Friday after Ash Wednesday (March 7). ON HIS WAY

Prepare to Listen.  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 4:22-30
22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.  They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’  23He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!”  And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’  24And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.  25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;
26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.  27There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’  28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.  29They 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.  30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
The story begins with people speaking well of Jesus and ends with the people wanting to murder him.  What do you think happened to change the mood so drastically?
 
“All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”  Jesus was one of them.  They’d watched him grow up; they knew his family, thus asked, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  They wanted to own and control him, make sure he benefited them first.  It’s the sort of thing the church is sometimes guilty of. We act as if we own Jesus and expect him to fulfill our agendas and demands, benefit our church, our nation, our family.  The trouble is, Jesus didn’t belong to them, and he doesn’t belong to us today.
 
The people of Nazareth needed to learn that Jesus isn’t the son of Joseph, but the Son of God and therefore can’t be controlled by us humans.  His abrupt, provocative response forced them to look at Jesus face to face and see the truth about him and the truth about themselves.  The stories he told of Elijah and Elisha clearly illustrated that God’s plan is bigger than they imagined.  It included and benefited all people, not merely a chosen few.  But they refused to hear the truth that Jesus, their Messiah came for all people, regardless of race or creed or political leanings.  It angered them and they chose to commit murder.  That’s when they discovered Jesus can’t be contained or manipulated.  “He passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”
 
Jesus’ way is revolutionary, inclusive and surprising.  Face to face with him, what are you learning about yourself?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, keep me true to your grace that is for all peoples and not merely my own.  Help me collaborate with you on your way to fulfill the kingdom goals of justice for all.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Be true to the revolutionary Jesus.