"The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]," Luke 4:18 (Amplified)
This verse was used in our Pastor's sermon this past Sunday. It really struck a chord with me that morning, so I wrote it down, promising myself to revisit it later this week. I did just that this morning, and actually followed it's origins to Isaiah, chapter 61, where it was originally written, and then I read the whole chapter and really felt energized and ready to tackle a new year.
What really hit me most about this verse above was the last line, to deliver those who are oppressed. While this verse was talking about Jesus, who was to come yet, I also believe it's talking about us today. Last Saturday night I had a dream, that for the most part, I thought was nonsense. I was with a famous foodie writer/traveller, and was showing him around Appleton, a city not far from here. Appleton happens to be a fairly nice city, very little of it is run down at all, and there also happens to be a lot of culture there- we've always enjoyed spending time there. But as I was driving this person through town, we went through a section of town that had never been there before. Houses were falling down, where houses had been, people had put up walls of straw and cloth, and there were shanties all over the place. There were towers that looked like shipyard containers, except that people were living in the containers. It was like something you see on TV when watching a documentary about Haiti or Zimbabwe. When I woke, that image, those images about Appleton really stuck with me.
Because I wonder how far off that dream really was... if you drive through the streets of Appleton, or anywhere else for that matter, how many of the people living there are in a good place financially? How many of them are just a few days or weeks away from a shantytown? And I just felt like, as a church, it's our job to prevent things like that from happening, and we're not. It's a new year and a new time, and we need to take a stand and really help these people who need help! We need to feed them and clothe them, and help them find jobs. We need to teach them the skills to get jobs, we need to give them good counsel and the tools to fight oppression and depression. We need to do as Jesus would do. That's our job, our commission, to release those that are oppressed from their oppression. Oppression used to be something reserved for third world nations and dictators, and now we're seeing it right here in our country. Rather than dictators and tyrants, though, we have a banking system run amok. There are home foreclosures left and right... communities that have been struck by disaster are having a hard time putting the pieces back together. New Orleans is a horrendous example of that. When was the last time we prayed for the people of New Orleans?
It's a new year and a new season, and it's time to wake up from our slumber. It's time to wake up from the casual attitude toward those that are oppressed, and time to shake off the little bubbles we've put ourselves in. There is so much need around us, right in our own neighborhoods, it's time to do what we can. Whether it's with a check, some old clothes, or teaching someone how to plant a vegetable garden. There is a song that is sung by Gateway that says "The time has come, to stand for what we believe in." And I believe that time is right now, today. I have woken up in a new year with a burning desire to do whatever needs to be done.
"For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations." Isaiah 61:11 (NIV)
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