Leaving Home, a Reflection on Luke 4:21-27

He had read to them from the prophet Isaiah, "The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free." Then said to them, "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your presence."

Their first reaction is a mixed one. Although they like what he says, they aren't sure why he has said it to them. They seem to be reluctant to accept that someone that they know could accomplish great things.

Jesus responds by saying that no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

He then reminds them that both Elijah and Elisha had gone far from home to accomplish miracles. "Many widows in Israel were hungry yet Elijah helped a foreigner. Many lepers were in Israel, but Elisha healed a foreigner." Note they weren't just foreigners, they were not of the same religion as Elijah and Elisha.

We're left to ponder whether the people in Nazareth were blocking Jesus' work among them by their own refusal to accept him as anointed by the Lord--or, whether, Luke is reminding us that God is not restricted to helping hometown folks, that God's power extends beyond the circle of believers.

This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled, a Reflection on Luke 4:14-21

The Holy Spirit had descended upon him when he was baptized (3:23). He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was tested by the devil. Having overcome each of the temptations set before him, Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit returned to Galilee (4:1-14).

When he was in his hometown, he went to the synagogue as he was accustomed to do. There, he read passages from the scroll.

Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor," an echo of Isaiah 61:1.

Luke tells us that Jesus said that the Lord had sent him to proclaim release to the captives and to let the oppressed go free. This call echoes Isaiah's reminder that the Lord is not that impressed with acts of piety but prefers that the nation would loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, let the oppressed go free...(58:6).

He returned the scroll to the attendant and sat down. Everybody stared at him.

The people in the synagogue that day had heard the prophecies of Isaiah many times. They would also have been aware of the times that they had failed to care for the poor and the oppressed. And, there in Nazareth, at the time they were living, they themselves would have thought of themselves as oppressed, captive to the powerful Rome.

And he said to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Think about the terms "today" and "fulfilled."

Finding God in the Dark

The medieval mystic Meister Eckhart once said that God is like a person hiding in the dark who occasionally coughs and gives himself away. There's a lot of darkness we're trying to grope though at the moment, both outside and inside the Church ... and we long for a cough, just a little ought, to keep trust part o our faith in God, rather than just argument, ritual, and politics (Mark Oakley in The Splash of Words).

Questioning

The God to whom we relate may not be fully understood. In fact, at times we want to take him on and shout at him. God is not fully understood but is always present, always in relationship no matter how shadowed....(A)s Christians we should learn to question more, to question as ritual, as an exploration of grace rather than as a search for certainty. (Quote from The Splash of Words, by Mark Oakley)

When we've done wrong, a Reflection on Psalm 51

Psalm 51 is one of seven penitential psalms. I'm wondering why only seven. How often do we need words to express our recognition that we need to be forgiven?

The first seven verses ask for forgiveness. Sometimes, we need reminders that we are sinning. And, sometimes, we are so burdened by our sins that we need reminders that God is compassionate.

We can pray Psalm 51 when we recognize that we need forgiveness, that we want forgiveness. And we can pray Psalm 51 when we want what forgiven people have--restoration.

The beloved son, a reflection on Luke 3:21-22

Among the people being baptized that day was Jesus. Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.

Does that mean that everyone around could actually see the Holy Spirit?

God spoke to Jesus, saying "You are my Son....," an allusion to God's promise to the king in Psalm 2:7. As God's son, Jesus is invested with and will act in accordance with God's power.

Allen & Williamson in their Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews, add:

The words "my beloved in whom I am well pleased" allude to Isaiah 42:1, which describes the servant of Israel witnessing to God's faithfulness and justice. Other resist that witness and cause the servant to suffer. Luke thus shows that Jesus will bring about justice (especially after the apocalypse) by following the path of suffering love.

In Matthew's gospel the voice spoke to the crowd. Is Luke telling us that only Jesus could hear? If the crowds could see the Holy Spirit but not hear the voice, what would did they think? After all, we weren't there but the message conveyed by the voice and the image of the Holy Spirit still affects us.

And our baptism includes us in Christ's community.

Quote from Splash of Words, Believing in Poetry, by Mark Oakley

Prayers that are fashioned out of conviction that God agrees with our take on things are pale imitations of what prayer is.

Baptism of fire, a Reflection on Luke 3:15-17

Crowds had gone to wilderness to be baptized by John. They were expecting a messiah and many thought John was the one. John cleared up that misconception for them. It occurs to me that we moderns still may be confused about the source of our salvation--financial security, a fence with a locked gate, a more youthful visage, etc.

John told them that the Messiah was going to make judgments.

It might be instructive for us to reread verses 7-14. The crowds fearful of the coming judgment have asked John what they should do to escape the wrath to come. John tells them to share, to be fair, to be honest, and not to be greedy.

As I read verse 17 and picture the Messiah coming with a winnowing fork, I fear the possibility of being one of the chaff that gets blown into the unquenchable fire. What I hope John means is that the Messiah can blow away those parts of me that are not generous or fair so that what is left is a person whose baptism has made a difference to her and to the world she lives in.

Baptism rules, a reflection on Luke 3:7-14

John describes what is expected of the baptized:
    Share with those who have less than you do.
    Don't use the authority you have to hurt those who are weaker than you.
    Don't cheat.
    Don't harass.

Is this the message we offer to the newly baptized? Is this the way we oldly baptized behave?

Who's in Charge Here? What are supposed to be doing? a Reflection on Luke 3:1-6

They were still living in the land promised to them at the time of Abraham, a place abandoned during a time of need, then, after a long exodus, a place to which they had returned. A place that they had once more lost and to where they had been able to return. They are there in that place, but they are ruled by the Romans, a people who held no allegiance to the Lord of the Jews.

Luke makes this specific. He names the emperor, the governor, and the Jewish accomodators and the priests.

God has not forgotten them nor abandoned them.

The word of God comes to a prophet in the wilderness.

Who's in charge of your life? Whose presence in your life governs the decisions you make?

Important powerful people are listed in verses 1 and 2. Yet, the word of God came not to them but to John, a priest's son (Luke 1:5-25, 39-45, 57-80).

Rather than begin his work by going to any of these powerful people or the people around them, John, like Moses and like Isaiah, whose words he quotes, goes into the wilderness to speak.

John calls for a baptism of repentance. Isaiah, in speaking out against the wickedness of Judah, had called upon them to "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (1:16-17).

Jerusalem in John's time would have had evil, injustice, oppression, and many people who needed financial help. He was calling his listeners to repent--to change their ways.

John also specifically includes Isaiah's prophecy that all people are included in the promise of salvation (Luke 3:6; Isaiah 40:5).