Rev. George Miller
January 19, 2025
Luke 4:14-30
Christianity is about
many things: miracles, majesty, doing justice, humbly walking with the Lord.
Things that Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. cared about.
Christianity is also
about God doing new things; still speaking, dreaming, stirring the waters.
We saw this at Christmas,
when God came to us a baby, to live amongst us.
We see this in Luke’s
telling of Jesus’ baptism, in which he is present with the crowds, wading into
the same waters, hearing the same words, showing how he identified with us.
That is deep, illustrating
the very body-ness of Jesus; the incarnate reality that Emmanuel came to us, experiencing
the things we do, in human flesh.
Not just the cerebral
or philosophical things but those that involve our body and senses.
The experience of
Jesus is not just about ethics or morals.
It is also sensory, involving all of our body.
Every week we say we are
transforming lives as the hands and feet of Christ.
We use our bodies
through the backpack program, Chili cook off, last year’s bike ride to
Montgomery.
All acts of embodied
faith. Why does this matter?
Because sometimes we may
think that Christianity is only about what you believe or solely the soul.
But Biblical faith is
three dimensional, showing how the body is essential and of immense value.
As we wander through
the Gospel of Luke, you begin to notice something- Luke tells a story that is
very body and sensory focused.
In the first 3
chapters, Luke refers to speech, vision, writing; bringing attention to arms,
hands, mouths, wombs, and babies that leap within them.
Luke tells us how the
body of Jesus is swaddled, laid in a manger, circumcised, held by Simeon, baptized
by John.
Today’s scripture is
very embodied and sensory, involving action, thought, emotions, things that
mean to be human.
Luke mentions
standing, giving, giving back, rolling, and unrolling of the scroll.
Jesus sits. All eyes
are fixed on him. He speaks of a widow
who is fed; a man with leprosy who is cleansed.
How all who hear are
filled with rage. They get up, drive
out, and attempt to hurl Jesus off a cliff.
Luke could have told
this story in a simpler way, instead there’s so much attention to physical
actions and senses.
It is almost as if
Luke is saying “See and hear how important the human body is to God; is to Jesus.”
Luke shows this again
and again as we read about hands that are healed, the many mentions of feet,
parables about long-lost sons who are hugged.
We hear of thousands
fed, blood flows that stop, the weeping of Jesus, the kiss of betrayal.
The crucifixion, burial,
and road to Emmaus in which the resurrected Christ walks, talks, breaks bread, while
hearts burn within.
He shows his hands
and feet to the disciples, asking for something to eat.
All this attention to
detail within Luke points us to the value of the human body, importance of our senses,
how our actions can be holy.
Luke shows us that
yes, faith involves spirit, ethics, thought, but it also involves caring for
and placing value on the body.
That’s what Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King did.
He was such a
powerful, potent person whose faith wasn’t just theoretical.
He didn’t just discuss
faith, justice, and kindness- he embodied it every way.
He held meetings to
address discrimination.
He was present to folk
physically, sharing in meals, walking with them, standing shoulder to shoulder,
participating in sit-ins, marches, and bus boycott.
He didn’t minister in
the safety of his office, but traveled across the nation, attending rallies,
meeting activists and adversaries.
He used his voice as
a vessel, dynamic in energy, gestures, facial expressions, embodying what it
means to be a prophetic preacher.
He'd kneel in prayer
with others. In prison he used his hands
to write letters.
How often Dr. King
turned the other cheek; how often his body bore the consequences of his faith,
as he experienced attacks and being arrested over 29 times.
Ultimately, how his
body was taken from him at age 39 by someone who chose to embody hate, racism,
and unjust rage.
King’s legacy lives
on, a testimony to the faith he lived and embodied.
In conclusion, think
about how important your body is to God, so much so that Jesus came to show us how
every aspect of our humanity matters.
How do we live out
our faith in not just what we say or believe but in how we use our body?
How do we treat and care
for the bodies of others?
This way of thinking
can shape so many things we do:
How we live; how we
vote. How we spend our money. What we do as a church.
How we be the hands
and feet of Christ and continue to transform lives, be brave, and plant seeds
in good soil.
May the spirit of
Christmas continue to guide us, knowing that God came to be one of us, and our
bodies are holy pathways to experience and share God’s love.
Amen and amen.
