Last Sunday afternoon I was in a meeting with a group of Sunday school teachers from the church. The question came up of how long the Sunday school sessions are – in the past teachers made a decision to finish at a set time regardless of what was happening in the service. It was wryly acknowledged that if I was preaching there was a fair bit of certainty about the time the service would finish, but if it is Jim things can occasionally blow out. I have to admit I don’t live up to the tradition of good Baptist preachers in that regard – the longest I have ever preached was in the refugee camp when my sermon was being doubly translated – into both Karen and Burmese. But normally I’m lucky to make it to 20 minutes. I did hear about one Baptist sermon that went on for such a long time that the preacher apologised at the end of it, telling the congregation "I don't have a watch with me", to which somebody from the back called out, "Do you have a calendar?" 

In the story in Luke which records Jesus’ first sermon he could hardly be accused of being long winded. In fact it might have been the shortest sermon in history. I usually aim to get down between 2000 and 2500 words in the script of my sermons, but Luke records just over 100 words from Jesus.

We are told he stood up to read the scriptures in the Nazareth synagogue – actually the word used in Greek is “rose up” – a word also used to refer to the resurrection! Synagogue worship with the emphasis on reading the word was a well established institution by the time of Jesus. It began and ended with prayers and benedictions, but the core of worship were readings from the scriptures – always a reading from the Torah, or book of the law, which by the time of Jesus was probably in a fixed cycle similar to our lectionary. But readings from the prophets were chosen freely, and any man could signal his intention to read by rising up. The reader would then sit down to begin his explanation of the passage.

Whether or not it was Jesus or some other synagogue official who chose the scroll of Isaiah, it is very meaningful for Luke and for the Christian community that this was the first public speech of Jesus. Short it may have been but it was certainly full of purpose, signalling something of the intention of Jesus for his ongoing mission.

In our political system a lot of emphasis is placed on the maiden speech of a new parliamentarian. Knowing this, the topic and content to the speech is carefully chosen and prepared by the candidate and his or her advisors. Inaugural speeches of a new prime minister or presidents in other countries are likewise eagerly listened to, scrutinised and analysed. There was an interesting flow of publications towards the end of last year as Kevin Rudd rose to greater prominence – I heard many people speaking of the article he had written for the Quarterly Review where he referred to Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a driving and inspiring force in his life. Shortly after that article was published he was nominated to lead the opposition party. I was interested to see an article written by John Roskam – John and his wife Penelope McKay used to come regularly to Canberra Baptist and now John heads up the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne. He had written an opinion piece for The Age where he spoke of Kevin Rudd as posing a far greater potential risk for the ALP than Mark Latham, because he is setting himself up as a leader who might have the courage of his convictions. The problem that John saw was that in choosing to align himself with Bonhoeffer Rudd is identifying with a problematic hero – one whose moral ambiguity is revealed in his strong stance on pacifism while supporting a plot to assassinate Hitler. This opinion could cause some interesting discussion between us but the point I am making is that as a new leader Rudd has clearly nailed his colours to the post – and will now be carefully watched to see if he lives up to them.

When Jesus stood up to read from Isaiah, and emphasised the particular passage from Is 61 that he quoted, he was nailing his colours to the post too. Where John the Baptist had preached God’s judgement, his was a message of God’s grace, but grace for those who could least expect it in normal society: for the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. As his sermon continued in the next few verses, it was clear that this was also good news for the Gentiles – foreigners from outside of the Israelite community. Jesus deliberately chose examples from the Old Testament of God’s grace to foreigners – the widow from Sidon, the leper from Syria. The implication from Jesus’ sermon was that this is how things would continue to be as he ministered in God’s name.

I have read that one of last century’s greatest theologians, Karl Barth, said theology should be done in a well lit room – a room that receives light from above but also looks out onto the world. Apparently there are Church of Christ headquarters in the US that have been designed with this in mind – on one side is nearly all windows looking out to the surrounding neighbourhood and there is also a window in the ceiling.

If Jesus were a politician, he would be signalling in this inaugural address that his administration would be run in the light of two realities – on the one hand the inspiration of the ancient tradition from which God’s light and revelation had come centuries earlier, in other words, the Hebrew scriptures; and on the other hand the reality of the world around, full of people in need of God’s grace. The stories that are told as we read on in Luke’s gospel show just how God became a reality: for Jesus’ identified disciples but also for Gentiles, for prostitutes, for tax collectors, for criminals.

Jesus quoted the prophetic text – and remember, for the New Testament church the Old Testament WAS their bible. In it they found grace and inspiration and truth that could be recognised through the person of Jesus. But as Jesus sat down to explain it, he added something new. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled.” As Christians we have no doubt that the scripture is fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus. But on that occasion he was announcing something new, something challenging. The grace of God spoken of in the scripture was to be offered today, in the person of Jesus, to all those who were in need.

God’s new word didn’t come out of the blue: it was spoken in the syngagogue, in the midst of the regular readings. We continue to expect to hear the divine word in synagogue or in church, despite the imperfect nature of these institutions. But unless we are to reject that word and push it out, we must be open to the possibility of it being a challenging, confronting and powerful word. Good news for the poor may mean judgement for the rich, opening up the word may mean shedding light on life’s habits and practices that are not helpful or life-sustaining for all in the community.

In the Old Testament reading that we heard this morning we also heard the powerful word of God in Nehemiah’s description of a special day in the life of the people of Israel. The people, who have recently returned to the Promised Land after spending five decades in Exile in Babylon, are gathered together in the square next to the Water Gate in Jerusalem - men, women, and children - and there the Law of Moses is read to them - and explained to them - from early in the morning till mid-day - for close to six hours! Now THAT is a long sermon! There were plenty of people involved too, the verses that were left out of our reading name the Levites who helped the people understand what was being said. It may even have been translated – that would be one explanation for the length of the reading and explanation. But the reaction, we are told, was not frustration or boredom or witty suggestions. It seems that the word was powerful enough to provoke a strong response – we are told they lifted their hands, shouted amen, bowed down in worship, even wept aloud. I guess they felt convicted that while they had been in exile and perhaps even more so in the busyness of reestablishing themselves in their homeland the law had not been followed properly. But notice the reaction of Nehemiah and Ezra and the Levites. Do not mourn or weep. Go on your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, send portions to the poor, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The passage is summed up in verse 12: “then all the people went on their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.”

There has been a strong tradition in Christian teaching that has implied the law is to be rejected in favour of grace. This has also meant a tendency to ignore the Old Testament and only concentrate on the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus. Of course when the law is misrepresented or tied up in impossible stipulations such as the Pharisees did with their ‘fence around the law’ – hundreds of regulations to ensure the actual laws of Moses could not be violated – that attitude to the law does need to be challenged. But as many passages in the Old Testament tell us, the original intention behind the law was always to celebrate and protect the covenant relationship between God and his people, and to go even further and offer grace to those outside of the covenant people. To the stranger, the sojourner, the widow and orphan. God’s law was for the protection of life and therefore always included clauses that leaned toward protecting the vulnerable.

A number of the psalms show us just how precious the law was for the people of God. Listen to some of the words in Psalm 19: “the law of the Lorrd is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the lord is pure, enduring forever, the ordinances of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, sweeter than honey” (Ps 19:7-10). The very fact that there are six different Hebrew words to describe the law shows how important it was for them. And when they read psalms like this they were public readings that were exuberant, noisy, joyful – a real celebration of the law. We will read this psalm responsively in a manner that might have been typical in a few minutes.

For the Israelites the law was a response to salvation and based on God’s love. Obedience to the law was a free and loving response to what they understood as undeserved benefits. They were not so much rules and regulations as “guidance and instruction” – ie obeying God is not blind obedience to rules but experiencing God’s love and concern in both social and personal contexts. This is why so many of the prophets critiqued those who followed cultic and legal requirements without a heartfelt desire. Their aim was to bring the people back into right relationship with God, and that relationship was best understood in the people following the ways God had set out for them in the books of the law.

And it was this law that was the foundation of Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus says he will fulfil the words of the prophet – joy is the result. Good news, freedom, healing, God’s grace and blessing. Why this message results in frustration and anger instead will be picked up next week by Jim.

As we in the church listen to Jesus’ inaugural speech – one not designed to win votes, but to set an agenda - we too must have a public theology – one that is good news to the poor. And we too will be watched and scrutinised and analysed by the world around us to see if we are living up to it!

Let me finish with a poem based on the Luke text, remembering that the text begins with the words “Jesus filled with the power of the spirit, returned to Galilee.” The poem is entitled “Jesus in the Spirit”.

The Wind is on my face;
            the blind and those
            who do not see
            find light and space.

The Wind inspires my soul;
            captives and those
            who are not free
            get out of gaol.

The Wind sings in my prayer;
            the deaf and those
            who do not hear
            now hear and dare.

The Wind my hope renews;
            the poor and those
            of ragged soul
            receive good news.