Mission Failure

Gospel: Luke 4: 14-22

In today's Gospel portion we find the mission of both the Lord Jesus and by extension his followers.  It is to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, bringing sight to the blind, liberating, captives, and proclaiming a Jubilee Year in which all debts are cancelled.  Clearly we can see that the Lord Jesus fulfilled this mission, for which he was brutally executed.  Such a mission cannot take place without significant opposition from the powers of wealth, state, and institutional religion.

What of Jesus' followers - how have they fared in this mission? Some, to be sure, have excelled in it, committing their lives to the care of the poor and oppressed and sick with great heroism and sacrifice.  For most who claim the name Christian, however, it has been a great failure, as they became agents of oppression and exploitation, servants to the powerful and rich at the expense of the poor, sick, and marginalized.

Followers of Jesus are not called to serve as chaplains to empire and all its trappings of military power and sports entertainment.  Jesus calls disciples to care for the sick and imprisoned, the poor and needy, to provide healing and relief to them in body, mind, and spirit, to liberate them materially, spiritually, intellectually, and morally.  The season of Epiphany is our time to recommit to the mission of Jesus, and to rid ourselves of apologetics for empire and oppression.