"Liberated and Free" - Luke 4:14-21 - January 25, 2004

My greatest moment of freedom came in September, 1974. I walked down the gang plank of the US Naval Ship, Saratoga, in Jacksonville, Florida. I had just finished four years of service during the Vietnam War. For the first time in over four years I was a civilian again. No more working for the government. No more playing the Mickey Mouse games of the military. No more orders to dangerous places and living in vulnerable waters. I was free.

Unless you’ve been in a situation where your life was totally controlled by others you can’t possibly know what it is like to be free. I don’t regret serving my country or being in the military. But, from that experience I can fully appreciate what it means to be free.

The "good news" that Jesus gives has to do with liberation and freedom. Jesus is saying that everyone of us is free. But, some may ask, "Just what exactly am I free from?"

First of all, you are free from guilt. People are oppressed because they have not experienced forgiveness. Recently Governor Taft pardoned Sharon Hoffer who lives in Dayton Ohio. She has been serving a 15 sentence for killing her infant daughter. Because she has been a model prisoner, the governor has issued her a pardon. Her family is ecstatic. Years of appeals, letters, hearings and advocates have finally succeeded in giving her freedom. She has been literally "released from captivity."

We are also captive to other things as well. Guilt can keep us in a box. Guilt holds us back. Guilt keeps us behind bars or in chains. It may be guilt trips that others put upon us. It may be self-imposed guilt. It may be guilt by proxy; in other words, we have done something that others would feel guilty for.

You cannot control what others do. When people lay guilt trips on us we can only recognize them for what they are, "guilt trips." This means that people want to put us on a journey where they push all the buttons and control all the switches. However, Jesus is saying that we are "free" from them. Jesus has the power to forgive us and set us free. Remember this; it is those who lay guilt trips on us who are the real captives. Their need to oppress gives them a false sense of righteousness and/or pride.

A second thing that imprisons us is fear. Fear holds us back. Fear keeps us from making changes or taking risks. People are captivated by fear. Instead of physical barriers it is emotional and psychological barriers that prevent us from being free.

When Beth’s boss asked her to take on an extra project, she saw a great opportunity. She began to think how she would handle the responsibility and approach the task and her enthusiasm ran high. But when it came time to start, Beth kept telling her boss she was too busy to do the project justice. She kept putting it off so the project was given to someone else.

What kept Beth from doing the project was fear, so she procrastinated. She was afraid that her performance wouldn’t meet her boss’s expectations. She was always too busy to try. Beth was never released from her own self-imposed captivity. Fear held her back. ("Overcoming Fear," God’s Little Lessons on Life for Mom, Honor Books)

Jesus can help us overcome our fears. He has come to "release the captives" and set us free. Jesus is the source of our liberation. We can trust in his presence and face our fears with courage and assurance.

Besides freeing us from fear and guilt, Jesus came to help us see. He wasn’t talking about physical blindness, but rather, spiritual blindness. We can’t see because we are trapped by habits, addictions and illusions of happiness. Therefore we are trapped, oppressed by our own choices and situations. Some of us are in denial. Others of us are reinforced through the enabling of other people. Consequently, we are not free.

One night a tiger trainer was performing at a circus. He went into the cage with the tigers and a huge hush came over the crowd as the doors were locked behind him. Skillfully, the trainer put the tigers though their routine, entertaining the crowd. But, suddenly there was a "pop" and the all the lights went out under the big top.

The trainer was locked inside the cage with the tigers in complete darkness. They could see him with their night vision, but he could not see them. All he had was a chair and a whip for protection. Finally the lights came back on and the trainer finished his performance.

Later in a TV interview, the trainer admitted how scared he was. Then he realized that the tigers did not know that he could not see them. "I just cracked my whip and talked to them," he said, "until the lights came on." (from "Tigers in the Dark," God’s Little Lessons on Life for Dad, Honor Books)

I believe it is human nature to give other people control over our lives. We look to those who dominate us with their enabling, guilt trips and manipulating ways. One of my favorite television shows is "Everybody Loves Raymond." Unfortunately, Raymond’s mother, Marie, is very controlling and manipulating. She refuses to allow her sons to be adults. She is always meddling in their marriages and getting her way.

In the last episode, Raymond and his wife needed a new stove. But, Marie insisted that there was nothing wrong with the old one. She would make comments like, "Besides, a new stove wouldn’t make a difference in the way you cook," she stated. Marie also laid a guilt trip on them for spending the money. Raymond’s father could fix it for a few dollars, but the stove was simply out of date and needed to be replaced. It was difficult for Raymond and his wife to face Marie and tell her their plans. They finally do but the episode ended before a new stove was purchased. It was one of those endings where you had to complete the story on your own.

This is an opportunity for each of you to make sure your story is complete. At some point we all need to "see" by confronting our fears. We can be assured that God will be with us and wants us to find our way. This is the "good news," that Jesus has come to give us. God wants us to be forgiven. God wants us to live without fear and God wants us to be free from those things and people in life who oppress us.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio