4th Sunday after Epiphany: How Not to Deliver Your First Sermon
By: The Rev. Andrew Chappell
In June of 2017, at the age of 27, I was commissioned as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. As it goes in the Methodist itinerant system, I was then appointed to a church. The church to which I was appointed (as associate pastor) happens to be a church that my father pastored and that my family attended from 1994-2001. You can imagine the mixture of feelings I had about that appointment, but most of all, I was elated to be given the opportunity to go home and minister to a congregation that had a hand in raising me.
My first Sunday there, I recognized so many faces. So many of the people in the congregation that morning had an enormous impact on my faith at an early age. A great deal of the sermon I preached that morning looked at the simplicity of the task Christ has given us. At the end of the sermon, I focused on thanking Northbrook for loving me at an early age and into my teens, and for showing me what it looked like to be a part of a loving, gracious community that loves people and most of all Jesus.
I am now halfway through my second year at this church. To serve a community that was so instrumental in my growth as a person and believer has been a joy. The honeymoon continues to this day, and I hope it never ends.
Our Scripture, Luke 4:21-30, finds Jesus in a similar situation. However, his honeymoon ends quickly. Jesus has come home to Nazareth; to his home-synagogue, and he is surrounded by people that raised him in both stature and faith. He preaches his first sermon, and Luke tells us that after claiming to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah, the congregation is impressed and even proud, looking at one another and saying, “That’s Joseph’s son isn’t it?”
Unfortunately, the pride is short-lived. At this point, our parallel stories of preaching to our hometown crowds diverge as Jesus essentially tells them that the prophecy which he has fulfilled today—that he will be the one “…to bring good news to the poor…proclaim release to the captives…recovery of sight to the blind,” and freedom to the oppressed—does not have a whole lot to do with them (4:18-19). In fact, it has a great deal more to do with the Gentiles and, using examples from 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 5, Jesus demonstrates that, historically, this has been a long time coming.
Luke’s Gospel and its sequel (the Acts of the Apostles) paint a portrait of Jesus that cares for the underprivileged, the sick, blind, lame, widows, the poor, AND the Gentiles. Jesus is not just the Savior of the Jews. Jesus is the Savior of humanity! The Gospel of Luke inaugurates Jesus as the Savior of Jews AND Gentiles, and the Acts of the Apostles shows that same good news going viral, into all the world, to everyone!
Just 2 chapters before this, Simeon takes baby Jesus into his arms and proclaims that this child is indeed both a light for the Jews AND the Gentiles. Afterwards, he looks at Mary and acknowledges that this child will also be the cause of much division and heartache. And in Luke 4, we see the first fruits of that division. The message of salvation, of God’s grace for ALL is a hard truth to swallow, specifically for the insiders. The evidence? Jesus’ own home synagogue tries to kill him for such a message!
Nevertheless, Jesus’ message to the Gentiles and to the marginalized and to the world is so important that he has to begin his ministry with this universal message. His first sermon cannot leave it out. It has to be in the forefront.
As you ponder this passage, think about a few things:
- What is something that, if preached, would cause your congregation to lose their minds in intense anger?
- Who are the people your congregation intentionally or unintentionally leaves out? Why?
- Why is an inclusive message so difficult for some to grasp?
Jesus has called us to preach hard truths; to reach out to those on the outside. That may very well cause division. May God be with you as you carry the inclusive and difficult message of Jesus. May God be with you when you bring the Gospel to those you know and those you don’t know, your hometown and out-of-town crowds. May God move you in the direction of spiritual growth. And may you always look to Jesus Christ, who continually shows us what it means to be human, what it means to be a disciple, and what is means to love.
The Rev. Andrew Chappell has been in ministry since 2008 and currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Northbrook United Methodist Church in Roswell, Georgia. Andrew has degrees in Religious Studies and Telecommunications from the University of Georgia, and an M.Div. from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Andrew loves listening to records, watching Seinfeld, and beignets from Roux on Canton.
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