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johnhardinsawyer · 19 days ago

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Straight from the Heart

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

1 / 26 / 25 – Third Sunday after Epiphany

Luke 4:14-21

Nehemiah 8:1-10

“Straight from the Heart”

(Fulfilling the Scriptures)

This past week, snow fell on Macon, Georgia – my hometown – for the first time in a long time. One of our family friends in Macon said that his grandchildren were seeing snow for the first time in their lives. Now, for those of us who live in New Hampshire, snow is a fairly regular occurrence, but snow in Macon, Georgia is a rarity. I lived in Macon for eighteen years and can only remember one or two snowfalls that amounted to more than flurries. So, this week, Amy and I were curious how our friends and family back home were doing during Snowmaggeddon 2025, so we checked with Channel 13 WMAZ. [“Straight from the Heart”].

If you’re not familiar with 13 WMAZ [“Straight from the Heart”] it’s basically the WMUR of Middle Georgia – the most popular local TV news station. So, if you want to know what’s going on in middle Georgia, 13 WMAZ [“Straight from the Heart”] is the place to go to get the news. We’ve been gone from middle Georgia for twelve winters, as of this year, but we know that if we need some local news, we go to 13 WMAZ [“Straight from the Heart”].

Oh, and did I mention that, for years, 13 WMAZ [“Straight from the Heart”], had a little song that they used to remind everyone that they did their work of local news, weather, and sports in the heart of Georgia and they did this work straight from their hearts, with love and dedication.

When we talk about the heart in a literal sense, we are talking, yes, about the amazing organ made of muscle that resides in our chest which beats 100,000 times a day and pumps blood, and oxygen, and nutrients throughout our bodies from before the time we are born until we draw our final breath. But when we talk about the heart, we are also talking, in a figurative sense, about that which is central and essential to who we are. Even though, scientifically, we know and feel things with our brains and our physical hearts do not have the capacity to think or feel, we will often say that we know or feel something in our hearts. In addition, to talk about “the heart” could also mean something which is central and essential to something that we know or believe. For example, years ago, there was a popular song on Christian radio called “The Heart of Worship” which was about how the true heart of worship (and all that we do, here) is Jesus.[1]

If I were to ask you to say what you believe the heart of the Christian faith is, or what the heart of the gospel is, or what the heart of the Bible is, and if you were to speak straight from the heart, I wonder what you might say. I wonder if there is something – some guiding verse of scripture, some guiding principle or theological doctrine – that you trust to be truein your heart about God, or about your faith, that you hold so deeply and it gives your life meaning, and purpose, and connection. The Bible is so rich and full of meaning for so many people. It’s fascinating, though – and maybe not surprising – different people tend to latch on to different parts.

So, if someone tells you, “I believe in the Bible,” it would be wise to ask, “In what ways does the Bible speak clearly to you, and define your belief system, and world view? What is the heart of the Bible for you?” There are some who aredrawn, especially, to the blood and suffering of Jesus. There are others who concentrate, primarily, on the legalistic side of things when it comes to personal purity. There are others who will focus on God’s call for justice to the oppressed. And others, still, who focus largely on the teachings of Jesus. There are some, at present, who are making a big deal out of being subject to the will of the governing authorities from Romans 13. And there are others, who are making a big deal, about not doing this – following after the example of prophets, apostles, and even Jesus, himself, speaking truth to power.

For all kinds of reasons, our hearts are drawn to different aspects of who God is and what the Bible has to say. Maybe this is due to how we were raised, or what we learned in school, or our life’s experience, or maybe just our personal preferences. Years ago, I was amazed to learn that Thomas Jefferson had a Bible with all of the miraculous parts cut out. Jefferson did this, at first, with a razor blade and glue, so that he could just read the moral and ethical aspects of Jesus’ teachings.[2] He felt that he didn’t need to bother with the rest.

So, what is the heart of the good news – the heart of the Bible, the heart of God’s message to all humankind? Well, it can be so simple and so complicated. In today’s two scripture readings, we find an example of each.

In our scripture reading from Nehemiah this morning, we find the people of Judah, back in the heart of their homeland after fifty years of exile. They have been seeking to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, and it’s been hard work – building a huge wall in fifty-two days.[3] But the work is still full of so much joy and hope, because for fifty years, they have been longing for good news from their homeland, and now finally, they are able to see some good news taking shape by the sweat of their brows, the work of their hands, and – most importantly – the blessing of God. So, everyone has been working hard to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And, on a day of rest from all of this hard labor, Ezra, the scribe, has gathered all of the people together – all of the elders and priests, with beautiful names that sound a little strange to our ears, and everyone else, too.

This meeting of all the people is a moment of unity and connection, gathered around a common source of knowledge, and history, and guidelines and expectations for the building up of a faithful community of people. For the people of Judah, the ancient Law of Moses was something that they all held in common. The law, which reminded them that there is, but one, God, and that this God is to be loved and worshiped above all else, and that the way the people treat one another truly matters, was something that tied them together. It reminded them of God’s promise from centuries before: I will be your God and you will be my people.[4] In today’s story, this promise draws them together as one. And being reminded of this after so many years of hardship is a deeply emotional thing for everyone who had been away from home for so long. This is why, as today’s story goes, after the reading of the law, all of the people begin to weep.[5] They are moved in their hearts and rededicate their lives to the holy and hard work of rebuilding, with God’s help.

In today’s first scripture, reading, we hear the story of a different gathering – one that ends, not in unity, but in division. Jesus enters the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. He has been away – getting baptized, and tempted in the wilderness, and calling some disciples – but now he has returned. He is surrounded by his home congregation. He doesn’t need a nametag. Everyone knows him. And he asks to read a portion of the Prophet Isaiah – the part of Isaiah that was written close to the time that today’s reading from Nehemiah took place: a time of great need for God’s help and restoration.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18)[6]

These ancient words are like an inaugural address for Jesus. They are the heart of his message and lay out all that he has come to do. Jesus finishes reading, and then boldly says, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (4:21). Just so you know, Jesus says these words before he actually goes and does any of these things. But, a few short chapters – and a bunch of miracles – later, when John the Baptizer’s disciples come and ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus tells them,

Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. (7:22)

Now, we don’t really have time to get into the full response of the hometown crowd, today, except to say that they are not pleased. In their minds, Jesus has said something blasphemous – speaking with the voice of a prophet and saying that he has fulfilled these prophetic words about caring for the poor and oppressed. Jesus goes on to talk about God treating foreign outsiders with mercy instead of insiders.[7] And it really makes people mad. He was not the first to get in trouble for talking like this and he wasn’t the last, either.

The town of Nazareth is built into the side of a pretty steep hill and folks actually grab Jesus and try to throw him off of a cliff. Thankfully, he passes through them and goes on his determined way.[8]

But it this story does raise the question: Is the heart of the Bible, the heart of the good news, the heart of God’s message to us, something that brings us comfort or challenge or both? If we are comforted, I hope that we don’t get too comfortable to be open to something new that God might do in our midst, or too comfortable to offer ourselves in love and service. If we are challenged – and I hope that we all are, no matter who we are – then I hope we are challenged in ways that help us grow and make us more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

One last thing: if there is anything that both comforts and challenges me, it is the loving promise of God that is offered in our baptism. In baptism, God is saying to us, “I love you. You are my child. I am pleased with you.” This good news comes straight from God’s heart. And, it would seem that, in baptism, we are become part of God’s heart.

This is so comforting, because all who are baptized belong to God in a deep and abiding way. And it is so challenging, because God calls us to live up to and live into our belovedness. There is no way that we can live up to this challenge but there is good news: God is so loving and so full of mercy.

For me, and for so many, God’s love and mercy is the heart of the good news. There are so many ways that we can interpret this good news and share it with all the world �� ways that bring comfort and challenge.

May we do so as humble vessels of grace, and healing, and peace, and justice, and wholeness, and hope – straight from the heart.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gljs4N7ZoD4.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible.

[3] See Nehemiah 6:15.

[4] See Genesis 17:7, Exodus 6:7, Ezekiel 34:24, and Jeremiah 32:38, among other places.

[5] See Nehemiah 8:9.

[6] See Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6

[7] See Luke 4:24-27.

[8] See Luke 4:29-30.

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