Century Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)

1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor:  Rev. Jim Westmoreland

Anointed and Sent
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
by Jim Westmoreland

He sat in the kitchen staring at a cup of coffee. He had spent the previous night in jail; arrested and imprisoned for going 25 in a 30 mph zone. A few minutes before someone called. They introduced their remarks with a racial slur and then said. "We are tired of you and your mess now. And if you aren't out of this town in three days, we're going to blow your brains out, and blow up your house. In the next room, Coretta was sleeping along with their newborn daughter, Yolanda. In his own words, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described that moment:

And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was over there asleep.... And I got to the point that I couldn't take it anymore. I was weak. 

And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee. I never will forget it.... I prayed a prayer, and I prayed out loud that night. I said, "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. I think I'm right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now. I'm faltering. I'm losing my courage."

And it seemed at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo I will be with you, even until the end of the world."...I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.⁽¹⁾

It was that anointing by the Holy Spirit with sovereign power that enabled Martin Luther King, an inexperienced, 26-year old minister to proclaim liberty to the poor and freedom to the captives even after his house was bombed, fellow Christians yelled racial slurs to his face, and he was arrested and jailed.

Advent is more than about the birth of a baby. It is also a season that prepares for the coming of the anointing of the Holy Spirit with the sovereign power of God. Isaiah received that anointing and it allowed him to preach good news to the people of Judah before their humiliating, bitter, and painful exile. His words were also a prophecy that God would again send someone who would claim that sovereign anointing. That prophecy was fulfilled in a remote stable one lonely evening. But that prophecy is also fulfilled when God raises up people to continue the proclamation of the gospel and bring freedom to the captives and release to the prisoners.

As water, and air and light give life to an acorn seed, so is the anointing of the Holy Spirit to the life of a believer. An acorn cannot grow without those three elements, neither can a believer grow and minister without the element of divine presence.⁽²⁾

I wonder if anyone here is willing to allow God to anoint them with his sovereign Spirit?

Why is this passage selected as a lectionary reading for the third Sunday of Advent? Likely because joy is a theme for this Sunday. And joy pervades this passage. In fact TNK (Tanakh - Jewish Publication Society, TNK is an acronym for Torah/Law, Nevi'im/Prophets and Ketuvim/Writings) translates 61:1 as follows: "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble, To bind up the wounded of heart, To proclaim release to the captives, Liberation to the imprisoned."

The captives rejoiced jubilantly at their announced deliverance from captivity and their anticipated restoration of the ruins of their physical and spiritual home. Since Jesus saw such work to be his own mission (see Luke 4 above), we his followers look with joy to both his first advent and his anticipated coming advent. Jesus has come to save us. With God there is ongoing deliverance and restoration. And we respond by living rightly and justly, and by praising God before the peoples of the world.

For us to be "anointed and sent" means that we need to read this passage from Isaiah personally.

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon (us),
because the Lord has anointed (us);
God has sent (us) to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
(and) to comfort all who mourn."

There's a story I read about a woman's remembrances of her grandmother, Gagi. At the time of her grandfather's death, at 90 years of age, her grandparents had been married for over 50 years. Gagi felt the loss deeply. The central focus had been taken from her life, and she retreated from the world, entering into an extended period of mourning. Her grieving lasted nearly five years, and during that time, her granddaughter visited her every week or two.

One day, she visited Gagi expecting to find her in her usual state of quiescence. Instead, she found her sitting in her wheelchair beaming. When she didn't comment quickly enough about the obvious change in her demeanor, Gagi confronted her: "Don't you want to know why I'm so happy? Aren't you even curious?" She went on to explain: "Last night I got an answer. I finally know why God took my husband and left me behind to live without him. Your grandfather knew that the secret of life is love, and he lived it every day. He had become unconditional love in action. I have known about unconditional love, but I haven't fully lived it. That's why he got to go first, and I had to stay behind. All this time I thought I was being punished for something, but last night I found out that I was left behind as a gift from God. He let me stay so that I too could turn my life into love. You see, you can't learn the lesson after you die. Love has to be lived here on earth. Once you leave, it's too late. So I was given the gift of life so that I can learn to live love here and now."

On one of her subsequent visits, Gagi told her of something that had happened to her that day. "This morning, your uncle was upset and angry with me over something I had done. I didn't even flinch. I received his anger, wrapped it in love and returned it with joy." Her eyes twinkled as she added, "It was even kind of fun, and his anger dissolved."

Though age continued on its course, Gagi's life was vigorously renewed. In the last days of her life, the granddaughter visited her often in the hospital. As she walked toward her room one day, the nurse on duty looked into her eyes and said, "Your grandmother is a very special lady, you know...she's a light." Yes, love and joy lit up her life and she became a light for others until the end.⁽³⁾

I think this grandmother said "Yes" to being anointed and sent by God. Each one of us is here for a purpose. Let us not wait five years. And let us not miss out altogether our opportunity to participate with God in His purpose for us. One of the ways that we can worship and celebrate "Immanuel," which means God with us is to submit our will to His will to live our lives as Jesus lived His, as one who was "Anointed and Sent." We are the good news people. And at least part of the good news for us is that we can be God's angels, too. We can be the anointed messengers who watch and wait, who see and announce God's in-breaking presence, the light shining in the darkness. We can announce the good news of God's "yes" to all the people shut out by the harsh "no's" of poverty and violence, prejudice and judgementalism, of sin and failure and self-loathing, of fear and hatred and evil.

As we worship Jesus the Messiah, the anointed one of God who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 61, during the Advent, let us worship Him by being "joy people," "good news people," who affirm and willingly give ourselves to God's purpose by leaving here today as those who are "anointed and sent." Amen.

1. Martin L. King, Jr. from David Garrow, Bearing the Cross, Phillip Yancy, "Classic: Confessions of a Racist," Christianity Today, 1990.

2. Rev. John H. Pavelko, sermon, "Solid As An Oak," at Crossroads Presbyterian Church, Walled Lake MI