A sermon preached by the Reverend Canon Dr. David Anderson at St. Jude’s Church, Oakville, on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Sunday, January 26, 2025. (Text: Luke 4:14–21)
Throughout most of 2025, most of the Gospel Readings we will hear on Sunday mornings will come, as today’s does, from the Gospel of Luke. Today’s reading plays a very important role in all that we will hear through much of the rest of this year. I mention this because we won’t truly understand what happens in the remainder of Luke’s Gospel if we don’t pay attention to what we read today.
Later, as Luke begins the sequel to this Gospel, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke will tell us about how the Holy Spirit came upon the believers waiting in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and launched the church into its life of participation in the mission of God. In today’s Gospel reading, we have Jesus beginning his own participation in God’s mission. Here Luke also highlights the role of the Holy Spirit as Jesus steps forward into the world in his own public ministry. Luke’s account begins, “Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee” (v. 14). Even Jesus is not self-sufficient. Jesus depends on the Holy Spirit for life and faith and mission.
As Jesus comes to his hometown of Nazareth, he picks up and reads from the scroll of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Already the Holy Spirit has descended upon Jesus as he was praying after his baptism and speaks the claiming words of the Father, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (3:22). Then Luke tells us that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (4:1). The Holy Spirit fills and leads Jesus into the wilderness for a time of testing as Jesus refuses the pathways that are the wrong choices for his servant ministry. Now, as Jesus returns to Galilee, the Holy Spirit will fill him with power for ministry as he reads a text that will be his mission statement as Messiah.
Luke wants us to know that it is the Holy Spirit who leads Jesus in saying no to false options in the temptation story and saying yes to a mission that is given to him by God. When Jesus reads the first two verses of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue at Nazareth, he is declaring that his ministry in the Spirit, as Messiah of God, calls him to be an agent of mercy to the downtrodden in this world: he will be good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and new beginnings for all who have failed. It is a defining moment in the Spirit for Jesus and his mission.
Jesus reads from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has 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, let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (vv. 18–19). This is Jesus’ declaration of who he is and what he is about.
Several years ago, it was quite popular in North American culture to lift up the importance of knowing and clarifying one’s purpose and consciously working toward fulfilling that purpose. There were best-selling books of advice on this subject that focus on business, sports, politics, relationships, and religion. As a result, an entire new industry of ‘life coaches’ was founded. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was one of these widely read books
One of the biggest sellers of all the books in that vein was a book entitled, The Purpose Driven Life. That book that sold over 50 million copies in more than eighty-five languages by 2020. The book was written by Pastor Rick Warren, who at the time was the Founding and Senior Pastor of Saddleback Church, in California, one of the largest of the megachurches in the United States.
Citations from scripture fill this book, dozens in every chapter, which makes it even more striking and troubling that the Gospel passage we are considering this morning is never quoted. Apparently, this succinct and powerful statement of Jesus’ own purpose was not considered relevant for informing a Christian’s “purpose-driven life.”
For me, it is self-evident that a Christian’s understanding of their purpose and mission—and the church’s understanding of its purpose and mission—should be informed by Jesus’ understanding of his purpose and mission. For this, today’s passage from Luke is essential.
In church-land it is not uncommon for people of one congregation to ask those of another how their church is doing. We might want to ask that question of our own church here at St. Jude’s. How are we doing? We routinely answer such questions by comparing average Sunday attendance, or the size of our budgets, or the size of our deficits (!). But a much better question, in light of Jesus’ own mission statement is available. Rather than ask, how the church is doing, we would be better to ask, “what is the church doing with God?”
In today’s passage we learn that the Holy Spirit claimed and led and animated Jesus in the mission that God had for him. When you really think about it, this power of the Spirit is the only thing the early church had going for it. It had no buildings, no budget, no paid staff, and very few members.”
The opposite situation may face us: we have buildings, budgets, staff, and members, but do we have the power of the Holy Spirit? How can we know if we have it? The Holy Spirit gives us something to do with and for God. Again, we are brought back to the question, “what are we doing with and for God?”
In a few weeks time our parish will hold its Annual Vestry Meeting. One week ahead of that meeting we will publish our annual report. As always, that report will contain reports of all the various guilds, committees, and ministries of our parish. Included will be the audited financial statements for 2024 and a proposed budget for 2025. It is my hope that we will all read those reports carefully and consider them with that essential question in mind. What are we doing with and for God? Or perhaps better, “What are we doing with God?”—or “How is the Holy Spirit leading us?” Each of the reports will address that question in their own way and the financial reports should tell the story of our answer to that question too. The answers you will find there will tell the story of life-changing ministry in service to our vulnerable neighbours, of pastoral care, of faith formation for children and adults, of truth and reconciliation, of building community, of our care for creation, of faithful and faith-forming worship, and so much more.
Likewise, this week we learned that we will soon be going to the polls for a provincial election. How will we decide on our vote in the light of our Christian faith? Again, I can think of no better standard for assessing a platform than Jesus’ statement of his mission.
There is so much more to do in our world. And most, certainly we cannot do it all. But the Holy Spirit continues to claim us, lead us, and empower us in doing our part as we participate in God’s redemptive work in us and in our world.
Jesus stepped forward in Nazareth and declared the truth about his life: he was filled with the power of the Spirit and anointed to bring good news to the poor. To know our mission, and to understand what God has given us to do, are as important to us as they were to Jesus.
How can we know that we have the power of the Spirit? We know because the Holy Spirit gives us something to do for God, and a time to do it. There is a sense of urgency in Jesus’ mission. He finished reading, rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant, sat down, and with all eyes upon him said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Today! The time of God’s Holy Spirit is today, right now.
It is the Holy Spirit speaking when you hear God whisper to you: “Child of God, live this day as if it were your first day, as if it were your last day, as if it were your only day.” Luke wants us to know how Jesus’ ministry began upon this earth. It began when the Holy Spirit claimed him in baptism, tested him in the wilderness, and filled him with power for an urgent ministry of grace to the downtrodden in this world. The Holy Spirit came and taught Jesus what was real: to say no to the false options and temptations in this world and yes to God’s good purposes for all people; to say no to self-glory in all its forms and yes to helping the poor and the captured of all kinds; to say no to trying to get your God to work for you and yes to working for your God with urgency and compassion.
The Holy Spirit comes when we have something to do for God and a time to do it. Following this Jesus means accepting his mission and his time. It involves understanding the urgency of the mission we have been given. Today—today and each day—is the day to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and new beginnings to all who have failed”. Jesus went forth in the power of the Spirit as an agent of God’s mercy to the downtrodden, and so do we.
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