We just heard that Jesus went home to Nazareth to visit the family. By then, he was well-known as a teacher and rabbi and healer. You would have expected there would be a parade or a celebration that the hometown boy was back home. Because of his fame as a preacher and healer, the people of Nazareth were excited to have him preach at the synagogue.
Jesus began to read from Isaiah, where he read about the prophecy of the arrival of a savior. As he continued, He announced
“This day this Scripture passage is fulfilled even as you listen”. (Luke 4:21)
The people were excited, they had waited a long time for a savior and were ready to greet the Messiah! And he came from Nazareth – that made the people very proud. Just think of the fame that would come to them.
But their excitement wouldn’t last. Jesus was too familiar to them. As my grandmother used to say: ‘he’s too big for his britches – I know because I changed his diapers’.
We heard the crowd ask:
"Is not this Joseph's son?" (Luke 4:22)
Remember, Joseph was the local carpenter – not a rabbi, not someone important, not a rich man. He was just. like. them. The green eyes of jealousy or envy struck them – why didn’t Jesus come from one of them? Why not from one of them who held a more prestigious position in Nazareth. A carpenter was a lowly position, not worthy of being the father of the man who would save all Israel.
And to add to it, Jesus was preaching that his message was for ALL the world – not just the Jewish people – but everyone in the world. Jesus challenged their understanding of the Jewish law making them God’s chosen people – and taught them of God’s generosity to outsiders.
How dare He!
Jesus’ knew that his proclamation would cause a range of emotions – from pride, to skepticism, to jealousy, to rejection. His pronouncement COULD have been a source of genuine wonder and appreciation—look how far our local boy has come!
But it’s not difficult to see that some would say:
“Joseph’s kid? Good grief. He was a nobody back in the day and he’s a nobody from a no-account family now. Forget him!”
Jesus then goes on to suggest that maybe those very detractors in the crowd would be asking him shortly to prove who he was. They wanted him to prove it!
Word had spread that he had been doing some amazing things. But Jesus was no trained monkey that performed on demand. And he made it clear that he was not going to do any of this in Nazareth. Worse, he inflamed people more by saying that with the hostility some were harboring in their hearts, the Nazareth people were not worthy of any demonstration.
God would work his wonders elsewhere, outside of Israel.
Jesus had spent his adult life making people feel uncomfortable and questioning their understanding of how people should treat each other. The Jewish laws were very specific about what was clean and unclean, who were to be acknowledged and who was to be avoided at all costs (think of the lepers and the Samaritans). But Jesus taught and showed by his actions that the lepers and the Samaritans and all those ‘unclean’ people were accepted and loved by God. . . as were ALL people.
The people were outraged! How could the Messiah come to save EVERYONE? After all, they were God’s chosen people. . . didn’t the Old Testament say only they were chosen to be God’s people?
Now here was this upstart, saying that everyone would be saved. . . that He was the savior, the Messiah!
How could He say that!!!
Jesus spoke the truth about the people of Nazareth and they DID NOT want to hear it. We all know that the truth is hard for us to hear. We don’t want to be told that what we are doing may not be what we should be doing. And certainly not that the ‘the others’ – people who were not Jewish – not of their town, deserve what the people of Nazareth expected to get from Jesus. They were angry!
I don’t often add anything personal to my homilies, but I am for this one. As a child, my mother let everyone in the world know that I was the ‘perfect’ child – I never caused any trouble, obeyed my elders and those in charge, and did everything I was supposed to. She would point out to my aunts and uncles the shortcomings of their children and how they should be more like me. She even did it in the grocery store to parents of small children! You can imagine how popular I was with my younger siblings and cousins!
But, when I went away to college, I got a good job paying more than my father had ever made, the tables were turned.
I thought my parents would be proud of me – I was the first one on both sides of the family to go to college, and I had a good job. I hadn't been married four times like my sister. But, I was not going to come home, get married, raise a family and take care of my mother. I had lived in several states for about 10 years, making my reputation in the business world. So when I came back to Ohio, I thought they would be happy for my success – was I wrong! At one point, they came to where I worked and accosted me in the lobby, saying that I would ‘never amount to anything’, and if that was what I was getting paid, I was lying! And maybe they should talk to my boss and let her know what a horrible person I was.
Like my parents, the people of Nazareth were unkind to Jesus. They almost tarred and feathered him and ran Him out of town. The scripture says
they led Him to the top of a hill and were going to throw Him over. (Luke 4:30)
But Jesus knew who he was and what His mission was, so He continued on His way. . . to be condemned, crucified and resurrected.
For All of us!
So even if we are not welcome in our own town, like Jesus, we need to continue on our path and God will help us accomplish it.
Remember that we will not always be acknowledged or appreciated, but we must follow the path of Jesus as we live day-by-day. We all need to be ‘the other’ that shows the love of Jesus and welcomes others into the Kingdom of God.
Let us pray:
Mother of Wisdom,
open my ears.
What is that truth-teller
closest to me
trying to tell me
that I don't want to hear?
I give thanks for my defensiveness,
for it is my clue
that someone has struck truth.
Give me wisdom to listen,
courage to hear,
humility to accept,
and grace to change. [1]
Amen
[1] Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes, “Listen”, Unfolding Light
Delivered at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Columbus OH; 30 January 2022
