Prophecy is difficult work. The events of this week make it clear that speaking truth to the powerful, even if it is to beg for mercy for those who are powerless can be hard.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel lesson, also engages in the difficult work of prophecy.

We are told that at his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. He then retreated into the wilderness full of that same spirit to endure temptation. And he returns to his hometown in Nazareth with the spirit of the Lord upon him.

Jesus’ return to Nazareth appears in Matthew, Mark, and, in today’s reading, the Gospel of Luke.

But only here, in Luke, does the story appear in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Why, do you suppose that is?

The Gospel of Luke and its second volume, the Book of Acts, are presumed to have been written by the same person; and, they share many common themes. One of these themes is that human beings do amazing things when the spirit of the Lord is upon them. Ordinary people understand while the wise are confounded. Men who used to fish for a living speak in languages they could not have otherwise known. People are healed, prisoners are set free, god’s realm proclaimed even in the face of terrible power.

In Nazareth, the Spirit directs Jesus to Isaiah, as it often did in Jesus’ public ministry.

His reference to the prophet’s words are not an exact quotation. Instead, he combines them into a kind of an overture to the great symphony that will be his public ministry.

Before he goes on to preach, or teach, or perform any other miracle, the first words he utters are “the spirit of the Lord are upon me.”

It is tempting, I think, to view this is a Jesus story.

It is easy to read Isaiah as only identifying the messiah,

That it is only Jesus that God has anointed to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives and the recovery of sight to the blind.

And to be sure, Jesus’ role in God’s plan is … pretty special.

And I believe Jesus’ citation to Isaiah is not just a Jesus story, it is an “us” story – a you story and a me story – too.

As a community, we share the baptism of water and spirit with Jesus.

Jesus’ work of prophecy at Nazareth is also our work of prophecy today. By virtue of our baptism, we are marked as Christ’s own and the holy spirit finds a dwelling place in us.

Luke, in the second chapter of Acts, confirms this by quoting the words of the prophet Joel in Peter’s mouth:

“It shall come to pass in the last days, saith god, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams

The spirit, though, rarely calls us to the easy, to the convenient, or to the comfortable.

Prophecy is difficult work.

Isaiah, himself, when called to prophesy, said that he was not worthy because he was a sinner. Jeremiah hedged by saying he was too young and moses claimed a stutter kept him from the lord’s work. Jonah ran away – he actually tried to hide from God – and prefigured Jesus with his three days in the belly of a leviathan.

Interestingly enough, only our beloved Mary acceded to god’s work when the angel appeared,

And even she had some basic questions.

Prophecy is difficult work. The folks from Nazareth at first liked what Jesus had to say.

But it didn’t take long for them to turn on him when he started saying things they did not agree with.

If you keep reading, Jesus declared that the good news, the release, and the restoration were for all people, not just a select few. The people who just a few lines ago thought Jesus was so great moved quickly to run him off a cliff when he called their privilege into question.

Prophecy is difficult work indeed.

What would it look like if we spoke when the spirit of the lord is upon us? When Jesus did it, his thought was for the poor, the prisoner, the blind. If this story is any guide, a message of radical love and inclusion, will still offend those who would prefer to remain comfortable in the blindness of this world.

Make no mistake: God will establish justice and mercy with us or without us. Mordecai said to Queen Esther that even if she stayed quiet in the face of persecution, relief and deliverance for her people would arise from another place.

But, he said, you and your place were made just for such a time as this

My brothers and sisters, we too are made for just such a time as this. Are you ready to prophesy? Are you ready to dream dreams and see visions? Are you willing that the spirit of the Lord be upon us. 

Remember, Jesus said after he read from Isaiah that “today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Today. He did not pine for yesterday and he did not fantasize about the days to come. Today the scripture is fulfilled.

Because, while prophecy is difficult work, it is what we are called to.

Today, we must proclaim God’s realm, sing the good news, and offer a place for the outsider.

Today is the day.

Because, as we read in Nehemiah today, this day is holy to our Lord; be not grieved, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.