“…He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…” (Luke 4:18)
Anyone with a granddaughter has probably
seen the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen.
It’s a very loosely adapted version of Hans Christian Andresen’s story, “The
Snow Queen,” and deals with two princess sisters, Elsa and Anna. Elsa, the
21-year-old heiress to the throne, has been hiding a terrible secret—everything
she touches turns to ice and snow. On the day of her coronation, she
accidentally reveals her secret power and is labeled as a monster. She flees the
kingdom and rushes out into the wilderness. With her secret now exposed, she sings
the power ballad, “Let It Go” (with the exquisite voice of Broadway star Idina
Menzel), and turns the whole world into winter.
A recent NPR feature on Frozen noted that “Let It Go” has
become something of an anthem for young people, especially young girls, who
have felt embarrassed by being who they are. The song’s defiant lyrics have
told a generation that it’s okay to be imperfect, to be differently abled, to
not conform to demanding standards.
There’s a certain defiant “Let It Go”
attitude in Jesus’ hometown “sermon” in the Gospel lesson assigned for Epiphany
3 (Luke 4:14-21). Jesus is outing himself in front of the hometown crowd. Using
the words of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus boldly proclaims his ministry to the
poor, the sick, the captives, and the oppressed. Of course, to appreciate this
ministry, you’d have to admit that you are
poor, sick, captive, and oppressed. You’d have to let that secret get out. You’d
have to let it go.
So…you ready to do that?
Jesus is telling us that he’s come to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He’s making reference to the Year of
Jubilee in which land was returned to its original owners, debts were forgiven,
slaves were set free, and the earth was allowed to rest. It was the time when
God made the people hit the reset button on social, economic, and ecological
issues.[i] This was pretty good news
for some folks, not so good for others.
No. Some folks have a hard time just
letting it go. They don’t want to give anything up. They don’t want to forgive
their debtors or let go of their grudges. They don’t want to admit defeat, and
they’d rather be prisoners to their own secrets, their own shame, their own
prejudices, and their own sense of control. They say, in essence, “Go away,
Jesus. I don’t want your good news.”
But Jesus came to proclaim his Kingdom and
to declare the Father’s will. Once he’s proclaimed it, it can’t be
un-proclaimed. Once we’ve heard it, we can’t un-hear it.
We begin each Sunday mass at the baptismal
font reminding ourselves that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.
Nevertheless, Jesus has promised to love us for who we are and to grant us
forgiveness and mercy. Unfortunately for our sinful selves, we really can’t
appreciate that forgiveness and mercy until we let go of our pride and admit
that we’re in need of it.
As I write this post, America is in day 33
of a partial government shutdown. Some of my parishioners have not seen a
paycheck in two weeks. It’s easy to say that the problem lies with the
politicians, but we have to remember that we elected these people to office.
Our problems don’t have their source in the personalities we hear about in the
news. Rather, they exist because we really want
to hold onto our own sin. We want to be selfish. We want to see ourselves as
elite and superior to others. We’d rather poison our environment than pay for
alternative energy solutions. We want to revel in our self-righteousness and sense of wounded entitlement. We don’t
want to be inconvenienced in any way. Sacrifice is not in our nature.
But Jesus came to proclaim Jubilee. How
wonderful it would be if we all could say, “Okay, Jesus. Reset me. Take away my
selfish, stubborn pride and heal me. And thank you for loving me even in my
sin. Thanks for loving me for being who I am.”
Perhaps, then, we would not only be healed
by Jesus’ mission statement, but we could make it our own as well.
Thanks again for stopping by.
PS –
If you want to hear Idina Menzel sing “Let It Go,” click here.
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