Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; First Letter to the Corinthians 12:31-13:30; Gospel According to Saint Luke 4:21-30
This Sunday, like last, we find Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue, speaking and teaching in his hometown. Jesus is filled with the Spirit to proclaim God’s saving word. People present are amazed at what they are hearing. At the same time the prophetic words of life are a source of upset and disbelief and result in rejection of Jesus.
Jesus walks away from a potential threat to his life, demonstrating that ultimately God’s word cannot be thwarted and is continuously offered to and received by people. This scenario or picture of Jesus’ ministry has repeated itself down the ages in the life of the Church, described in details from the outset in the Acts of the Apostles.
In this Sunday’s reading, Saint Luke the Evangelist places before us at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus the double theme of the rejection of Jesus’ message by his own people and the election of those outside his immediate surroundings, who also will be offered God’s gracious gift of salvation.
Early on in the Gospel passage this Sunday, some people of Nazareth ask, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” The people can’t believe that one of their neighbors, perhaps even their relative, Jesus, can be the Anointed Messiah of God. With an apparent simple origin, an insignificant background and recognizable presence, people have trouble grasping the full force and person of Jesus in their midst. It’s an understandable situation, yet the wonderful mystery of who Jesus is cannot be stopped and is revealed slowly to the peoples and ultimately to all nations.
Jesus puts into words what he is facing and what people may be saying to or about him: “Physician, heal yourself,” along with, “Do here in your own country the things we have heard you have done in Capernaum.” Jesus sums up the situation with a now well-known saying: “No prophet gains acceptance in his native place.” A proverb known from ancient Greek writings is used by Jesus and something still often said about people of fame who get little or no recognition closer to home.
The people of Nazareth want Jesus to authenticate and prove to them with signs his rumored fame as a man of God and a prophet. What they have heard about they want to see with their own eyes. In other places in the Gospels we learn that the lack of faith of the people of Nazareth was a reality to be reckoned with and the cause of Jesus’ inability to work miracles there.
While they may be easily targeted as “bad people,” Nazareth’s refusal to accept Jesus and his message is emblematic of the wider refusal of the people of Jesus’ day. They lack faith. The implication is that we might lack faith as well. It calls to mind the familiar question: if you were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?
The ultimately violent reaction of the “whole audience in the synagogue,” as the Gospel expresses it, is a logical consequence of their lack of faith. They take the law into their own hands and try to destroy Jesus. This is easier for them than trying to understand Jesus, who we are told, “went straight through their midst” and walked away.
Maybe something miraculous transpired or perhaps simply the mood of the crowd temporarily changed. I would like to think that something in the composure and strength of Jesus’ personality prevented the people from carrying out their violent intention.
Today’s Gospel should say something to us about the possibility of our own lack of faith in accepting God’s word and presence that comes to us in so many disguises, some quite puzzling, as a neighbor, a new family member through marriage, a parishioner or community member whom we find quite difficult or even impossible to deal with. Could they be in fact be “God in our midst,” sent to teach us something about faith, hope and love? That possibility should never be ruled out.
Scripture scholar and commentator, the late Father Carroll Stuhlmueller, of the Congregation of the Passion, expressed the same idea this way:
“The Scriptures put us on the alert that wonderful possibilities and profound truths lie hidden, mysteriously, within the most ordinary events and our closest household people. These routine matters, like family and friends whom we meet each day, can seem so insignificant that not even God (we think) pays any attention to them. Yet we all know that they hold the key to our peace and holiness in God’s sight” (from “Biblical Meditations for Ordinary Time: Weeks 1 – 9,” Paulist Press, 1984, page 32).
Some years ago a television series called, “Joan of Arcadia,” dealt with the disguised but real action of God in the life of a young girl. This occurred by the presence and words of people one might never expect God to be working with or through, but who were in fact real messengers of God in the life of Joan and her family. If you haven’t seen the series, you may wish to look at it. There are some important lessons conveyed. While not theologically profound, it is a surprising example of “letting God in” to the entertainment and public forum of our culture.
Another important lesson of this Sunday regards the reality that those who preach the person and message of Jesus Christ today may in fact have to face opposition, persecution and even death. Do followers of Jesus, do I for that matter, have sufficient courage? God gives gifts to those willing to receive them and I must always remain open to the possibility and reality of such gifts, even if I sense I am unworthy. Who of us in fact is worthy? It is all a gift from God in any case.
Prior Christian Leisy, OSB
Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Abiquiu, New Mexico
