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GOING HOME
A sermon preached January 28, 2007 at University United Methodist Church, East
Lansing MI, by John Ross Thompson
Scripture Texts: Luke 4:21-30, Jeremiah 1:4-10
How many of you grew up in the greater Lansing area?
How many of you grew up elsewhere?
It is obvious that most of us are from somewhere else. Reflect on the place from
which you have come as we look at today’s scripture.
Our Luke scripture today is about Jesus going home to Nazareth.
Last week’s scripture reading was about him reading from the book of Isaiah in
his hometown synagogue, announcing his ministry.
Today, we found out what happened to him.
A few years ago, I was asked to preach in the village where I grew up in Erie
County, Pennsylvania. There are about 17 houses there, not including our own,
for we lived about ½ mile outside of town. On my mother’s bidding, I asked those
in the church who were related to me to stand up. Of the approximately 70
persons there, 55 or so of them stood up. You see in that church there are two
primary families – my mother’s family and my father’s family.
Who do you think they heard speak that day – the Reverend Doctor John Ross
Thompson, or Johnny Thompson, son of Lawrence and Agnes, brother of Tom, Dana
and Mary?
You see the situation Jesus was in when he went back to Nazareth. He was
following God’s call for his life, had been in the wilderness to prepare himself
for this journey, and was now ready to being proclaiming his message. Yet, when
he stood up, even when he quoted from the sacred scriptures, they thought to
themselves, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
This was not necessarily a negative reaction. It may have been amazement and
pride in a native son doing well.
However, it quickly turned another way, when Jesus reminded them from their own
scriptures that God loved persons who were not Jews.
Jesus’ message to them:
They are not the only favored ones.
There is a radical outreach of God’s love to everyone.
Most speakers know that there is a big difference between what a speaker says
and what people hear.
Sometimes we focus so much on what is said that we miss the primary message.
After last week’s State of Union address, I heard two different commentators
talk about the message that people heard from the President, which is not
necessarily what he said.
Since my wife Ellen has been teaching public speaking at Albion College, I have
become even more aware of the power of the spoken word, and how different it can
be from what it seems.
The Bible emphasizes prophetic insight. Prophecy is announcing God’s will, what
is right for the world. All of us can be prophets.
The Wesleyan (Methodist) message is that all persons receive the word of God.
Therefore, all persons have an obligation to share it.
What is your prophetic role?
Think of your sensitivities, your insights, and your sense of how things should
be done. Often you know them by what upsets you the most.
I remember well being in a meeting the day U. S. troops first went into Iraq a
few years ago. The leader was so upset at the beginning of hostilities that she
was without words. Her tears that day had a deep impact on me, conveying a
stronger message than she could have spoke. This is one way a person can be
prophetic without words.
The lessons for us –
Act on your deepest feelings. Value what you know, and share it.
Be sensitive to the workings of God in others. Value them as prophets of God.
It’s a bit easier to see this in a Bible study class. Try seeing it at school,
work or in the family. Perhaps we’ll see some of it when we have our 50th
anniversary Homecoming for UUMC the last weekend in September.
Brian Adams Coming Home
All those nights I've spent alone
Uninspired and too tired wasted
There's lots of times I'd have telephoned
I couldn't find the words to say
I'm coming home - I'm coming home
I'll make it short, I'll make it sweet
Make it up to you, I mean it
I'm not the same guy I used to be
Can I do to make you believe it
Coming home, I'm coming home
Recall the prodigal son – he “came to himself” and decided to come home.
Coming home isn’t just about going back to one’s hometown. It’s about coming
home to the person God created each of us to be. It’s about being a prophet,
both back home and where we are planted now.
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