Snow Sunday
Sunday with Pastor Edith
February 1, 2026
Luke 4:1-21
Since our congregation won’t be meeting together in our church building, I thought it best to send out a bit of reflection and worship to keep us “gathering together” as much as possible.
Yesterday, I found a treasure among my disorganized theology books. It is a copy of Clarence Jordan’s “Cotton Patch version of Luke and Acts – Jesus’ Doings and the Happenings – A modern translation with a Southern accent, fervent, earthy, rich in humor”. I was given this book on February 7th, 1980. I was serving with the Habitat for Humanity team at the headquarters, at that time, in Americus Georgia, which is very close to Clarence Jordan’s Koinonia Farms; “a pioneering interracial farming community”. In his Cotton Patch version of our text for today Clarence writes this about Jesus in the place of temptation: “So, on fire for God, Jesus returned from his baptism. Then in this spirit he was moved to go into the back woods for forty days, where the Confuser took some cracks at him” (pg. 23). The text goes on to tell the story of how the devil tempted Jesus with food (because Jesus was fasting), power (because Jesus claimed to be the son of God), and with pride (because Jesus could work amazing miracles). On each attempt to tempt, Jesus refuted the devil with God’s word/law. A marvelous testimony for us today, to stay very close to God’s word/law when it comes to decision making.
Our text for today then moves Jesus to Galilee; “in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in the synagogues, and everyone praised him”(Luke 4:14-15 NIV). Jesus is invited to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in our modern Bibles; chapter 61:1-2; “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 to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”. It is interesting to note that Jesus stops midsentence and doesn’t complete the quote; “and the day of vengeance of our God”. The reason he doesn’t complete the sentence from Isaiah is that later on, Jesus would teach that the day of God’s vengeance would come, not during Jesus’ first arrival, but during his return, after going back to the Father (“The Student Bible” pg. 771).
Clarence Jordan’s telling of what happened next; “Then he closed the Bible, and handed it to the assistant minister. The eyes of everybody in the congregation were glued on him. He began by saying, ‘This very day this Scripture has become a reality in your presence.’ They all said ‘Amen’, and were amazed at the eloquent words flowing from his mouth. They whispered to one another, ‘Can this really be old Joe’s boy?’”(Cotton Patch version pgs. 24-25).
From his baptism to his time of temptation and then beginning his ministry in the synagogue, Jesus was utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Pastor Robert M. Brearley Helps clarify the point of all this; “The Holy Spirit came and taught Jesus what was real: to say no to the false options and temptations in this world and yes to God’s good purposes for all people; to say no to self-glory in all its forms and yes to helping the poor and the captured of all kinds; to say no to trying to get your God to work for you and yes to working for your God with urgency and compassion…Jesus went forth in the power of the Spirit as an agent of God’s mercy to the downtrodden, and so do we” (“Feasting on the Word, year C, Volume 1 pg.288).
May the Lord continue to show us the way, as we continue to live and pray and one day we will hear Him say; Well Done! (I made a rhyme ). Sing with me: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…” (go ahead, sing the whole thing out loud).
Pray on!