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21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:21-30 New International Version Bible)
A blessed Monday to you, ConCafe Family! And may you, Friend, be blessed in a marvelous way to share your joy and love with others is my prayer for you. I ask your prayers for my wife, Nellie, as she undergoes a totat knee replacement today in Gonzales. Prayers for her surgeon, Dr. Gloria Box, that God guide her hands to a successful surgery and that recover be painless and speedy. Pray for one another. LIft up your needs before the Lord.
We return back to last Sunday's gospel lesson. Jesus was in a familiar synagogue, if not his own hometown's and He read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, read it, and He began His sermon with these words, "Today this scripture is fullfilled in your heating." The crowd's response is, at first, a gracious one. Then it only takes one to ask, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Dead giveaway! The folks knew Joseph well, and they knew Jesus as his son. Remember that Jesus didn't start His ministry until He was 30 years old, so his years with Joseph as a carpenter apprentice, then as carpenter were enough that people remembered. This drives Jesus to declare, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself!' And you will tell me, 'Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' Then the truth; "No prophet is accepted in his hometown." Then Jesus adds futher truth that hurts those who are there to listen; "I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was d--only Naaman the Syrian." Ouch! Jesus defined His remarks on the "meek" as one who can control their anger but when needed can show righteous anger, and we get a taste of it here. Jesus was human and fully God, but in this situation His truth hit home. We could say, well, He could have been more understanding and not gotten so angry. The key to Jesus' entire ministry is that He came to save the world, not just the Jews. Yes, He wanted the people of God to come to know of God's love. His sermon that day was based on the reading from Isaiah which was for all the people to know of God's desire to set free all people regardless of situtation and status. The poor, the oppressed, etc., all stood in need of knowing God, and here they are angry.
We stood on the edge of the cliff where this post-worship experience took place. We heard our professor describe a theory some have held that Jesus supernaturally jumped that day to escape their anger. I buy more what this scripture says about Jesus just walking through the crowd and continuing on His way. It boggles the mind,and saddens the heart, to see how ready, especially after worship, for people to leave from the presence of God, that we would hope was one of love, and so quickly be trying to kill someone, especially the Son of God. We find this later in the life of Paul and his ministry and how others, religious men, were so quick to hate and kill. He, himself, was converted from this type of ministry and became the leading evangelist of God's good news.
The truth is that there are no perfect people in any church, including you and me. We are humans with human tendencies; but when we enter the spaces where we worship God and listen for God's word, we should be receptive to change occuring in our lives for the better; to love more and serve more, and to walk away from the negative and destrictive forces that can "steal, kill, and destroy," as Jesus warned in John 10:10. The times in which we live scream for kindness, understanding, compassion, tolerance, and unity, especially from the Christian church. If we are to call ourselves Christians, we are accepting to become truly little Christs in the way we live? Are we truly willing to commit to being a follower of Jesus and not just a fan?
PRAYER: Loving God, have mercy on us for our failures and our hangups. Help us to walk away from what we have done for so long that we are finally realizing is not the way for us to live if we truly want to live as followers of Jesus. Fill us with love and joy; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Show someone how you are constantly blessed by the Lord.
Receive my blessings of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
