Our Agenda Vs God's Agenda

“What’s your plan for the day?” It’s a question I often ask my wife; usually on the weekend. But sometimes in the evenings after work I’ll say, “What’s your plan for this evening?” What’s your plan for the weekend? They seem like innocent enough questions and often they are. I’m really interested in what she wants to do and what’s going on in her life.

Then there are those other times. I ask the question because I already have my own plans, my own agenda, and I’m just trying to figure out when and how what I want to do will be accomplished. Will she participate in and support my agenda? That’s the question behind my question.

Whether spoken or unspoken we all have our agendas. We have that list of expectations, desires, things we want to do, and ways we want to be. At some level our agendas describe who we are and what we are about.

When agendas come together amazing things can happen. Relationships deepen. Love flourishes. All is well. When, however, agendas collide conflict arises.

The more we think about this we can see how powerful agendas can be. We can be in relationship situations where one person’s agenda could run the other persons entire life.

So the question is not whether we have agendas, we do. The question is whose agenda guides our life?

I wonder if that’s the question at the heart of today’s gospel. I wonder if opposing agendas is the conflict between Jesus and his own people.

Jesus came to Nazareth, his hometown, with an agenda: good news to the poor, release to the captive, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Today, however, would be different. It’s fulfillment was happening right in front of them, in their hearing.

It sounded great. “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” The people loved it. “Is not this Joseph’s son?” They recognize Jesus as one of their own. They know him. He knows them. They remember him when he attended school and the Sunday School at the same synagogue. They knew Jesus as the smart kid at school but never expected that he would turn out to be the person they are seeing today>

Hidden within their question, however, is an unspoken expectation, an agenda. “If that’s what he’s going to do for them, just think how much more he’ll do for us.” "What is in it for us," they would have asked themselves.

The cultural norm and assumption are that Jesus, as the boy from the neighborhood, will give something special to his own people. And why not? They gave him his start. They helped make him what he is today. They are the village that raised him as a child, cheered him at debates, sports events and instilled in him the values and traditions that defined and gave them pride as a people. They expect to not just be remembered but to be repaid, if not give something of their love's worth. It’s no different today, is it?

Even if may not say it openly, deep down, we expect those close to us to support us and to agree with us. If not, we are deeply hurt sometimes to the extent of ruining a relationship.

With prophetic insight Jesus unveils their agenda:

‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'” And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

I can imagine the people asking, “Why is he is telling us about the great things God did for those outsiders, foreigners? Who are they? What about me? What about us? We’re the chosen ones?” It must have sounded as if one of their very own had turned on them, as if Jesus had forgotten, betrayed and rejected them.

When they heard Jesus’ words “they were filled with rage.” They ran him out of town and tried to throw him off the cliff.

Jesus has a vision for his ministry and the people have another, a different vision. The people’s own expectations have deafened them to the fulfillment of the scriptures. They are so caught up in their own agenda they cannot hear, let alone participate in, God’s agenda.