Daily Scripture:
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me,
because Adonai has anointed me
to announce good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted;
to proclaim freedom to the captives,
to let out into light those bound in the dark;
2 to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn,
3 yes, provide for those in Tziyon who mourn,
giving them garlands instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a cloak of praise instead of a heavy spirit,
so that they will be called oaks of righteousness
planted by Adonai, in which he takes pride.
and
Luke 4:16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read, 17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6]
20 After closing the scroll and returning it to the shammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He started to speak to them: “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!” 22 Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, “Can this be Yosef’s son?”
23 Then Yeshua said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me this proverb — ‘“Doctor, cure yourself!” We’ve heard about all the things that have been going on over in K’far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!’ 24 Yes!” he said, “I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his home town. 25 It’s true, I’m telling you — when Eliyahu was in Isra’el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows; 26 but Eliyahu was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Tzarfat in the land of Tzidon. 27 Also there were many people with tzara‘at in Isra’el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na‘aman the Syrian.”
28 On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions:
Jesus went home to the little village where he had grown up. In the synagogue, he read from Isaiah 61, in which God’s servant said he had a mission to “preach good news to the poor… to liberate the oppressed.” Then Jesus said, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled,” claiming that mission as his own. He angered the hearers by pointing to Old Testament events where God reached far beyond Israel’s national and ethnic borders.
- Jesus quoted from (and adapted) Isaiah 61:1-3 in the synagogue in Nazareth to define his mission. “To preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” has a nice poetic ring. What can you do each day to live into the meaning of those words in life’s gritty, unpoetic, day-to-day realities?
- After Jesus spoke, the people of his hometown tried to kill him. Why? Scholar N. T. Wright said Jesus’ message was that “The servant-Messiah has not come to inflict punishment, but to bring the nations God’s love and mercy. That was a central theme in Israel’s own scriptures, yet… Jesus’ claim to be reaching out with healing to all people…was not what most first-century Jews wanted or expected.”* Does it inspire or frustrate you that Jesus loves and invites all people, not just the people of your country or denomination?
* N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, pp. 48-49.)
** “Reckless Love,” written by Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver, Ran Jackson. © 2017 Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Watershed Publishing Group (ASCAP) (adm. by Watershed Music Group) / Richmond Park Publishing (BMI). All Rights Reserved.
Denise serves as the Early Childhood Coordinating Assistant at Church of the Resurrection.
This week Vacation Bible Camp is in full swing at Resurrection Leawood. There are over 1,100 kids from PreK through 5th grade focusing on the theme “Be Kind.” Through Bible stories, life application examples, mission projects, drama, and large and small group time, the kids will learn more about God’s call to love His people.
What does it mean to “be kind”? When the week is over, what is a reasonable measure of what the kids learned and how they are putting their new knowledge into practice? It’s hard to say. Maybe a child lets someone go ahead of them in line, encourages a teammate who is not playing up to par, perhaps they speak words of support to a classmate who is having trouble keeping up with his peers.
As adults, our role is to encourage and enable our kids to show kindness. We can help them by creating opportunities where they can care for others, and we can brainstorm with them to come up with things that they can do and help them put their plans into action. As role models, however, the biggest thing we can do to help develop the kindness gene in our kids is to be an example--to go above and beyond in caring for others.
We don’t know what acts of kindness our kids might choose to do, but we do know that any act of kindness has a ripple effect. Research shows that not only does performing and witnessing random acts of kindness make us feel better emotionally, it lowers blood pressure and improves overall heart health. In addition, doing random acts of kindness has been shown to increase energy, improve overall happiness, and reduce pain, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Jesus calls us, in no uncertain terms, to help the oppressed and care for all people who need our help. We all know that Jesus loves us more than we can possibly imagine. Maybe, just maybe, He has called us to care for those in need, not just because it helps them, but because it’s clearly good for us as well.This summer let’s all strive to go above and beyond to care for and show kindness to others. I can’t imagine what impact we could have on Kansas City if each of us committed to making Summer 2018 the Resurrection Summer of Kindness. I’m all in. Will you join me?
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You might also like:
- A God who gathers outcasts
- Prayer Tip: Where Are The Other Nine?
- Who needs a doctor?
- Another tax collector who chose to follow Jesus
- The life-changing results of Jesus' kindness
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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