Jesus’ returns to his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:14-21)

Reflection:

How do you see God, or hear him speak to you in the world today?  Perhaps as the psalmist  speaks in psalm 19 you see God in his creation, “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.” (PS 19:1) The heavens declare his glory, and it speaks to you without words, of God’s presence in the world.  No doubt on a starlit night when it seems as if you can see fare to the heavens above you feel that presence very close to you.  But God comes to us not only has exhibited through his creation, the natural world around us, but as those who are a part of that created order we too give expression to God in and through who we are. 

Jesus in this reading from Luke’s gospel (Luke 4:14-21), when he goes back to his home town of Nazareth, on the sabbath he goes to the synagogue as he would normally do.  No doubt his hometown people were excited to hear what he would have to say, for word would have gotten back to them about Jesus’ teaching in the synagogues along the way and how he had been received and praised by all.  And so they were likely expecting to hear some wonderful message from this son of theirs’ come home to speak in their synagogue. 

Jesus stands up to read and he is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolls it and reads, ‘the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 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 favour.”  (4:17-19)

These words of course weren’t new to anyone, they would have been heard plenty of times down through the ages. As words of hope spoken to their ancestors of God’s promise to restore his people.  The year of the Lord’s favour, was the year of Jubliee, when debts were to be forgiven, and lands were to be returned to their rightful owners, and it was believed this would happen when God’s Messiah would come.  And so when Jesus sets down to teach as was the custom after reading the word, to expound on it for those who were listening.  All eyes were on him, waiting and listening for what he was about to say.

Jesus summarizes what he has read with one sentence, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” If we go on a little further in this reading, we know that didn’t go so will for Jesus, but we won’t go there yet, we will come back to that next week.  Let us look at these words and think about them for a moment, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Jesus was saying that the things he just proclaimed about good news being brought to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, the oppressed being set free, that it was being fulfilled in that very moment.  Jesus was declaring his mission here, and that these things would be fulfilled in him.  And we know Jesus did go and do these very things.

And so this was indeed good news for those who were listening.  They were however still very much living in poverty, living under the oppression of roman rule. 

It would be like someone saying to us today, that everything is wonderful, just great in the world today, when we know living in this Pandemic time is challenging much of the time.  So what was Jesus saying here? And how was it intended to make a difference in the lives of the people right then? 

Perhaps we need to think back to Mary, his mother here for a moment, as to how she proclaimed the goodness of God and that all things were about to be changed because of the child she carried within her womb, (Luke 1:46-55).  Mary proclaimed the hope she had for her people, as if it were already happening, not as a future hope to be realized, but as if it was already theirs’.  And that too I believe is what Jesus was wanting the people to hear in his words, that because he was there, that hope was theirs’ in the present day. 

And though it had not yet been realized in their lives, they were still carrying the burden of oppression on their shoulders, they could now however begin to live as those who were already set free, because Jesus was there with them, the Messiah had come. 

So how can we carry that over into our own lives? Will we can start by trusting in God’s promises for our lives,  being assured in the hope that he gives. No, everything may not be perfect in your world right now, but we can believe in a better tomorrow because God is in it with us.

I hope as you reflect on the scriptures today, you will find the hope and the peace you need for your lives. Have a great day, God Bless.

“The Law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.” (Psalm 19:7)