To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elish the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 

- Luke 4:14-30

Yesterday we read that after Jesus' Baptism,  He, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  The text tells us about Jesus' spreading ministry in Galilee, and His growing fame.

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;  He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed . . . "  As Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not become the world's anointed Savior, my study bible says, but rather He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ who spoke through Isaiah, who writes, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  We note that Christ does not say that "the Spirit of the Lord has come upon Me."  When the Spirit of the Lord descended upon Jesus at the Baptism (3:22), this was a sign that revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.

" . . . To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  The time of the Incarnation is the acceptable year of the Lord, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elish the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.   My study bible notes that the double response to Christ of both marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Him (see 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, whom Jesus mentions, and foreshadows the rejection that is to come by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Christ accepts death in accordance with the will of the Father, not at the will of the leaders of the Jews.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).

Christ is rejected in His hometown.  His words make them angry.  He simply won't reproduce miracles and marvels and signs they've heard happening elsewhere in Galilee on demand.  He refuses to "prove" that He is Messiah.  The people are indignant and incredulous.  How can this be the same person that they remember and know as the son of Joseph?  But He anticipates their demands, and He won't produce the signs they've heard about which have happened elsewhere.  Instead, He goes even further, and reminds them Elijah and Elisha weren't believed in their own country either, and were sent instead to Gentiles to give their signs from God.  It's as if, from the beginning, Jesus is aware of the pattern of rejection He is going to face, and He's prepared for the ministry that lies ahead of Him.  Predictably, the people respond with outrage; so much so, that they wish to throw Him off a cliff.  This won't be the only time that Jesus avoids death at the hands of those whom He's outraged, strangely "passing through the midst of them" (see, for example, John 8:59).  The Gospels give us an understanding that somehow there is a process happening which, despite the free will choices all have to accept or reject Christ, is unfolding in which the "hour" of His death -- which He calls His glorification -- is already known.  Things will unfold in a particular way.  Jesus' deep psychological understanding of those with whom He comes into contact reflects this awareness of human thoughts and responses.  Yet He presses through, because the message He brings and the ministry that is His is more important than pleasing and convincing His audience.  He has a truth to tell, to bring into the world, and that truth means more than persuasion.  It must be presented a certain way, and the choices that people make in response to Him must reach into the heart, beyond a point of mere outrage or initial emotional feelings.  It is those who can reach to that place of reckoning who will find faith in Him.  In our lives, to make good decisions, we're asked to reach beyond the conventional and accepted, and to find that place where real faith dwells.  It's a place that's like a bedrock in the heart, and yet so elusive.  It comes to us perhaps in single moments that suddenly stand apart from conventional awareness and experience of waking life.  It is a place that may be hidden deeply in the heart.  But it is with the spiritual eyes and ears capable of receiving that we suddenly are in that place of faith -- and this moment of understanding is one that occurs despite everything else going on around us and the visceral emotional cues we may receive from others.  Jesus wants that kind of faith, the faith that takes root deep in the good soil of a heart that's ready to hear that truth (see the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:1-23).  We should ask ourselves if that is the place we want to find and cultivate as well.  That's the place where He asks us to plant a seed that bears fruit, and continues to do so throughout our lives.  It's what He will ultimately sacrifice His life for.   Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying that the Spirit of the Lord has come to send Him to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.  These are those who hearts desire the wealth of spiritual riches He presents, whose broken hearts call for the balm of God's grace, whose freedom is only found in spiritual liberty, whose blindness cries for spiritual sight.  This is the proclamation of the acceptable year of the Lord, for all of us who recognize our need for what He gives, and truly desire what He has to offer.   Christ's mission establishes once and for all time, for all of us, that this acceptable year is always here and now.

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.'"

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.   Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

- Luke 4:14-30

On Saturday, we read that Jesus, after His baptism, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,  'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  The scene is set; Jesus' Galilean mission is well under way.  He has been teaching in synagogues throughout the region, and widely "glorified by all."

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.'"  My study bible indicates to us the interpretation of this text (see Isaiah 61:1-2) as that of proclamation of the Incarnation.   It tells us that as eternal Son of God, Christ doesn't become the world's anointed Savior, but has always been Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It tells us that it was Christ speaking through Isaiah to say, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  He doesn't say that the Spirit "has come upon Me," but rather "is upon Me."   At His baptism, when the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus, it was a sign revealing an eternal truth to the people, not a temporal one.   This "is" is the eternal present in the name "I AM," and in Jesus' statement, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).  And what is the "acceptable year of the LORD"?  It is the time of the Incarnation, when -- as my study bible puts it -- "the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2)."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   The seated position is the traditional position of a teacher, or rabbi.  His pronouncement seams clear:  the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in their hearing!  Jesus' townspeople marvel at His gracious speech.  Is this really the man we all know?  Joseph's son?

He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.   Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.    My study bible suggests that the double response we observe here  of both marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Jesus' being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha mentioned here by Jesus in vv. 26 and 27, and it foreshadows Jesus' rejection by the whole of the Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).    A note tells us that Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not at the will of other human beings.  Here, the hour of His Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).

In Luke's Gospel, this is the first time Jesus escapes death.  But it certainly isn't the last, particularly if we take into account the rest of the New Testament Gospels, including that of John.  Over and over again, we read that it wasn't yet His time, the hour of Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection.  The notable thing here, however, is that this first brush with such a threat comes in His hometown.  It's a kind of early sign of what is to come, both in the "marveling and rejection" that simultaneously accompanies Jesus in His public ministry, and of the irate rage at the truth He tells them about themselves.  Because they're from His hometown, perhaps, they expect great things.  They're almost like spectators at a great event, or film-goers watching a movie they expect to be dazzled by.  Where are the great marvels and miracles they've heard about already?  What about the things He's done in Capernaum?  And, by the way, isn't this just that young man we knew and watched grow up, Joseph's boy?  They know Him as Jesus, Joseph's son.  This eloquent speech doesn't belong to such a person.  How is it possible?  But it is possible, and even the revelation of Messiah or Christ is possible.  It's possible that Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in their hearing.  But they want a sign.   They demand to be dazzled first.  They're waiting for something.  Faith doesn't come.  There's no trust.  Who knows if this is a human by-product of familiarity, or expectation?  Perhaps we demand conformity of "our own" within our own limits of expectation or desire.   Jesus' statement that "no prophet is accepted in his own country" is recorded in all of the Gospels, giving us an emphatic assurance of this truth.   His warning must also be taken seriously, when He gives explicit examples of the truth of the prophets being realized only by foreigners.  This warning isn't taken seriously enough for the townspeople to reflect on their own responses to Him and His gracious words.  It's met, as truth may so often be met about ourselves, with wrath and perhaps disgust -- a murderous rage at His words.   Jesus must accept this rejection from His hometown and His neighbors, the things that are familiar to Him.  So, once again, the Gospels give us an example about the reception of truth, truth about ourselves, truth about a spiritual reality we may need to accept or to take a good look at.  Our own personal reaction might be rage.  It might be fear.  We might endlessly demand proofs in order to avoid what it is we want to avoid.  It isn't easy, necessarily, to accept truth, particularly spiritual truth which transcends all our circumstances, assumptions, familiar understanding, and family and neighborly ties.  Jesus cites the experience of these great prophets, Elijah and Elisha, as proof of that, and as warning to these "neighbors." But then, in our present Gospel of Luke, we will also be given an answer that goes deeper than our understanding of neighbor, to a lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor?"  Luke invites us here to think about what is a neighbor, and what it means to be truly related.  We ask here questions about our faith, and how faith establishes not only a different order of reality -- of a Kingdom present -- but also a different order of relatedness to one another.   It invites us to consider our own blind spots, a kind of rejection or denial that results in rage that is defense against personal change, transformation of our own viewpoint.  We go back to John's Gospel again for Jesus' repeated emphasis on love of the Father; this love in our hearts determines whether or not we are willing to see what revelation of truth God has for us, whether we can adapt to that reality or not.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  Are we able to accept the wealth of the gifts we're offered, or to be truly healed?  Can we receive our liberty, and accept the sight He offers?  In His eternal presence, it is always the acceptable year of the LORD, but we need faith to realize it for ourselves.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious word which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'" Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

- Luke 4:14-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness" after His baptism by John the Baptist. For forty days he was "tempted by the devil." Afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry - and we read of the temptations He faced at that time. Jesus makes the distinction of always putting God first - it is in the service to and union with God the Father that He will use his power and make His choices.

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. In Jesus' first public ministry days of preaching, He receives widespread recognition and admiration. This is the beginning of his ministry and public works, which began with baptism and forty days in the wilderness.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." My study bible notes that "Isaiah speaks of the anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at baptism (3:22). Jesus will bring blessings long awaited by the Jewish people, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious word which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" My study bible writes, "They marveled at His words, but could not believe that Jesus, a fellow villager, could be the Messiah." Why is it so hard to believe that one from among our own midst could be filled with marvelous gifts? The gifts of the Spirit - the anointing referred to in the quotation from Isaiah (as my study bible notes) proceed from Jesus, so much so that "the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him." They "marveled at the gracious word which proceeded out of His mouth." But then, their own expectations and understanding set in. "Is this not Joseph's son?" God's transforming power may have tremendous effects in our midst. Can we accept them - or will our own sense of reality and projection of our own expectations set in to refute what we see and hear?

He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'" He is predicting that they will ask for proofs and signs.

Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." A note reads, "Jesus exposes their unbelief. Through examples of God's mercy to Gentiles, He warns them that their heritage alone will not save them." Jesus accepts that He will be rejected in his home country - and refuses to provide signs or proofs to persuade them to change their minds. He's warning them very strongly, and telling them of precedents, in which Jewish heritage wasn't sufficient for the grace and action of God in their midst, but faith was sufficient. In the cases of the prophets Elijah and Elisha which Jesus offers, it was Gentiles who received the grace that came through them.

So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. My study bible writes, "They seek to destroy Him but He miraculously passes through the midst of them unharmed." They are incensed, it seems to me, that their own sense of entitlement has been violated, and they respond with violence and outrage. The words we read here are similar to the ones we read several times in John's Gospel (which we have just explored in the lectionary readings). As Jesus appeared at the various festivals throughout the three years marked in that Gospel, the authorities sought to lay their hands on Him, and arrest Him. But until it was "His hour" (that is, the time for His Passion), He would "pass through the midst of them."

In the past three readings, we have a quick summing up of the early days of Jesus' ministry. First He is baptized. Then He is sent by the Spirit to be tempted for forty days. Finally, He begins His public speaking and preaching. He is welcome in Galilee, and even "glorified by all." But Galilee is a land of Gentiles, a place that is not "pure" in the sense that it is a cosmopolitan mix of many peoples, languages, and much trade. In His home country of Nazareth, He is rejected. They cannot get past their own expectations, and envy. It is envy that is at the heart of this rejection in today's story: the inability to accept the gifts that can be bestowed upon another, the action of the Spirit which anoints and gives its gifts and "life, more abundantly." Envy is at the heart of the stories we read in the bible in some sense. In the beginning of this Gospel, John the Baptist comes preaching a preparation of repentance and baptism for the One who is to come. He speaks strongly of Judgment. Soon after His baptism, Jesus is sent to the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. The archetypal sin of the "prince" or "ruler of this world" (as Satan is repeatedly called by Christ) is that of envy. He rules where He can rule rather than serve the Christ who puts the Father first. And I think that for our own sake it is important that we understand just how much evil and difficulties and heartache and disaster is caused by envy.

Jesus teaches in the synagogue the words of Isaiah, that He is here to "preach the gospel to the poor;" He is sent "to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind," and "to set at liberty those who are oppressed." In the historical acts of war in the grand scale of the world powers that result from envy - from wanting what others have - we may easily find the results in the "poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, those who are oppressed." In actions we take in our personal lives out of envy, we too, may create harm even in the most intimate of family settings - causing others to be poor, or brokenhearted, to leave them captive in some sense, blind and oppressed. Let us consider, then, envy, and how it works to project onto others the limitations we would have for them. The gift of Christ is that of life, more abundantly. Let us receive the good news of this gospel with the generosity characteristic of its mercy and grace - and gifts in abundance. It is only in this spirit that those gifts will be at work in our own midst.