Year A Easter 7 WED 2023 The Good News of the Kingdom of God

Year A Easter 7 WEDNESDAY, 24 May 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“The Good News of the Kingdom of God”

Collect: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:

Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has

gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Luke 4:38-44

After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked

him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his

hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them

and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they

wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other

cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

Good morning. I loved the scene Luke sets here for us this morning. Peter’s mother-in-law is

sick. Jesus heals her. And she jumps up to serve everyone. I know this is a sign of the

miraculous, but also of some deeply assumed stereotypical roles here.

Then we have demons being cast out proclaiming his authority over them as the Son of God,

until he rebuked them to silence. Once again, a sign of the miraculous as well as Luke being

able to point out to the readers that Jesus is obviously the Messiah to the demons, so his reader

“most excellent Theophilus” (and everyone else) should clue in as well.

Then Jesus escapes to a place alone, a deserted place, we are told. I cannot tell you how

wonderful that sounds. I need to do more of that myself. But then the crowds still find him.

They want him to stay, to stick around. But Jesus says the thing that was a deep and rich

abiding statement for me. It was what I needed to hear when I was preparing for this morning.  

‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I

was sent for this purpose.’

Jesus came to proclaim something that already was. That might not sound revolutionary, but to

some tired ears this morning it certainly was.

Jesus did not come to start something new. God is in charge, and Grace was already at work.

The Kingdom of God was there already, Jesus just came to clue everyone in on the fact.

We have been working hard lately, doing doing doing. But every so often it is nice to hear that

we are working in the fields, we are not homesteading and clearing the fields so that they can

be planted. Jesus’ work was to let us know what was, and that we are invited into something

that is all God’s responsibility.

Now we are urged to share that already existent Good News, but not to make or pioneer or

establish. It is a radically different concept.

We are an industrious people by nature, and we are about doing “new work.” We are about

building and conquering and establishing. But sometimes it is nice to not be that way.

In my work with the Triangle of Hope I am constantly confronted by our Ghanaian brothers

and sisters that God is in control, and that it is and will be okay. The heresy of our nation is

that “God helps those who help themselves.” While an industrious sentiment, that is not from

God. Jesus came to proclaim to every little town around Galilee the “Good News of the

Kingdom of God.” He was there to fill them in on what was.

It was then. It is now. When we get tired of doing good, or thinking that we have so much to

do, hear this. God is in control. The war is already won. We just need to clue in, and help our

family, our friends, our neighbors know that it is and it is open to them. 

Abide in that, and be comforted. Amen