A Manifesto for Change

Not long to wait now - until we see whether Barack Obama is going to be able to live up to the hopes and expectations that so many have put on his shoulders. The trouble is that so many expect so much that it is almost impossible for him to deliver. He has laid out his manifesto, now the hard work begins.

Jesus laid out his manifesto in Luke 4:18-19. Tomorrow we start a new series looking at Jesus' Galilean ministry in Luke 4-8, which will take us through to Easter. Jesus told those who were listening that he was anointed by God [i.e. I am the Messiah] to:

• proclaim good news for the poor,
• proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
• set the oppressed free,
• proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

In the chapters that follow we shall see that Jesus began to do the things he promised, although not always in the way those around him thought was appropriate.

But what might such a manifesto look like for a church? What would it mean to share good news with those around us; to be involved in setting people free from whatever holds them (debt, bad relationships, insecurities, fear...); to be a voice for the voiceless in the world; to be those who don't believe that the future is defined by the past?