Beloveds,
The first book of 2022 that the Island United Chat ‘n Chew Book Group has been reading is Fierce Love by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis. There may be a copy or two left at the church. This week we discussed the second section titled “You and Your Posse.” In chapter five, she writes:
“Inside our families and circles of friends, inside our posses – there can be intense pressure to keep our mouths shut and just go along. The status quo has a lot of power, even when we don’t like it, it’s what we know. But confronting what is broken or harmful or evil or dangerous is the beginning of healing our souls and the world around us. Keeping silent about what’s wrong or unjust or simply uncomfortable doesn’t change anything.”
The timeliness of this presents a nice pairing with this week’s Scripture – Luke 4:21-30. These verses are a continuation of Jesus’ sermon in the hometown synagogue of Nazareth. When we left the story, all eyes were upon Jesus after he claimed himself and his ministry through the words of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
This week Jesus confronts his posse and, unlike Rev. Jacqui’s outcome in her book, things go south for Jesus. I invite you to tune in to Zoom worship this week to hear what happens next.
Until then,
Rev. Michael Cronin