By james art 
On Sunday, the “storytelling lecturer” gave me Scripture Luke 4: 14-30, where Jesus preaches his opening sermon and makes the audience so angry that they were trying to chase him from a rock.
This is not an exaggeration. The congregation was so angry with Jesus after his sermon banished him from the city with the intention of hurting and potentially killing him. At first, it is difficult to imagine that Jesus (whom in the Baptist tradition we think we are the Son of God, and God is embodied) would say something so early in His ministry that it will cause so much disputes. If we look at some of the basic information, it may not be too difficult at all to imagine.
Although it was (from what biblical scientists can say) the first sermon of Jesus, he was out and made a ministry for some time. There were reports of Jesus, who performs wonders in Capernaum, a city, far beyond Nazareth, and was noticed with its large non -Jewish population. Now that Jesus returned home – he preached to the synagogue, even – I’m sure they thought he would come back to show them some of these miracles. He had certainly had gone home to get away to the people who had raised him, nourished him, learned him as he grew up from a child in the young man – a young miracle worker – he was today. It was time for them – his people – to reap their awards.
Instead, Jesus says a quick saying: “No prophet is welcome in my hometown.” I find it fun because it seems like something that a prophetic preacher can say to himself (“inner thought”, if you wish) Before you bring out a sermon that they know it will step on some fingers. This may also be a concession, because Jesus knows that they may not really hear it, because everything they will be able to see is the boy they knew. “Oh, look at Little Jesus, everyone grown up, playing a preacher.” Getting to know them impedes their ability to get the radical nature of his message. Perhaps this quick phrase was Jesus’ way to go before saying something so controversial that he knew they couldn’t help but hear it.
He then reminds them of the work of ancient Jewish prophets Elijah and Elisha. He reminds them that Israel suffered, but God called on Elijah and Elisha to serve other nations, other cultures – not the Israelites. God called for them to serve “these people” and they went.
A modern equivalent would be if Jesus appeared to us in America today and said that he had come that he was not helping us, and our Canadian neighbors to the north and our Mexican neighbors to the south. Not only that, but also that we have to follow it to help them instead of our own people (something like Canada and Mexico send volunteer firefighters to help the tragedy in Los Angeles instead of keeping these people at home to help of yours).
Referring to Elijah and Elisha, Jesus effectively told them, “I don’t just belong to you. I will not perform wonders here in Nazareth. “
Speaking of the truth of power is often not effective, because the forces of oppression have already decided to who they will listen to (often who has the most money). But talking to the truth of the people you know? Who says they love you? Who was part of your life for a long time than you can remember? Talking to them is an act of deep, deep courage, because suddenly the risk/reward ratio is much more risk than before.
And Jesus tells them a firm truth: in this battle of “us” against “them”, we must all strive to stand with the “theirs”. A really powerful word.
As it turns out, people who do not want to change do not like it so much when you tell them difficult truths. It turns out that they particularly dislike this when they expected to receive something from you and now they realize that they will not receive it. Without wonders for Nazareth; Jesus occupied these gifts somewhere else – yes these peopleTo people who are not even like us.
That’s why they were so angry with Jesus. He challenged their idea of how it could and should look and should look. He told them that our definitions of who is “B” and who is “out” are not applied in the rum of God. We are all loved by God. It reminds me of a quote from the Lutheran priest Nadia Bolz-Wuebar: “Every time we draw a line between us and others, Jesus is always on the other side of it.”
Some scientists suggest that the crowd intended to stones of Jesus to the death of this rock – a foreboding of death, which ultimately expected this miracle worker who heals too much of “these people” instead of healing his own. I wonder how they would feel if they had succeeded.
It is too often the various forms of the media to tell us who these people are also how we should treat them. As we are flooded with speech of fear and hatred, I want to remind us of this story from Luke 4. As people of faith, we are responsible to see the divine in each of the children of God. To me, this means treating them with dignity and respect, no matter what we are told to believe in them. Perhaps this means eraseing the lines we have drawn in the sand. There is no “us” or “them” because we are all God’s children.
That would really be a miracle.
Reverend Cali Croututan-Freels is a pastoral resident of the Baptist Church Williamsburg.
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