In the gospel from Luke today we hear Christ proclaiming in the synagogue that scripture has been fulfilled (Lk. 4:21). If that is the case then where is the kingdom of God and why do we continue as we are? Well, you can see from the reaction of the people that the fulfilling of scripture is not always what people believe it to be. In the story in Luke's gospel the fulfilling of the scripture was basically a proclaiming of the year of the jubilee, which not everyone wanted. Particularly those who were involved in lucrative business deals and other more nefarious activities, which would cease with the proclamation of the year of the Jubilee. The actual proclamation by Christ is in itself a bit problematic in that one needs to ask who can proclaim the Year of Jubilee? However, this is not so much the issue or something that needs to be talked about it is the fact that Christ proclaims scripture fulfilled, in terms of the jubilee. Yet, nothing further is said about it nor does it appear to come into actual fruition. So why does Christ proclaim the fulfilling of the scriptures? Christ is proclaiming an ideal that was never instituted, as far as we are aware, to goad the people into a move towards the reception of God and what it means to behave in accordance with God's wishes.
The Jubilee is found in the books of the law and is a basic understanding of freedom from servitude and the implementation of justice so that those in debt and in debt slavery had the ability to restart their lives on property that was originally theirs but had been sold to overcome debt etc. Even the land was given a rest and it was an understanding that the year of jubilee and the following year were to be times that the people were wholly reliant on God to provide, a test of faith if you will. This would be like proclaiming today that everyone was mortgage free and debt free. This is what it means to rely on God's presence in our lives no matter how much the struggle is in terms of finance and fortitude etc. This is where the community comes in to play. If we are all in the same boat so to speak then we are all reliant on each other to assist us through the worst of the crisis. Paul's analogy (1 Cor. 12:12-31) comes into being once more at this point for if we act as one community we will bring about the fulfilment of the gospel and in Christ's words the fulfilment of scripture.
The issue as has been so ably highlighted by the 24 hour news cycle in that we do not see ourselves in this analogous community that is one. We are so divided by our fears and our prejudices that we are overwhelmed and unable to understand the simplicity of the message that is found in scripture today and yesterday and in the days to come. Paul envisages a community that is different in and of itself as it accepts each and every person as part of that community. It makes no difference as to whether you are a lowly worker or a super rich person, if we are looking as Paul, each has a place within the community. In seeing the worth in each and everyone of us within the community we see the worth of the community working together with God's love at its heart. I challenge you to point out such a community today that lives and breathes this sort of understanding. Even our most religious of people will see that they are not working together in Christ as each has their own agenda to pursue for themselves. Even in our own faith communities we are often divided within ourselves as each wants or wishes something different and rarely do we actively listen to what God wants but put forward our own ideas.
In some respects we are here at the heart of what it means to be Anglican in that we are a communion, a koinonia, scattered across the globe often at odds with each other because of the way we see God and God's purposes in the world. Yet, we must by necessity come together as one body that is split into innumerable parts and beliefs to function together in the fulfilment of scripture and Christ's promise of peace and love. If we as one faith cannot rule our hearts with God's love then there is little that we can show to the world that is split by a heaving multitude of thoughts and beliefs. In following Christ we bring together the disparate in love so that we can open our hearts in communion and community to those that are different and other to show God's love working in the practical of the everyday in face of the divisive policies of COVID infection.
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