The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me

Meditation on Luke 4:14-21

Pastor Karen Crawford

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Jan. 26, 2025

This is a happy day for our congregation. Today, we will ordain and/or install our Elders and Deacons to active service. Ordination is truly God’s gift to the church—the Lord’s way of equipping and caring for the people of God. When I consider those who have said yes to serving, I am filled with gratitude to God and to all who agreed to serve. I know about the variety of gifts and talents these people possess. The longer I am here, the more I see and appreciate them!

And I know that we are united as Christ’s Body. We have the same passion; we love the Church; we love the Lord. And while we are many members with different gifts, we are ONE, drinking of the same Spirit, as Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthian church. In this passage in chapter 12 that we read today, notice that Paul uses the word ONE at least 10 times. Whenever there is a repeated word in the Bible, the writer is emphasizing that word. Paul wants you to remember ONE, if nothing else, from this passage.

Friends, there is not ONE member who is unimportant. At the Church at Corinth, they were a competitive group of people. There were some egos. They all wanted to be important. Paul tried to set them straight and keep them from being divisive. He wanted them to care for the members who were not being treated as well as they should. Our example for leadership is always Jesus. We are called to be servant leaders. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Trustees, though they are not ordained in the Church, are still answering the call to ministry and using all their God-given gifts and resources to serve the Lord and the family of God. The work of the Deacons, though they are ordained to their special kind of service, isn’t less or more important than the work of the Trustees and the Elders. The work of the Elders, though they are ordained to their special kind of service, isn’t less or more important than the work of the Trustees and the Deacons.

What about the rest of the Church? Do we need everyone else, too, or is it enough to just have the minister, Trustees, Deacons, and Elders? We need everyone in the Church to complete the Body of Christ. We especially need the children!!! We need everyone. We need you. We would not be the same without you. Every member of the Body is needed, just like a human body without an ear, eye, arm, hand, mouth, leg, foot, or toe, is incomplete. All are needed for our ministry in this place.

We are with Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth in our reading in Luke chapter 4 today. He’s been in this synagogue before. He grew up here. Who has been in this church for at least 30 years? How’s it feel to come back, again and again, to this house of worship, to these people? It feels good, right? Comfortable. He’s been in this synagogue for 30 years, ever since he was a child, though he wasn’t born in Nazareth, of course.

Jesus knows everyone in the synagogue here. Indeed, everybody knows everybody. They don’t just see each other on the Sabbath. They see each other probably every day. It’s a small town, maybe a few hundred people. These are all working class folks, most not highly educated. News about Jesus—what he’s been up to—has traveled around the region. They didn’t need Facebook or cell phones back then. It was all word of mouth. People are talking about Jesus, all the good things he has done.

They are proud of him, until he stands up to read from the prophet Isaiah. Everything is going well until he finishes, rolls up the scroll, sits down. And announces that he is the Messiah, the one with the Spirit of the Lord upon him, the One with a capital O, anointed to preach good news to the poor, release to the captive, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed. They know this scripture like they know the back of their hands. But Jesus has now changed the whole meaning of this familiar passage. He is saying, “Isaiah was talking about me.”

Here is what happened after that. Beginning at verse 22,

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.”

He then goes on to assure them that he isn’t going to do all the deeds of power, all the healings and casting out of demons, that he has done in other places. He won’t be able to do them because of their lack of faith. He reminds them how the work of the prophet Elijah, during the 3 and a half years of famine in the land, wasn’t sent to help the many needy widows of Israel; he was only sent to a Gentile widow outside of Israel. Many struggled with skin diseases in Israel, but the only one Elijah cured was the Gentile, Naaman the Syrian.

The people in his hometown can’t take any more of their native son. Filled with rage, they get up, drive him to the edge of town and attempt to hurl him off a cliff. He mysteriously passes through them and continues on his way, heading to Capernaum in Galilee, where he teaches on the Sabbath and heals a man with an unclean spirit.

The lesson here for us is that Jesus had plenty of bumps in the road during his ministry. And he was Jesus, the Son of God! The people he loved and knew the most let him down, right from the beginning. He went home and wasn’t welcome there, anymore. But he didn’t stop doing what God had called him to do. He kept going. He persevered.

I’m in my last few months of my doctoral program. At this point, I am working on the research and writing every day. I try to give at least two hours a day to the project. But sometimes, life happens, and plans change. Some days, I work more than two hours on the project. I sit down with my books at the computer, and I start writing and then I look up, and it’s dark outside. Four, five, six, eight hours have passed. How does that happen? And there’s still more work to do.

Most of the time, I feel happy as I do this research and writing piece. Writing is one of my gifts and spiritual practices; it brings me closer to the Lord and reminds me of my identity as God’s beloved child. I feel peace. I usually remember to take breaks, change gears, go outside and walk, make a pastoral call, eat meals, spend some time relaxing with my family. But sometimes I lie in bed at night wondering if I will ever finish this 100-page paper. And if I do, will it be good enough? Then, in the morning, in the light of day, I climb out of bed and, with the Spirit of the Lord upon me as I seek to be obedient to my ministry calling, I have new energy, new thoughts and ideas, new hope, new joy for the journey ahead.

Those of you who will be ordained and/or installed to active service as elders and deacons today, I want to encourage you that your baptism is sufficient for your calling. You have what you need to do the ministry God desires you to do. But sometimes, you might lie in bed at night and ask yourself, “What was I thinking? What was I thinking when I said yes to serving as a Trustee, a Deacon, or Elder?” Just remember, you are not alone. Work together with the other Deacons. Work together with the other Elders and Trustees. And I’m here to help. And your church family is here. We are all praying for you and cheering you on. Remember that no matter what happens, you are God’s beloved children. Nothing you do will ever change that. And other people are having those same anxious thoughts and moments, maybe not at the exact same time you are, but they have, and they will. Remember that things are always brighter in the light of day. You need to get enough sleep! We have new mercies from our faithful God, even when we, like the people of Christ’s hometown, may be running short on faith. We have new mercies from God every morning. New energy, new hope. New thoughts and ideas. New joy for the journey ahead.

What is the word that Paul wants you to remember from today’s passage? ONE. As you seek to be obedient to your calling, remember that while there are many members, there is only ONE body of Christ. Look around you. This is YOUR BODY. A body without an arm, leg, hand, foot, or toe is incomplete. And that while there are many gifts, there is only ONE that is the most important. Check it out in First Corinthians 13. The most important gift needed for serving in this church and the body of Christ in the world? LOVE.

So, keep going, like Jesus. Persevere through the bumps in the road. Trust the Lord to provide for you and guide you on what will be for you and me a surprising journey of faith. Remember to love. And remember the words of the prophet Isaiah that Jesus read at his hometown synagogue. They were true for him and, now that he has claimed you in baptism, they are true for you, too.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

Let us pray. Holy One, thank you for your love. Thank you for raising up new leaders for our congregation and leading them to say yes to serving. We trust you to guide, empower, and provide for all our leaders, that when they are discouraged, you will stir the Church to lift them up. When they are tired, anxious, or frustrated, you will grant them peace, joy, and rest. Bless them and all of us—the One Body of Christ—in our labor of love for you. May we always feel your presence and give you thanks for your loving Spirit forever upon us as we seek to be obedient to your will. Amen.