Wednesday night saw another mass shooting in our nation. Twelve people were killed at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA. This followed the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27 when 11 were killed in an attack fueled by anti semitism. That was followed by Lion Air’s tragic crash of an airliner into the Java Sea shortly after take off, resulting in the loss of all 189 passengers. These have been difficult days.
Eric Gentry was supposed to be here this morning. But his grandmother died and he’s doing her funeral today in Texas. Yesterday we received the sad news that Dan Crawford, Highland member, passed away unexpectedly. These are difficult days.
Times like this make us long for better days. A day when things like this won’t happen. A day when there’s no more violence, no more loss. A day when there’s no more cancer–or any disease. No more job loss. No more poverty. No more of the wreckage wrought by drug or alcohol addiction.
That very day was woven deeply into the consciousness of the Jewish people. It was called the Year of Jubilee. Every seven days the Jews celebrate the Sabbath day. Every seven years they marked a Sabbath year. And after seven Sabbath years they were to observe the Year of Jubilee. They never did this. But they were invited by God to do so.
During the Year of Jubilee, slaves were to be freed. Property was to be returned. Debts were to be forgiven. Even the land was to be allowed to lie fallow and rest. Perhaps the greatest description of this Jubilee was given in Is. 61:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations. (Is. 61:1-4 ESV)
Isaiah is saying that someday, in that Year of Jubilee, that year of the Lord’s favor, all that is wrong will be made right. The poor will receive good news. The broken-hearted will be bound up. The captive will be liberated. The bound will be freed. The mourning will be comforted. Someday, all of this will happen.
This day, however, never came. Not in Isaiah’s lifetime. Not in anyone’s lifetime. Until Jesus’ lifetime. In Luke 4, Jesus preaches in Nazareth. He reads this text to his congregation. And then he simply says this:
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk. 4:21 ESV)
Jesus’ first word to a hurting word was not “someday.” His first word to a hurting world was “today.” This promise of Jubilee, this promise of help from above, would be fulfilled in Jesus, not someday in the future. Not someday by and by. But today. Right here. Right now. And for the rest of Jesus’ life, he set about doing just that. He set about righting what was wrong, healing what was diseased or disjointed, creating peace where there was violence, and bringing life where there was death. Jesus did not simply offer the someday of heaven. He brought the today of help, healing and hope.
Too many churches today are someday churches, satisfied with offering a hurting world the someday of heaven. Jesus is not interested in somedaychurches–he wants todaychurches.Jesus wants churches that, like him, bring help, healing and hope to the world today.
Agape, with its 100 team members and 2,000 volunteers, is a todayorganization. They are passionately working here and now to do what Jesus did, and to do it right here in Memphis. David Jordan, President and Chief Executive Officer, is with us to share about their ministry. For many years, Highland has partnered with Agape. We’re pleased to have DAvid with us this morning. Please join me in welcoming David to Highland…
DAVID JORDAN
Agape is one of the ways Highland gets to be a todaychurch, a church that brings help, hope and healing to a hurting world today. There are many ways to partner with Agape. One of those ways is through our Nov. 18 Outreach Contribution. Our partnership with Agape is funded through two Outreach Contributions taken during the fiscal year. The total goal for these two contributions is $492,000. This helps us fund 30 outreach ministries. Our goal for Nov. 18 is $261,000. We ask you to come and give generously next Sunday. You’ll be making Agape’s ministry possible, as well as many other critical ministries possible. When you give, it’s like you’ll be saying, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled.”
