3RD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 2016 YEAR C LUKE 4:14-21

He stands on the highest peak of preaching endeavors, a colossus towering over mere mortals such as your average pastor, minister, or priest. Those of us who occupy the foothills of Mount Sermon can only gaze adoringly and enviously at his feet, because those are the only parts of him that are visible, so far above us does he tower. At gatherings of clergy, his name is mentioned in hushed tones, that is, if it is mentioned at all. Some of us are too in awe of him and too conscious of our own inadequacy, that even naming him appears disrespectful. Remembering his accomplishments urges uson to cultivate interesting verbs, to climb the dizzying heights of effective metaphors, and always apply astronomical amounts of alluring, agile, alliteration. His name is Donald Thomas, but you can call him the Rev Dr Donald Thomas, or ‘your majesty’. Quite simply, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having preached the longest sermon ever delivered. It was a challenging 93 hours. God's filibuster. There are no reports of any survivors. Don’t worry, his record is safe today. It reminds me of the research undertaken by some social scientists that found that if you took everyone who has ever fallen asleep in a sermon and laid them end to end, they’d be much more comfortable. I don’t know what the shortest sermon ever preached was, but I think Jesus may be a contender. He once preached a sermon of eight words. We read it last week, and we’re reading it again this morning. And, sorry to tell you, that record is not in danger today either.

If you were here last week you will remember that we accompanied Jesus to church. He is visiting his hometown, Nazareth, and on the Sabbath he goes to the synagogue, good Jew that he is, and he is invited to preach. He reads from the prophet Isaiah; chapter 61, “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..... (Read the full Sermon here: Drop the Debt )