Spirit of the Lord

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. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“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 favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “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 he 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. Luke 4:14-30 

I had the joy yesterday of celebrating at a church celebrating the 25th anniversary of their afterschool program. Several dear friends were there that I have known since seminary. We talked about our lives and the joy and challenges we have faced. We have all had times when the people in church leadership have treated us cruelly, times when the hometown people and institutions have let us down. We could also tell each other of the goodness of the Lord, how our lives of witness have been blessed.

Jesus goes home to a les than kind reception. They do not want one of their own to get uppity in their midst. Even more so, the religious leaders wer threatened by his power and charisma. Jesus was a force to be reckoned with. All of our human institutions are threatened by prophets, and even our church can turn on one of it's own. The good news is that God protected Jesus and the prophets, and protects those who carry love to the world.

Today, I ask God to help me not worry about the response of leaders and institutions, but rather carry the good news of God's love to the world. We are all called to shared the love we have been given, not worrying about consequences, and trusting God for our daily needs.