Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany (Year C)
TEXT: Luke 4:14-30
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him … (Luke 4:14-17a)
“Today!” That’s how Jesus began his sermon: “Today!”
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
He was preaching in his hometown synagogue—in Nazareth, where he grew up. By this time, Jesus was about 30 years old, and he had moved to Capernaum, a much larger, more cosmopolitan town. Lots of Gentiles lived in Capernaum. And so did lots of fishermen. And some tax collectors. One of them—a fellow named Matthew—would later refer to Capernaum as “Jesus’ own city” (Matt. 9:1).
I wonder how the people of Nazareth felt about Jesus moving away. In those days, young men seldom left their hometowns. Most of the boys that Jesus had played with as a child—now grown into young men—would still have lived in Nazareth. In fact, they were probably in the congregation on that Sabbath day, as Jesus sat to teach in the synagogue where he had grown up. I wonder how they felt, seeing their childhood friend sitting in the teacher’s seat.
And, I wonder how Jesus felt. It’s difficult enough to give a speech anywhere, isn’t it? I’ve heard it said that public speaking is one of the things that people fear even more than death. You’d think it would be especially difficult to come back to your hometown to speak in your own synagogue or church. Most of us would be quaking in our boots, wouldn’t we? And all kinds of things can go wrong when we’re nervous. Like not speaking loudly enough; or speaking hesitantly; or trying to speak and having nothing come out.
But Jesus, apparently, had no problem. Someone handed him a scroll from the prophets, and he unrolled it until he found the part that he wanted. Then he read a couple of verses from the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
That would have pleased the little congregation. They would have known this passage very well. Everyone present would have recognized these words of scripture—words that held great promise for them and for their children; words that spoke of a messiah who would come to make Israel great again—who would set them free from the oppression of Rome.
Now, Jesus stopped reading before he got to the part where Isaiah talked about vengeance—but the people of Nazareth knew that part very well, too. They were all looking forward to the day when God would wreak vengeance upon the Romans. So Jesus read this familiar passage from Isaiah, and then he sat down to teach. Every eye must have been upon him. Every ear was alert to hear what he would say next.
And Jesus … well, he did not hesitate. The first word out of his mouth was “Today!”
“Today,” he said, “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke tells us that the people liked this. And they responded by speaking well of Jesus; they were amazed at his gracious words. They had heard glowing reports about his work in Capernaum. Now, Jesus seemed to be announcing that—having returned to Nazareth—he would begin his good work there.
“Today!” he said. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Today! Here in Nazareth!
I don’t know what everyone expected at that point, but they must have been sitting on the edge of their seats. Today!
Was Jesus planning to start recruiting for a revolution right here in Nazareth? Was he preparing to rain fire from heaven on the Romans? What did “today” mean? Did it mean that Jesus would begin today to deliver them from their oppression? Did it mean that he would win the fight today? Would the Romans be gone by nightfall? Could Jesus actually deliver on this promise?
Today! The people had gotten out of bed that morning to a very ordinary Saturday. Now Jesus is telling them that they can expect something incredible today. I can imagine the smiles on their faces as they waited for him to explain.
But then Jesus reminded them of a dark page in their history: a time when Israel had been unfaithful, and God had sent a drought. People starved. Then God sent the prophet Elijah—but not to save the Israelites. No. God sent Elijah to save a Gentile woman.
Huh? What? His listeners must have felt confused.
Then Jesus reminded them of Naaman from the Second Book of Kings. Naaman was not only a Gentile, but also a Syrian army commander—a leader of the enemy camp! Besides all that, he was a leper. And what did God do? He sent Elijah’s protégé—Elisha—to heal Naaman of his leprosy. There were plenty of Jewish lepers, Jesus reminded them, but God sent the prophet to help a Gentile—a foreign soldier.
Well, that was the last straw! They had expected Jesus to help them, but instead, he reminded them of God’s help to Gentiles—that is, to the less worthy; to the enemy; to outsiders. It was as if Jesus told them to expect a big winner today, but they would not be the winners. Even worse, he told them to expect the winners to be Gentiles! Even, perhaps, enemy Gentiles.
That was more than the people could take. They had heard of Jesus working miracles in Capernaum, probably even among non-Jews. But now that he was on home turf again, they expected him to do great things for them.
Jesus said, “Don’t count on it!”
In their anger, they wanted to hurl him off a cliff, but Luke says that Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” So God saved him, this time. His appointment with death would come soon enough. But not yet. And what did Jesus do? He left Nazareth and returned to Capernaum, and picked up where he had left off, ministering to the poor, the oppressed, and the blind. To Gentiles, and outsiders, and people of no account.
Today! The day of fulfillment came and went at Nazareth, and those folks missed it. They thought of themselves as God’s chosen people—which was true—but they had also hardened their hearts against God helping anyone else. They wanted God to be their God, and nobody else’s. But God had other ideas.
Today! Christ is here in our midst today. He is calling us to love the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed, outsiders, people of no account, the undeserving. Even … undocumented aliens.
The people of Nazareth could not understand that, because they thought of themselves as deserving and the rest of the world as undeserving. They expected God to reward them; but they also expected God to zap the bad guys!
They just didn’t get it. They could not see that God was calling them to reach out to the undeserving—not to knock them down, but to lift them up.
Today! Christ calls us to do the same—to love the unlovely and the fugitives; to help people who just can’t get it together; to have patience with people who seem determined to drive us crazy; to show a bit of sympathy for the person who got what he deserved.
Today! We aren’t all that different from the people who heard Jesus speak in Nazareth. We hope God will be merciful toward us—but we want him to smite our enemies.
Today! There’s a reason why we find it difficult to help down-and-outers today. The fact is that we are struggling, too.
We barely have time and money to keep ourselves afloat, much less anyone else. How can God expect us to help the poor today, when we ourselves are struggling to make ends meet?
How can God expect us to help the oppressed today, when we work for a boss who makes our lives miserable? When we serve people who do not appreciate us?
We have our own problems, God! Can’t you see? Save us, and then—maybe—we will be able to save someone else.
But the truth is that the people who reach out to the poor and needy are often those who are poor and needy themselves. Someone who has suffered understands suffering. Pain can breed compassion.
Over a quarter-century ago, Mother Teresa of Calcutta spoke at Saint Olaf’s Church in Minneapolis. She called her listeners to compassionate action—to help others in need.*
When Mother Teresa concluded her remarks, a woman in a wheelchair raised her hand to ask a question.
The woman suffered from cerebral palsy. Her body moved convulsively as she spoke, and she had a great deal of trouble forming words; it was painful just to watch her try to express herself. Mother Teresa waited patiently. Slowly and haltingly, the woman asked how she could help someone else.
Mother Teresa did not hesitate for a moment. She said, “You can do the most. You can do more than any of us—because your suffering is united with the suffering of Christ on the cross, and it brings strength to all of us.”
What a brave answer! If the woman had asked me that question, I would have felt sorry for her and said she didn’t need to do anything. That would have been a mistake. The woman needed an opportunity to do something important, and Mother Teresa told her how to do that. She joined a group known as “The Sick and Suffering Co-Workers of Mother Teresa.” And that woman, in her poverty of spirit, became an inspiration to everyone.
She lived only one more year after meeting Mother Teresa, but she had an inspirational ministry during that time. People quoted her as saying: “We are fortunate to have a share in Christ’s cross. Lord, let us suffer without regret, for in your will—and in our gracious acceptance of that same holy will—lives our eternal destiny.”
Today! Christ came to that woman on that day through Mother Teresa’s ministry, and she found herself ready; ready to receive Christ, ready to obey his call—ready to suffer, if need be, and to allow Christ to transform her suffering into spiritual witness. She received a blessing on that day, and she spent the last year of her life giving a bit of that blessing to everyone she could.
When Jesus came to Nazareth, he said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
The people of Nazareth were not ready to hear Jesus. They were looking for what they could get rather than what they could give. The result was that they neither received—nor gave—anything. The big day came, and they went away empty-handed.
Today Jesus comes to us in like manner. He asks us: “Will you join my ministry to the poor and oppressed? Will you reach out to the dying and downtrodden? The broken? The refugee? The illegal immigrant? Are you willing to love the unlovely?”
Today! Christ is here today, and he is asking for a piece of your heart. So don’t be like that crowd in Nazareth; be like the woman in the wheelchair—ready to serve. If you’re willing to do that, Christ will make it possible—today!
Be ready now, for Christ is here. Amen.
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* http://motherterissa.blogspot.ca/2009/10/mother-teresa-1910-1997-minnesotans.html