregation just givers, but all recognized that they were now living in an interdependent situation, with a new kind of freedom.

9)Then there was that situation which we heard in the Gospel lesson today, where an impossible problem was solved in an unexpected way, and the people had a graphic demonstration that the hope of the prophets for the abundance of the time of the Messiah was bursting in upon them right then and there.

I know that the Word is powerful, able to transform whatever God wills.

Well, what about it?

In what ways are you and I listening, planning, speaking, and acting?

What Word of God is to be fulfilled in our speaking and our hearing this day? Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.