Gospel: Luke 4: 16-30
Each Gospel writer begins the story of Jesus' public ministry in a different setting. In today's Gospel portion Luke situates Jesus' inaugural event of ministry in his home town synagogue where Jesus is invited to share a reading and preach, indicating Jesus' status as a rabbi. The synagogue was full, people who knew Jesus and eager to see what he would read and on what topic he would preach. This setting is full of anticipatory promise.
Jesus chooses to read not from the Torah but from the prophet Isaiah, and he chooses to preach not on Jewish life and the keeping of the law but on how God is for all people of all races, classes, genders, and religions. The reaction to Jesus' reading and preaching is swift and violent. The entire town drags him to the edge of a cliff, intent on killing him. Imagine - all these people you know, with whom you grew up and worked - all of them now seeking to kill you because you state that God is not their exclusive property.
While each Gospel situates Jesus' entrance into public ministry in different places, they all note in different ways that opposition to Jesus came from the very beginning. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." The message of God being for all people remains as unpopular today as it was in Jesus' day. Even those who sing the hymn "All are Welcome" do not really believe or practice it. But the words and deeds of Jesus continue to inspire some to live that ideal, a place at the table for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment