Sermon - The Nazareth Manifesto (Bible Sunday)

Red Alan's Manifesto, Grayson Perry (2014) - Royal Academy

A talk given during the Contemporary Worship service at Holy Sepulchre London on Sunday 23rd October 2022 (Bible Sunday) and Tuesday 25th October 2022 based on Luke 4.16-24. You can watch a recording of the Tuesday lunchtime service at this link. The sermon begins at 27:10 in between sung worship led by the talented Luke Hamlyn.

Welcome to everyone in church and those watching online to our lunchtime worship here at Holy Sepulchre London. My name is Phillip Dawson and I’m joined by the talented Luke Hamlyn, who will lead us in song today.

 

This is an informal service that will last just under an hour but, please feel free to come and go as your schedule dictates - and we hope you won’t be distracted if other people do the same. Stand, sit, move with the Spirit as you feel comfortable. 

 

We’ll begin with some sung worship, followed by a short Bible reading which is from the Gospel of Luke (on page 1031 of the bibles if you want to follow along). This will be followed by a short reflection inspired by the scripture reading before we joining together again in song. 

 

The theme for our service today is thankfulness for the gift of God’s word, revealed in scripture and fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

 

So, as we are gathered by the Spirit let us prepare to read words of scripture and sing words of praise by praying to our Lord.

Lord, forgive us for the times when we have used words that do not speak of your mercy, justice or peace. 

We pray that we might all come to embrace the reality of the abundant gift of your word.

A word that transforms our poverty into riches;

releases us from death and sin;

and transforms our blindness so that we might look upon the world with true sight. 

 

A gift so great it can be hard to comprehend.

Lord, How Great Thou Art!

[Sung Worship]

 

 

 

Bible Reading - Luke 4.16-24

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

Reflection

The department store John Lewis has been known by a slogan – that it would be “Never knowingly undersold.” The promise meant that if you bought something at a John Lewis store and then a little while after found the same item at another shop on sale for a lower price, you could go back to John Lewis and they would refund you the difference - because they would be ‘never knowingly undersold’.  

The company had been using that tagline since 1925. But earlier this year, it was dropped. In the face of stiff competition from online retailers who don’t have expensive premises in prestigious locations, John Lewis found it could no longer afford to be ‘never knowingly undersold’. 

A spokesman explained that the economic reality meant that they could no longer fulfil their word. 


A few weeks ago we got a new Prime Minister.
She stood for election on a series of pledges dominated by the promise of liberating individuals and companies from the burden of taxation. She wanted to show that there was a new way of seeing the challenge of growing the economy.

The package of tax cuts she promised would mean £45bn in lost income for the government. The hole in the country’s finances would be paid for initially by borrowing more money. 

But it was unclear how the government would afford to pay for this extra debt. The financial markets here in the City were spooked. The economic uncertainty was matched by political instability. The Prime Minister lost the confidence of those around her. In an attempt to regain it, the new policies were dramatically reversed. 

After just forty four days, the Prime Minister resigned, stating that, the reality of the political situation meant she could not “deliver the mandate on which [she] was elected.” 

 

She could not fulfil her word.  

 

 

There’s a sense in which we are used to people - especially politicians - not delivering on their pledges. Not fulfilling their word. We almost expect it. But it is also the case that some manifesto’s seem so aspirational, so “out there”, that they could never be achieved - at least not in the short term. 

Artists and craftspeople have become known for publishing manifestos, often creatively typeset and illustrated.

In 1909 a group of artists who called themselves the Futurists, published their manifesto. They celebrated all that was new and future-looking and rejected the past. “We intend to sing the love of danger…and fearlessness” they exclaimed. “We will destroy museums, libraries and academies of every kind.”

In 2014, the potter Grayson Perry (who, as you can see from the photograph, I was lucky enough to meet once) wrote a new manifesto for the Royal Academy. Red Alan’s rather tongue-in-cheek manifesto (named after the artists’ red teddy bear) declared – “Failed paintings are to be sent to disaster zones to be used as tents” and “bad sculpture should be installed outside companies guilty of financial irregularities.” Good ideas perhaps, but rather implausible.

 

In recent weeks we have seen a group of young climate activists using art in acts of protest and civil disobedience; throwing soup over famous paintings. Their manifesto is to persuade the government to prevent any further use of fossil fuels and invest instead in renewable sources of power and improved energy efficiency. 

 

Many agree with their aims, if not their methods; but given the reality of the current energy crisis it seems difficult to see how their word can be fulfilled at this time.

 

 

Some people describe the Bible passage we read this lunchtime as part of Jesus’ “Nazareth Manifesto.” 

 

It’s a passage that is unique to Luke’s Gospel and is placed at the start of the account of his ministry in Galilee. After we have learnt of Jesus’s birth, his baptism in the River Jordan and his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returns to the town of his childhood - Nazareth - and goes to the synagogue as usual. He stands up to read aloud verses from the prophet Isaiah;

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

 

After Jesus rolls up the scroll and sits down, the eyes of everyone in the synagogue are fixed on him as they waited to hear his sermon. 

 

He gives the people a sermon that is a lot shorter than mine - a single sentence of just nine words : “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

Today this Word has been fulfilled. 

It must have been an astonishing moment. 

 

What had been announced as prophecy by Isaiah to the exiles returning to Jerusalem is now, seven hundred years later, fulfilled in the body of Jesus Christ standing right there in the synagogue. 

 

The Word made flesh.  

 

 

This passage is known by some as the “Nazareth Manifesto” because it seems to set out a programme for Jesus’ life and mission. The following chapters of the gospel describe his teaching and preaching amongst the poor and the oppressed; his healing of the sick and restoring sight to the blind.

 

The rest of the passage goes on to hint at the rejection Jesus will face by his own people; who at first “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” but quickly turn on him and reject him. A path that leads to the cross. 

At face value, it’s compelling to see the Nazareth manifesto as a pattern for our lives, as we respond to our call to discipleship. To proclaim the Good News. To act with justice and compassion as we seek to address poverty and oppression. To bring about the year of the Lord’s favour - that year of Jubilee - when debts are cancelled and slaves are freed. 

 

We can respond to this call in both practical action, through engaging in projects that seek to reduce inequalities and build peace and reconciliation. And we can respond to this call spiritually through prayer and study of the scriptures - by which we may find release from worry, pain, anxiety and all that captivates our lives - preventing us from seeing God at work in the world.

 

And, of course, it is important that we do all those things - and the wonderful team here at Holy Sepulchre support us in many ways to do so, through teaching and courses and opportunities to be involved in social action.

But to be fully transformed by this word, we need to embrace the deeper reality of the Nazareth manifesto.

 

Jesus said that today, this word has been fulfilled in your hearing.

As followers of Christ we must believe that. But it takes some getting used to.

 

Because, as we have seen, our response to manifestos is often either;

 

-        one of skepticism - the reality is the word will never be fulfilled;

 

-        or implausibility - that although we’d like the word to be fulfilled the reality is it can’t be, at least for now. 

 

The Nazareth manifesto couldn’t be more different. Jesus says this word has been fulfilled. Today. It’s hard to believe! But life in Christ means we are living in that reality whether we see it or not. 

 

It’s not a reality in which we can, like John Lewis, change our promises to suit new circumstances. Only proclaiming good news to the poor on a Saturday morning, as we can’t afford to spend any time during the rest of the week. It’s not those words that have been fulfilled! 

 

It’s not a reality where we can, like a politician, step away from our responsibilities because we feel we have lost the support of those on whom we will rely to live up to them. We are not alone. This word has been fulfilled in our hearing. We are in this together, with the Spirit of the Lord to guide us. 

It’s not a reality where we can, like our response to climate activists, say that freeing the oppressed n’all sounds like a great idea - but we can’t deal with it now because we are tied up with other things - but maybe we’ll get on to it tomorrow.

 

Today, this word has been fulfilled in your hearing!

That’s not virtual reality - but the reality of Jesus Christ. 

 

How different the world would be if we all believed it – if we all made this reality our own.

Not an easy task!

So as his followers, let us pray that we might open our lives to the guidance of the Holy Spirit - that we might all come closer to seeing – and living in - the reality of the great gift that is the Word of God;
a word that transforms our poverty into riches;

releases us from death and sin;

and transforms our blindness so that we might look upon the world with true sight. 

Amen. 

 

 

Prayers

 

Lord, thank you for the amazing gift of your Word.
The word revealed to us in the scriptures and made flesh in your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Help us to grasp the reality of this transforming power.
Guide us as we struggle to understand it – to know what it means for us today.

Give us courage to hear and share your word with the world.

 

Lord, we ask for your blessing on all those seeking to bring people closer together through the power of the word. For the church, for the work of missionaries, for broadcasters, politicians, journalists, artists and campaigners. We pray especially for all those who sharing your good news at risk to their own personal safety.

 

Lord, forgive us when the words we use speak not of your mercy, justice or peace. 

We lift up to you all those who desperately need to hear your words of comfort and healing today.
We pray for an end to inequality, injustice and conflict in the world, in our homes and in our hearts.

 

Lord, send us out today as messengers of your Good News.

Amen

 

 

[Sung Worship continues]