The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany — with food for thought about the need to boldly take a stand, even if it risks rejection. Gnaw away!

Luke 4:21-30

In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and began to say, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'”

And Jesus 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.”

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

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The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?

The lectionary breaks the story of Jesus at the synagogue in Nazareth into two parts, which is why we have this summary of “In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and began to say, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'” to start off.

Remember what that reading from Isaiah was … it was the promise of deliverance for the people of Israel from exile. And so, Jesus claiming that promise being fulfilled in him was an extraordinary thing. This week the other shoe drops. But it doesn’t happen right away. The first reaction to Jesus from the crowd is pride. He’s the local boy done good. Maybe they are already starting to imagine greatness for themselves by association. It’s apparent from this passage that word of Jesus’ remarkable feats has gotten back here and maybe they’re looking for signs and wonders for themselves.

But then the worm turns, and it does with the people questioning: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” It all starts to unravel from there. Perhaps they were unable to picture Jesus as anything great because they knew him as a kid. Perhaps they were remembering the scandalous circumstances around his birth. Either way, Jesus’ response inflames them. He is clear that, whether they revere him or doubt him, he’s not going to be doing great things for them.

This is a key point for Luke. Remember, Luke’s Gospel is not directed toward the Jewish people but toward Gentiles. This story makes one clear point — Jesus is indeed the incarnate love of God … but that love is no longer just for one people but for all people. (Jesus uses two examples of God’s blessings on foreigners to make this point clear). The Jews — even those from Jesus’ own hometown — do not “own” Jesus.

A few things to chew on:

*Jesus’ line of “no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” is often quoted. It speaks to our difficulty in taking people we have known in one context and being open to the possibility of them being something different and even greater. Can you think of a time you have been skeptical of someone in your family, your school, your workplace … or even at All Saints Church … who assumed a role or did something different than what you expected or thought possible of them? Have you ever been in that situation? How did it feel? Where was God working?

*The first reaction of the people was to speak well of Jesus. That’s literally what the word “blessing” means — to speak well of — and we love being blessed in this way. It can be incredibly seductive. It would have been easy for Jesus to give the crowd what it wanted and to keep the good words and blessings coming. Where in your life right now is the seductive power of people speaking well of you influencing your action and maybe preventing you from taking a risk?

Try This:

Jesus declared boldly who he was and what he was about … and was violently rejected for it by his hometown, his friends and family. This must have been an intensely painful experience for him. We know intellectually that rejection is a part of following Christ, and yet mostly we shy away from it because it is so painful. But as much as “pondering these things quietly in your heart” like Mary is a part of our faith, so is taking a stand like Jesus did in that synagogue. This week, spend five or 10 minutes each day in a quiet place in thought and prayer with two questions:

-What is something that I absolutely believe I am to be about, that I am to be doing, specifically because I am trying to follow Jesus?

-Where in my life am I being called to declare that boldly, even if it means risking rejection?

Your own personal Jesus?

Reach out and touch faith
Your own Personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares

Your own Personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who’s there

In the late 80s, Depeche Mode wrote Personal Jesus (click here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9f2BmlDB4w — for the video), a song inspired by Priscilla Presley’s book Elvis and Me about how someone can become the absolute center of your life – something she found was a double-edged sword.

We talk about a personal relationship with Jesus all the time. We talk about the importance of a personal commitment to following Jesus and putting Christ at the center of our life.

But for us, too, there is a double-edged sword with the concept of a “personal Jesus” … one the people in Nazareth discover in this Gospel.

Jesus bids us follow him. But we cannot own Christ. Jesus is nobody’s “own personal Jesus.”

Our nature tempts us to try to own and control. We see it in our wrestlings with faith and religion throughout history. The history of most religions is one of groups of people claiming special status or even ownership of God.

But here Jesus completely flies in the face of that … saying not only that he is here to be God’s love for ALL people, but particularly for foreigners whom the Jews consider unclean.

To drive it home even further, in using the stories of the widow at Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, he attests that this is nothing new, that God’s blessing and promise was universal all along.

The history of our own country is one of an identity of special status (think “a city on a hill” and “manifest destiny”) and in the name of that theology, whole nations have been slaughtered and ecosystems demolished.

In our own lives, we are tempted in the same way. There are powerful strands of Western Christianity that turn Jesus into a talisman. That encourage us to ask Jesus to intervene for us in opposition to someone else … be it in something that feels critical — “Jesus, get me that job (and deny it to the other guy).” or much more inconsequential — “Jesus, let that field goal be good (and make the other team lose).”

Like the people of Nazareth, we often ask “Jesus, be on my side?” That’s the wrong question. The right question is “How can we be on Jesus’ side?” And Jesus has just given us the answer last Sunday in the passage he read from the scroll of Isaiah.

We are on Jesus’ side – as individuals, as communities and as a nation – when we participate with him in “bringing good news to the poor … proclaiming release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed to free and proclaim the year of God’s favor.”

We are on Jesus’ side when we don’t claim ownership of Christ for ourselves but ask how can we be a part of what God is doing in Christ … of “restoring ALL people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” (BCP, p.855).

We are on Jesus’ side when trust that Jesus does hear our prayers, does care, and is there … but that doesn’t mean he’s our “own personal Jesus.”

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Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings

The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every Sunday – click here for this Sunday’s readings.

Collect for Sunday

Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth:
Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your
peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Want to read more?
“The Text This Week” is an excellent online resource for anyone who wants to
dive more deeply into the scriptures for the week.