This week’s passage from Luke’s gospel begins mid-story, at the place where last week’s gospel left off. Jesus is visiting his hometown and reads in the synagogue, choosing a specific passage about the messiah from the prophet Isaiah. The passage lays out Jesus’ mission: to bring good news to the poor, release to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed and the “year of the Lord’s favor.” Jesus declares his purpose in a familiar place with familiar (and familial) people. At first, they respond well. But then Jesus keeps talking and people get angry.
Initially, everyone was amazed at Jesus’ “gracious words” and speak well of him. This is a local bow who grew up and has begun to gain attention in the region. Perhaps they feel impressed, connected to his notoriety, and a little bit proud. But Jesus continues, pushing new concepts, and it is hard for them to hear what he has to say. Jesus names moments in their people’s history that God (through the prophets Elijah and Elisha) did great deeds in the lives of outsiders: Bringing a gentile widow’s dead son back to life and healing an enemy general from leprosy. Jesus points out that God could have easily done these things for some of their own people, but instead, God helped outsiders who then bore testimony to the grace and power of God. God’s might and God’s blessings are not just for one group of people, but for all humanity. The crowd at the synagogue do not like this idea. They are so angry, they take Jesus out of the synagogue and up to a hill so they can throw him off the cliff. Fortunately, Jesus walks through the crowd and leaves.
Jesus’ vision is so expansive that it infuriates his neighbors – they are ready to kill him. Outsiders are not welcome in their eyes, but these are not God’s restrictions. The neighbors like Jesus’ words about good news for their poor, release for their captives, recovery of sight for their blind, but only for their own community. When Jesus expands freedom for the oppressed to include the people they have excluded as outsiders and enemies, he has gone too far.
It may be tempting to judge the neighbors at the synagogue, but we are all like them. We are stingy with God’s good news and God’s blessings. We are clan-ish and want to hoard benefits from God for the people we feel are worthy. Certainly, we want freedom and healing and all the benefits of the Lord’s favor, but primarily for groups we are connected to. We want to keep God’s blessings close, and limit how who God blesses.
God doesn’t work that way. Jesus reaches beyond limits we create because of our selfishness or our bias or our fear. Jesus spends his time sharing good news and transforming lives, period. God is not restricted by the limits of our worldview. No matter how we feel about it, God’s generosity is so abundant, it spills over to flood the whole world.
Peace,
weekly prayer | Jesus angers his childhood neighbors in Luke 4