If you remember last week’s gospel reading which Rich so powerfully proclaimed, Jesus had gone to his hometown synagogue and read words from the great prophet Isaiah, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, to preach good news to the poor." Well, today, we get the rest of the story. After reading from Isaiah, Jesus sat down. The people’s eyes were fixed on him, and he said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The first public word spoken by Jesus himself in Luke's gospel is the word "today." That word is a favorite of Luke's. It appears twelve times in Luke's gospel. "Today" conveys a real sense of immediacy. Furthermore, Jesus unabashedly says the words of Isaiah are "fulfilled in your hearing." Hearing Jesus' words, connecting them with the fulfillment of scripture and seeing Jesus' ministry of "release" on behalf of the poor – all of this Jesus claims is taking place right now, today, in and through him as he lives out the love of God for all people.
Well, initially, the people who are present react positively to Jesus’ words. They are proud of their hometown son. They are so impressed that Luke tells us, “"All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth." Jesus is, well, bigger than Jesus, the Jesus they had always known. He is a huge success, becoming a star! But then, Jesus spells out an important aspect of his mission as he revisits other points in Israel's history when God had sent prophets. Jesus reminds the people that the prophets of Israel were sent to care for, heal, and empower outsiders – those Gentiles who were considered “other,” as well as Jews! Well, it is an understatement to say the people now react adversely to Jesus’ words. This is an inconvenient truth they do not want to hear, and Luke tells us, "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." They intended to kill him!
Jesus, the hometown hero whom they had eagerly welcomed back, speaks some very profound words, but they are words the people do not want to hear. It is as though Jesus intentionally attempts to provoke and anger them. He intentionally engages them as he seems to say, “I am not here to make you famous. I am like the great Old Testament prophet, Elijah, who didn’t get fed during a sustained period of drought in his homeland of Israel, but instead went outside of Israel to Sidon.” Jesus is really pushing their buttons. The people of Nazareth knew Sidon all right. It was in the neighboring country. They knew their history and they also remembered Elisha, Elijah’s successor, didn’t cure anyone locally but he cured a man, a sworn enemy of Israel, a person from the despised country of Syria! Jesus is proclaiming that the scope of God’s mercy and God’s love goes beyond his community of Nazareth. Indeed, God’s love and God’s kingdom even includes foreigners, those they considered enemies.
This was simply shocking! They thought Jesus should save his miracles and teachings for them and not the people they regarded as human trash. Jesus confronts them, reads their hearts and exposes the darkness of their own souls. He challenges them and says, “There is no exclusive club for my message. I am for all people everywhere.”
What can we say? Jesus' manner of life – his teaching, his healing, his prophetic ministry – posed a profound challenge to his community. Jesus’ words provoked people and made them look at themselves. And that meant they would have to let go of their prejudice, not feel threatened, and look at outsiders and others in a different way. His words meant that maybe they even had to embrace outsiders and those they considered “other”!
That is always what happens when we hear Jesus’ words. We are confronted with a challenge. Do we simply react and feel threatened? Or, do we thoughtfully respond and allow Jesus’ words to not only challenge us, but change us and transform us? Yes, Jesus pushes buttons and Jesus pushes boundaries. In fact, Jesus destroys our imposed boundaries of race, ethnicity, creed, color, country of origin, sexual orientation, you name it. He is all about inclusion and extravagant love. And, in this boundary pushing Jesus, we meet a God who loves and lifts up those who would be torn down by society. His heart is with those who suffer. He cares about those who are hurting, who are helpless, who are brokenhearted, and who are in bondage.
Just as Jesus confronted his hometown congregation, Jesus confronts us. When someone is different or doesn’t meet our expectations, how do we treat them? Do we accept and welcome them for who they are, or do we reject them because they are different, because they don’t belong? The truth is, Jesus reads the hearts of faith communities just as he reads our very own hearts. How do we as the church respond? Where do we see the church behaving like the congregation in that synagogue? Where do we see any group suffering from a toxic case of in-group loyalties? Any group that considers itself to be favored can behave in this way, from a congregation to a nation. When we are confronted by Jesus’ message, do we react out of prejudice or do we respond out of Christian love?
Just as Jesus spoke the truth and challenged his hometown folk to love, he continues to challenge us by speaking the truth and challenging us to love. And, loving others is the most challenging aspect of Jesus’ message. Love is always challenging because it takes us out of our comfort zones and calls us to action. Love is a challenge because it requires us to care for those who are different from us, those who disagree with us, and even those we do not like. Love requires that we cross our self-imposed boundaries and live for others. Jesus called his hometown folk to come out of their self-imposed tomb of Nazareth and come forth to their true home, the love that is found in the very heart of God. And there lies the real challenge – such love takes us directly to the cross.
Yes, “the rest of the story” is that Jesus’ hometown folk reacted to Jesus’ call to love by pushing him out of town. They tried to push him up on a hill and over a cliff. And, eventually, he was pushed out on to a hill and crucified. Oh, the call to love is not easy. It tends to rub us the wrong way and we are challenged by it on a daily basis. The love of God is so big it challenges our thinking, our way of living, forces us to go to new places and calls us to get beyond ourselves and think of others in a whole new way. And, the love and grace of God is so radical that it always takes us to the cross, the place where we find we are so deeply loved that we become changed!
The words of Jesus are words spoken to each of us today and they are fulfilled in our hearing. There is definite immediacy in his words today, right now in our culture and right now in this present moment. Jesus’ words challenge us as he tells us to embrace the outsiders. Now, I know some will hear this message and perceive it as political. This is not political, folks. My friends, this is the gospel and it is the gospel good news. This is all about love, the kind of love God has for us and for all people, the kind of love we are called to live.
Let us pray: Gracious and loving God. Keep challenging us. Keep pushing our buttons. Keep provoking us to love! Amen.