Old Picture of Church in Village of Citlalmina
“And there was handed to Him [the roll of] the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].”
Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing [attentively] at Him. And He began to speak to them: ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing’”. Luke 4: 17 – 21 (AMP)
“You know the contents of the message which He sent to Israel, announcing the good news (Gospel) of peace by Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all…How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10: 36, 38 (AMP)
Above is Jesus’ self-proclaimed job description. It is interesting to note that immediately after Jesus was baptized in water and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and immediately after the Holy Spirit had taken him into the wilderness for a show-down and a systematic humiliation of the enemy – Satan, the Devil – Jesus went to Nazareth, his home town, and proclaimed to the world, and to his disgraced enemy, what was his life mission; his job description. Jesus was throwing down of the gauntlet before his already shamed foe.
From this point on, throughout the next three plus years, Jesus systematically mocked and tormented the “kingdom” and “power” of Satan by going about doing good, curing those harassed and oppressed by the enemy, announcing God’s Kingdom, proclaiming the Good News to the poor, delivering the oppressed and downtrodden, and restoring those who were blinded – both physically and spiritually, raising the dead, and smashing the teeth of the enemy.
Jesus’ challenge and thrown gauntlet was indeed a bad day for Satan – it marked the beginning of the end for his diabolic kingdom. From this point on Satan’s smoke and mirror show was revealed for what it really is – a magic show
Theresa with Baby Girl
of illusion.
If we believe and accept Jesus’ words in John 20:21 where he said “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”, then we must accept that we carry the same description of duties and responsibilities as Jesus had – the same job description.
But am I fulfilling this mission? Am I indeed preaching the good news (the Gospel) to the poor? Am I announcing release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind? Am I sending forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]. Am I proclaiming the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound]? Or, am I being lulled to sleep, snoring in peace in the lap of the evil one as John states in 1 John 5: 19?
Last evening Theresa and I dropped off our friend Marina in her little, dusty, poor village of Citlalmina. I can’t help but see Jesus’ footprints in the dusty roadways and dingy hovels whenever I am in these little villages. Why was it so important in his culture, for example, to wash your visitor’s feet as soon as they got to your house as a sign of hospitality? It was because the roads were dusty, rocky, and mud covered and sandaled feet became filthy. Did the children of Jesus’ day frolic on green grass in white picket-fenced back yards? I doubt it. I am sure that their playgrounds were the dusty and rock-covered pathways and roadways just as it is for most of the children of the world today. I suspect that Jesus would have felt very much at home in the Citlalminas and the Tanlacuts, and the thousands upon thousands of dusty and poverty-filled villages that they represent in our world today. He would have had no hesitation in entering into the dingy, dirt-floored, stick and mud walled hovels and becoming a part of the lives of the people. After all, he was Immanuel. God with us. God incarnate. God made flesh. Jesus lived, moved, “dwelt”, and was one with the lives of the villagers in the dust and the filth of poverty. This is true incarnation.
We are called to become incarnational as well. But how often I find my head and my heart lying lulled into sleep in the lap of the enemy – snoring with visions of “The Great American Dream” dancing through my head.
For a wake up call to all of us I recommend finding and reading K.P. Yohannan’s book “The Road to Reality”. As Christianbook.com states “This prophetic and practical book offers refreshing freedom from the enticements of contemporary culture, and gives an uncompromising call to live a life of simplicity – with purpose. You will come away better equipped to practically apply biblical principles to your own life, and you will gain a new understanding of the heart of God”.
Rainforest by the village of Xilitla
Earlier yesterday we had been speaking with Marina about mutual friends in her village whom I have not seen for some time. One person that we spoke about was the daughter of common friends. We will call her “Maria” as this name and its derivatives are generic enough to be the name of most Mexican girls. I have known Maria since she was a very little girl. Her parents are short, little Huastecan Indians – my chest-height if they are wearing platform shoes. Her father was a down-and-out drunk; a true rubby. His poison of choice was “licor de caña” – sugarcane alcohol – straight proof. The family was incredibly poor – with a dad who drank away everything he earned as a laborer and “carrier” of loads in the market area downtown. The family was large. Maria was second to the last – the final little girl in a family of predominantly brothers. I have little doubt that Maria suffered many other physical and sexual abuses besides grinding poverty.
Maria had a bigger brother that had a severe and absolutely crippling case of juvenile arthritis. He was about eighteen at the time, but was twisted and deformed like a pretzel. I came to know the family because of the physical needs of the crippled son. We did what we could to try to relieve some of his suffering and to make his life somewhat more pleasant. Mostly we could simply show him and the family love and acceptance.
Through our care for the family, and witnessing of Jesus’ love, first the crippled son, and then the rest of the family
Transportation - the old and the new
gave their hearts to the Lord. Upon the young man’s deathbed he witnessed powerfully to his father and neighbors before he died. Through this experience his father had a conversion experience, gave up his life of debauchery and bondage, and began to live for the Lord.
The family unit began to show the signs of Jesus’ lordship in the home. The dad was now working and not squandering everything that he made on booze. He built a new house on the little property that they lived on. It was still a stick house with thatched roof and mud floor – but it was clean and neat. There were smiles and happy faces instead of drunken stupor and sorrow in the home. Dad became very involved in the local church in the village. Little Maria grew up to be a beautiful and intelligent young woman who loved the Lord and was active in the local church as well. Mom was always gentle and gracious, and a woman with a heart filled with love and gratitude to her Savior.
Oh, how I wish that remained the happy conclusion to this story. Yesterday I found out that Maria, now about eighteen, is living with a young man of about sixteen. They have a child together. Her father is once again drinking himself to death and destroying his life and family. Maria has turned her back on the Lord at this point and has no interest in walking for him. Mom still loves the Lord and is still serving him in her quiet and gentle way. She still suffers at the hands of her drunken husband and sons.
Last night as we drove our friend Marina home to her little shack I once again had to think of Maria. What hope or future does she have? She is now eighteen with a little baby. She is living with a young man who is not her legal husband, and has no binding responsibility to her or to her little son. She lives in the poverty and dust of the poor in a little poor and forgotten village. She is perpetuating the sins and curses of her own parents – or more accurately, she is being downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity as were her parents. What possible hope is there for her future? Humanly speaking, precious little indeed!
el gallo
But Jesus came for the broken such as Maria. As we have already noted, this was his job description. And we have been given the same work to do. He became incarnate. We are also to become incarnational.
Oh Jesus, teach me how to truly become a representative of your grace and mercy to a hungry and dying world. The enemy has been defeated by your life and shed blood. He is killing, stealing and destroying – touching that which he has no right to. Jesus, may I, may we, as your children begin to walk in the calling that you have given to us. May we begin to plunder the camp of the enemy. May we begin to walk within our right as sons and daughters and begin to announce release to the captives and delivery to those who are oppressed and downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity. May we begin to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord – the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.
May God bless you richly,
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