Recently on social media someone posting a challenge to “name a television show that kids of today would not know.” Now I am thinking that this had nothing to do with the knowledge of kids today about old television shows . . . nope, I think it had to do with showing how old the person was answering the question. With that understanding my answer exposed my age as being “old”! I answered, Gomer Pyle. Actually, the correct name of the show was Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The U.S.M.C. stood for United States Marine Corp. The show ran from 1964 through 1969 and was a spinoff of the Andy Griffith Show. So . . . as my children would say, I am old!
Remember Gomer?
Gomer was a naïve, extremely moral auto mechanic from Mayberry. North Carolina. He was played by actor/singer Jim Nabors. Basically, Gomer was a good ol’ boy . . . a country simpleton or bumpkin. In his simplicity he was constantly amazed at the world around him. He was awestruck by life and the people he encountered. Do you remember any of the phrases he would exclaim when struck with awe?
“Golly!”
“Surprise, surprise, surprise!”
And “Shazam!”
If something went against his morals he would proclaim, “Shame, shame, shame!”
It was pretty hard to miss the exuberance of Gomer when he was awestruck with people, life, or experiences. You could hear it in his voice.
As I read our scripture lesson this morning, I couldn’t help but to think that we were witnessing a moment of “shazam!” The setting of our reading is shortly after the baptism and the wilderness experience of Jesus. Coming out of the wilderness Jesus heads off to his old stomping grounds . . . he heads home. Being the Sabbath, he does what he would usually do . . . he goes to the synagogue. There he stood up, reads scripture, and then sits down. Everyone’s eyes are glued to him. Ta da! “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” he says.
For those gathered it was a moment of epiphany . . . a “shazam” moment . . . Jesus opened their eyes!
Unlike the Gospel of John from last Sunday where Jesus begins his ministry with the miracle of turning water into wine, in the Gospel of Luke his inaugural act of ministry is an act in which he proclaims his identity, purpose, and vocation . . . and he does it through scripture. Words familiar to those who are gathered. Words heard a thousand times by those who were gathered. Jesus takes the tried and traditional old words of faith and makes them new . . . these are not his words . . . these are the living words, the living words of faith. By the way that the writer describes it, the people were stunned. If the silence had words, they would be words like . . . “Golly!” . . . “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” . . . and, “Shazam!”
Whatever the case, when we do something or hear something over and over again, there comes a point where it loses its magic or power . . . it doesn’t pack the power it once did. Scripture can be that way, especially if it is a familiar story or reading that has been heard over and over again. It feels as if it is no longer “living” . . . it is just words. It is something read without thinking.
Through the familiar Jesus announces who he is . . . what his purpose is . . . and his vocation. He does not use some fancy job description that he and God whip up for the occasion. No, he uses what is already there . . . traditional words . . . familiar words. He reads from the prophet 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.”
There is “life” in the words he shares.
Have you ever heard a familiar song as if you were hearing it for the first time? Have you ever re-read a book and caught yourself feeling the story in a new way you never imagined? Have you ever seen a picture or painting only to see it in a new and exciting way? Have you ever encountered an old friend and discover someone you never knew existed before? Have you ever broken the bread and lifted the cup only to discover a deeper understanding and depth to the Lord’s Supper? Have you ever read or heard the scripture that changed your understanding, opened your heart, and made you just step back and proclaim, “Shazam!”
This is what happens in the sanctuary of the synagogue as Jesus reads to those who are gathered. They experience the “Word”—“God’s Word”—in a new way. The “Word” comes to life! We sometimes forget that the “Word of God” is a “living word”. The “Word of God” is neither dull nor dead. It is alive. The word lives, here and now. It is organic, it breathes, it moves in fresh and revolutionary ways. It lives.
It can be a constant “aha” . . . an epiphany. If we only allow it to be. We must pick up the Word, roll out the scroll, read and receive. The joy of the Lord is there in a collection of what seems a lot of antiquated pages telling the story. The Spirit makes it possible . . . if we allow it. The Scriptures can be a constant source of epiphany . . . of “aha” moments . . . of discovering God’s presence in the world around, through the people we meet, and deepening our relationship with God and one another.
Through the familiar routine of Sabbath . . . its usual rhythm and flow, the Holy is revealed in the traditional words of faith known by those who have gathered. In what is taken for granted, the Word comes to life. So, it was on that morning Jesus read. Jesus knew it. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The people felt it.
Shazam!
So, it shall be for us if we only allow it. The Holy shall be revealed. “Life” discovered. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow . . . we have the opportunity to constantly experience the presence of the living God. Jesus shows us the way. Life should be filled with “shazam”. The choice is ours. Amen.
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