Respond to the Call
Sermon by Pr. Michelle Sevig on the Third Sunday after Epiphany + Sunday, January 26, 2025.
I wonder how you would answer this question: What role does scripture play in your life? That’s the question I asked the Wednesday study group… What role does scripture play in your life? The answers were varied, of course. Some read the bible every day, or have read the whole thing. And others relate to scripture primarily on Sundays, and appreciate the lectionary that gives us a variety of scripture texts in a three-year cycle. We discussed memories of confirmation requirements long ago to memorize verses. Shared bible stories that are important to our faith and verses that have been used to harm or condemn.
Two of today’s scripture readings are about scripture. In Nehemiah the people gathered outside the temple that had just been built after their return from exile. Men and women, young and old listen to the scripture being read from early morning until midday. Can you imagine hours of listening to scripture being read aloud? Ezra not only read the word of God, he also provided interpretation so they could understand it and respond to it. This public reading of scriptures is the start of the practice that will continue throughout Jewish and Christian traditions, when a religious authority figure reads the foundational scriptures in front of the people; which mirrors our modern day worship services, where we read, interpret and respond to scripture.
In the gospel reading from Luke, fresh from his 40 days of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus is now led by the same spirit into the synagogue of his hometown. I imagine his strong, yet gentle voice reading from 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,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he sits down and interprets the scripture saying, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus does the unexpected, the unimaginable on that memorable sabbath morning in Nazareth. He boldly claims those ancient prophetic words as his own personal mission statement. God’s spirit came crashing down on him at baptism and empowered him to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; let all the oppressed go free and announce the sweet jubilee when God’s justice will reshape society.
This week many of us have been drawn into the scripture reading and interpretation of another religious leader, Episcopal Bishop Marrian Edgar Budde, who preached at the inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday. This interfaith prayer service takes place the morning after the inauguration, bringing together faith leaders from diverse traditions since it first began in 1933 after President Roosevelt’s election. The Washington National Cathedral shared that “this is a service for the nation, not any politician or political party. This service was designed to pray for unity, reconciliation, and bridge building in our divided nation.”
Usually this prayer service happens and barely anyone notices. But on Tuesday in her sermon, Bishop Budde addressed the president specifically in one final plea, asking him to have mercy on the people in our country who are now scared. She specifically named that those who are scared include queer people, trans kids, and immigrants. In a time when the world is very divided, Bishop Budde used her voice and position to speak calmly and confidently. She interpreted scripture, as she and all religious leaders are called to do, saying, “ God teaches us to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.” (Leviticus 34:19, Deuteronomy 10:18-19) Her plea for mercy was for all of us to hear, not just those with political power, calling on us to move forward in these days, months and years with mercy, lovingkindness.
Many have praised Bishop Budde for her bold witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is anointed to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and sets free those who are bound by oppression. But others have condemned her for her interpretation of scripture, calling for her to be deported, reprimanded, and some have even made threats on her life.
Again: “What role does scripture play in your life?” Most of us will never preach a sermon that the president of the United States will hear, but all of us are called to interpret scripture to inform our Christian living in the world. How will the teaching and witness from Jesus, recorded in our sacred texts, about mercy to the poor, the outcast, and the marginalized inform how you engage as the body of Christ in the world.
One Lutheran pastor, Elizabeth Rawling, wrote a blog this week that caught my attention titled, “What I Wish the ELCA Bishop Would Write to the Church,” She wrote
“We are, again, at a crossroads, where we have the opportunity to choose what is safe or what is Christ-like. To align ourselves with power or the one who died on the cross. We must decide where we stand. As a denomination that has apologized for so much, including the way the words of our namesake, Martin Luther, have been historically used to cause harm to Jewish people… we must remember that after repentance we are called to sin no more.
“Let me be clear,” she says, “to remain silent in the face of mass deportations is sin. To remain silent when our transgender siblings are having not only their rights, but their very humanity stripped away is sin. To remain silent when women are being denied life saving medical care is sin. To remain silent when civil rights are being stripped away…is sin. We have not been bold enough in these proclamations, and, once again, we must repent and commit to sinning no more.”
Now that is some bold biblical interpretation! I wonder how that would have been received in Tuesday’s prayer service.
“Through scripture, our faith teaches us that every human being is created in the image of God. That image transcends nations and boundaries, and calls us to see the dignity and value inherent in each of us. That image binds us together in a common humanity and concern for one another.”
Reading scripture and interpreting it in community is a gift of our worship life together. In Nehemiah, the people gathered outside the watergate and heard Ezra read from the scroll; and he interpreted the scriptures, and told them “do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” In Luke, Jesus read scripture and interpreted for the people in his hometown synagogue. And all who heard it were amazed. For centuries the people of God have come together in worship, to hear the scriptures read and interpreted. So it is today. We gather again in this sacred place and time to confess our sin, naming the ways we fall short of God’s call to proclaim the good news in word and deed. And we receive the gift of forgiveness, so that, renewed in hope, we can go out once again to bear the name of Christ in our lives.
Friends, the good news is that we DO bear the name of Christ. Even in these hard, helpless–what feel like hopeless–days. Water and word remind us we are joined with Jesus in his ministry and we are joined with one another. It can be tempting these days to bury our heads in the sand and avoid the chaos swirling around us. We cannot do that. We can take a break from the news and our own feelings of despair; we certainly need some good self-care. But in this holy space and in our larger communities of care, we link arms and respond to the call that in Jesus’ name we too have been anointed to bring good news to the poor, release to the captive, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. In the coming days, weeks, years, let us encourage one another to speak up and speak out, serve our vulnerable neighbors, pester the politicians, and resist all forms of oppression. Let us strive to live out the greatest commandment in our scriptures: to love God and to love our neighbor, remembering the promise spoken by Ezra, that “the joy of the Lord is our stronghold.”
1 A Message from the Illinois ELCA Bishops, email 1/25/25
