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A Still More Excellent Way


A Reflection
on Luke 4: 21-30

For The Church of
Jesus Christ Incarcerated

January 28, 2007


By Philip D. Ropp


   
     "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

     These are the words that Jesus speaks just prior to the beginning of today's scripture lesson.  This is that scripture passage which was, in that day, fulfilled in their hearing, and is in this day, fulfilled in ours.  These words, in their original context, were spoken within the Synagogue of Nazareth, and we are told that all eyes were fixed intently upon the unlikely young man that spoke them.  Nazareth is, of course, the town that Jesus grew up in, and on this day he has returned to much attention from the congregation due to the news of his anointing at the hand of John the Baptist.  And here he stands, back in his home "church;" at once the boy they all remember, and, so they have heard, a prophet -- and more -- the messianic king that will restore the legendary golden age of David's Israel.  We can well imagine that they have turned out in great number: the curious; the skeptical and the hopeful.  And we can well imagine that more than one has at least thought of that popular saying of the time, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

     Jesus finishes reading these profound words from the prophet Isaiah, and the silence in the sanctuary of the synagogue is electric with anticipation.  These are words that speak of the restoration of Zion to the people of God.  The "year acceptable to the Lord" that has just been proclaimed in their hearing is the long awaited day of their vindication.  This is none other than the time of God's salvation generations have longed for and prayed for and wept for, and these words of Isaiah, spoken by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, have reached into the deepest recesses of every Jewish heart present.  And so, when Jesus hands the sacred words of the ancient scripture back to the scribe in attendance, and proceeds to announce that, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing," we are fully prepared for Luke to tell us that Jesus received the same response of universal acclamation that had all of Capernaum praising him. Capernaum; where even the demons recognized him as the Messiah -- a point sorely missed by the good folk in Nazareth.  Instead, we are told that all did speak highly of him (and we can be sure that they were very polite).  And we are told that all were amazed that such gracious words had come from his mouth (but then, he always was such a polite boy).  Ah, but he didn't fool them because they knew who he was:  Say, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"

     They didn't fool Jesus, either.  And so he tells them, "Surely, you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"   He lets them know that he is fully aware that, "no prophet is accepted in his own native place," and he illustrates this truth with examples he knows they'll understand:  Elijah, who was sent to the widow of Zaraphath in the land of Sidon, who, along with her son, was saved from famine because she trusted in the Lord.  And Elisha, who cleansed Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy because he had faith in the God of Israel the lepers in Israel did not have.  And so it is here in his hometown that Jesus strikes the first chord of the most consistent theme of his teaching:  It is not those self proclaimed "good" people that think that because they live in the right nation, or were born into to the right family, or belong to the right political or religious party that are the ones to be saved:  It is they that believe, and they alone.

     This did not sit well with the good townspeople of Nazareth.  It did not sit well with them at all.  The very idea that this "Jesus" would speak to them in such a way as this was found most offensive.  Perhaps there was talk about that scandal concerning his birth:  Murmurs that there was no way they should stand for impertinence like this from the bastard carpenter's son of that little tramp Mary. And so they rose up in their self-righteous rage, and they drove him out of their precious town to the brow of the hill it sat upon.  And they meant to kill him that day for speaking the truth to them.  Luke tells us that Jesus just passed through their midst, and we don't know whether this was by some supernatural means or because of the shame of the crowd.  We do know that he went away.  And because of this, they were lost.

     Tonight, in this place, his home church with us his brethren, Jesus has come to bring us these same glad tidings through the Liturgy of the Word.  And so we rejoice with him, and as time melts away into the timelessness of the Gospel message, we join all of Capernaum and our brothers and sisters in Christ, throughout history and the world, and in heaven above, in celebrating our salvation.  And so we rejoice that we are those captives set free from sin; that it is we that have received the spiritual sight that overcomes the blindness witnessed in that mob in Nazareth that day; that it is we that have escaped the oppression of arrogance that binds the hearts of those that think they know him, yet do not believe:  Those that would drive him off of that precipice rather than have him proclaim the truth of God's love and salvation to those they deem not worthy.

     Tonight, it is not the good townsfolk of the city of Nazareth that have answered the call to his table, and, sadly, neither are they the only ones that have refused his invitation.  And so he has called us to dine with him in his kingdom: We that have been broken by our own human error and have cried out to him from the waste dumps of the world, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." And so we join together as one; the halt and the lame, the lepers and the blind, the scarred and the lonely; called out of a world that was indifferent to our pain and our suffering by the mighty hand of God Himself that we, the most unworthy of all, might be saved. Because we are here tonight, we have accepted this invitation to dine with him, and truly are we blessed that have been called to his supper.  And so we have come seeking only the lowliest place at his table, hoping only that we might fall in gratitude before him and wash his feet with our tears. Yet he will not hear of this, and so lifts each of us and takes us to the head of the table where we are introduced to his Father and the host of heaven as cherished friends. And we are dressed in the finest raiment and taken into the family of God, chosen to reign with him forever and ever.

     It is in the Liturgy of the Eucharist that we celebrate the unfathomable miracle of our faith that God Himself has sent his son to us that through him, we might be saved.  And so Jesus is here with us, truly present, and all he asks is that we believe -- truly believe, that he might manifest himself to us and take us to be with him at this eternal banquet; this supper that we have been called to celebrate tonight as the family of God. 

      As we look around, we see the faces of friends old and new.  The widow of Zaraphath is here with her son, and over there is Naaman the Syrian; cleansed and whole and happy. With us also are those new to the faith who only recently assumed their proper place with us at this table of the family of God.  Let us always remember to make them feel as welcome as they are.  And let us not forget to pray for those that have hardened their hearts to this message of God's salvation; those that in Nazareth would have joined in condemning Jesus on that day. And let us not condemn but pray for those that would put obstacles in our way as we come together to celebrate, in unity, our love for God and one another as Christ's family. Let us instead extend to all the same compassion that the Lord has shown to us; for there truly, but for the grace of God, go you and I.


21
He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." 10
22
And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"
23
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'" 11
24
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
25
12 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
26
13 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
27
Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
28
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.
29
They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
30
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.