Sermon - 2-13-22

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Three weeks ago, we heard about Jesus preaching his first sermon in his hometown synagogue. On that day as he addressed the congregation, Jesus claimed these words as his Mission Statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” And, from that point on, his ministry was about living into those words. Today, Jesus speaks to his followers, those who have made a real</span> <strong>commitment</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to follow him, and he lays out his Vision Statement.  </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">As Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to</span> <strong>us</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, to all who follow him. Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him and sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the</span> <strong>promise</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">of a</span> <strong>new</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">society. In this promise, he is</span> <strong>not</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">talking about some ideal utopia. This sermon is a call to a radical life of discipleship,</span> <strong>a way of living</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the world that turns the way of the world upside down</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, because what he is essentially saying is, “Blessed are all of you who are disregarded by the powerful, for</span> <strong>you</strong> <strong>are</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">God’s beloved community.”  It is interesting, as Jesus lays out his vision of a new community, he blesses history’s losers!  The blessings he proclaims were truly a protest against injustice!  No wonder it was radical.  And, no wonder it is still radical today!</span> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before we