Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near

 

 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 

 

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear  and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

 

- Luke 21:20–28 

 

Yesterday we read that, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  and what sign will there be when these things are to about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them.  But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."

  

 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  Here, Jesus refers quite vividly to the destruction of Jerusalem that is to come within one generation of His contemporaries (in the Siege of Jerusalem, 70 AD).  These warnings are expressed with detail that gives His hearers the dire conditions that this battle will entail for the people of Jerusalem and Judea.  My study Bible comments that the phrase when you see indicates that many of the disciples would still be alive at that time.  

 

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with  power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  Here Jesus refers again to the entire age, and the time of His Second Coming.   In Christ's first coming, He came in humility and mortality, symbolized by His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey's colt (see this reading).  At the time of His return He will instead be revealed in power and great glory.  

 

 Christ's warnings in today's reading come on two different levels, or perhaps we should speak of them as two different layers.  The first is for events in the immediate future, within one generation of His contemporaries, many of whom will witness these horrifying and unthinkable events.  Certainly we could say that the destruction of the temple, mingled as it is with Christ's prophecies of the end times, is tied to the end of an era, and the beginning of another.  These two events are juxtaposed in each of Christ's reporting of end times to the apostles in the Gospels, and so it seemingly tells us that one event is inextricably tied with the other.   The devastation of the Siege of Jerusalem is unparalleled in descriptions of the wrath of war.  It had not been part of the Roman plan to besiege the temple as it came to be destroyed, neither was the fire that engulfed Jerusalem nor the sheer levels of destruction that eventually took place.  But this fearsome outcome should teach us more about the dangers of war than we usually want to recognize:  once violence is begun as a sort of solution to something, there is no telling where it will go.  Control easily vanishes, replaced by rage, fear, and the sheer ferociousness of battle which becomes easily uncontrolled, and chaos plays its role.  But Christ here is clear in His previews of what is to come.  Woe, indeed, to those who were nursing babies and could not flee in this time of vengeance and great desperation.  But then the topic switches to the end times prior to Christ's return: "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."  These portend what we might call the great shake up and fall of a kingdom and rule that has dominated our world in terms of the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), the "ruler of this world" (John 14:30).  These are the signs of the "powers of the heavens" shaken and falling.  Christ's return in power and great glory is the fullness of the manifestation and claim of His Kingdom, and full authority in our world, one in which He will render judgment, but also full redemption of the faithful.  While these things are frightening, as Jesus describes them, we should understand them in terms of the fullness of the age, which was begun at His Incarnation for us and for all who desire the love of God and God's justice prevail in this world.   It is all for our redemption, and against those powers that enslave and harm humankind, those which fan the flames of chaos and mischief and tempt us to war, wrath, and lusts of every kind.  Christ comes to save, and save He will.  But first we are offered a choice midst the times of wars, natural disasters, and the fearsome sights He describes.  For we are meant above all to endure in faith, to be watchful, to find our redemption in the midst of this all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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, being filled with the Holy Spirit [and following His Baptism] 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.  Let us note how the Gospel is careful to tell us that all things are done with the power and involvement of the Holy Spirit in Christ's ministry.  This was expressed as a sign "like a dove" at His Baptism, in His being led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by the devil (see yesterday's reading, above), and now in this earlier part of His public ministry, in which He returned to Galilee, and 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."  Jesus reads these words from Isaiah 61:1-2.  My study Bible comments that being the eternal Son of God, Christ did not "become" the world's anointed Savior, but He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  We are further asked to note that Isaiah does not write, "The Spirit 'has come' upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His at His Baptism (see Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal -- not temporal -- truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation -- when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

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.  My study Bible comments that this double response of marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.   Furthermore, it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus accepts death according to the Father's will, my study Bible tells us, and not at the will of the nation or the people.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Jesus' statement that no prophet is accepted in his own country appears in all four Gospels (see also John 4:44; Mark 6:4, Matthew 13:57).

 

Jesus reads from the prophecy of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me."  And when He finishes reading the passage, He declares to the people of His hometown of Nazareth: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  It's interesting that so much of Luke's Gospel (particularly the passages we have read so far in the lectionary at this time, beginning especially with Friday's reading of the events of Jesus' Baptism) concerns itself most transparently with the work of the Holy Spirit, active and participating in our world through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  After all, it is Luke's Gospel that tells us of the Annunciation, and Gabriel the Archangel's announcement to Mary that she will conceive a child.  When she asks, "How can this be?" the angel replies to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  In all things concerning Christ, we find the activity and anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit.  Today's reading is no different, because the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah is also linked to the Spirit, as we read.  Most clearly the Spirit appeared "in bodily form like a dove" at Christ's Baptism, and from there the Holy Spirit drove Christ to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil while He fasted forty days.  The Spirit was also at work in Christ's beginning His ministry in Galilee, and now here He is in His hometown of Nazareth (that is, where He had been brought up), also in Galilee, where His fame has already spread.  But the interesting part of this work of the Holy Spirit is that it doesn't lead automatically to a life and ministry for Jesus that is simply filled with a worldly concept of "success."  While His fame has grown (He has been glorified by all), this doesn't mean that He meets with universal acceptance.  In fact, so far, quite the opposite seems to have happened.  He is first led by the Holy Spirit to be opposed, tested, and tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  And here, while He's come back to the place He was raised with a lot of renown in Galilee already, the people both marvel and become offended.  Where did He get those gracious words?  Then the real work begins, and Jesus tells them the truth, that He can't reproduce the marvelous works they've heard about which have taken place in Capernaum (possibly at the wedding reported by John).  For these things require faith, and they will not be done as proofs, or on demand.  And so comes the opposition and rejection, even outrage on the part of His neighbors at Nazareth.  Who does He think He is, after all?  He reminds them that prophets of the past -- Elijah and Elisha -- were not sent to their own to do great works, but rather to foreigners, and the response of His former neighbors is wrath.  Perhaps the lesson we should take from this is to understand that success on God's terms and success on worldly terms are two entirely different classes of experiences and values.  Do we need to be popular and liked by everyone?  Can we stay "friends" with all those who are not going to like the truth we embrace in our faith?  Perhaps even fellow Christians, members of our families, and those of our community reject truths we are led to embrace in our faith.  Particularly difficult is when political tests (of any type) come to apply as checks to our faith.   But a life spent pleasing God is just not going to be the same life that seeks instead the "praise of men," and we should be prepared for rejection, even outrage, because this is what accompanied our Lord.  As His disciples, we are told, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  Learning to follow Christ in that love is perhaps the greatest undertaking of our faith, for we are asked to love even when we can't "like" something.  To my way of thinking, this is not a question of doing things others want or desire from us, but rather finding out how love is seeking the good for others, and learning discernment in what will and will not have such desired effects -- including even where we cannot intervene or interact.  These are difficult things to learn, but that is what we are called to learn, how to love.  We can call on the mystery of the Holy Spirit to always be at work in our lives, but remember that worldly expectations are not always the answer, nor are they the purpose of the call of God.

 

 

 

 

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations

 

 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

 

- Luke 21:20–28 

 

On Saturday we read that, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them.  But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."

 

  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  While we've been reading Jesus' discourse on the whole of what is called "end times," indicating that it's meant to reference the whole of the Christian era to the present day, here Christ once again becomes very specific regarding what is to come in Jerusalem.  My study Bible comments that the phrase when you see is a clear indication that many of those disciples listening to Him speak at that moment would still be alive at the time of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  The Siege of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD, at which time the temple was destroyed, and in accordance with Christ's prophecy, "not one stone" was "left upon another" that was not "thrown down" (see Saturday's reading, above).  Only one retaining wall remained standing, known in modern times as the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall.  Jesus speaks directly of His concern for those those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  In Luke 23:29, Jesus will warn again, as He is on His way to the Crucifixion, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'"

 

 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  Here Christ's narrative shifts from the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem (which would come within a generation), to the time of His return and the judgment.  Let us pay close attention to the fearful events He describes, and the emotions stirred in the hearts of people:  fear, and distress, and from expectations of those things which are coming on the earth -- for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

 There are many who seem to have a conscious idea of the world somehow becoming better and better, a sort of progress of virtue of one kind or another.  This may be due to scientific or material progress in terms of modern technologies and advances, or advances in science and education, even innovations in new sorts of time-saving or powerful capacities for the use of energies, and all manner of modern infrastructure.  But at the same time, we need to take a look at the world and ask ourselves what innovation has not also brought uses which are surely not for the better of the world or of mankind, as modern wars have been so destructive, technologies within the twentieth century bringing us massive displacement of populations and even genocides.  Today's modern warfare gives us a no man's land where a society once had an infrastructure that served people for transportation, hospitals, universities, and even attempts at a universal constitutional concept of rights for all citizens.  Human beings may create with intelligence and industry many capacities, but those capacities also become used to bring us fearsome sights indeed, as the past century has easily witnessed and continues to witness.  In this vein, let us consider what is the difference between material innovation and the spiritual understanding of the blessings of our faith.  We certainly have experience of distress of nations, and men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Matthew 24:29).  St. Ambrose comments on today's passage in Luke, clearly seeing both physical and spiritual prophecy.  Not only will a  hostile army trample visible Jerusalem, as did the Romans, even emptying Jerusalem of its Jewish population.  But, he writes, "All Judea will be put to the spiritual sword, the two-edged sword, by the nations that will believe. There will be different signs in the sun, moon and the stars. When very many fall away from religion, a cloud of unbelief will darken bright faith, because for me that heavenly Sun is either diminished or increased by my faith. If very many gaze on the rays of the worldly sun, the sun seems bright or pale in proportion to the capacity of the viewer, so the spiritual light is imparted to each according to the devotion of the believer. In its monthly courses, the moon, opposite the earth, wanes when it is in the sun’s quarter. When the vices of the flesh obstruct the heavenly Light, the holy church also cannot borrow the brightness of the divine Light from the rays of Christ. In the persecutions, love of this life alone certainly very often shuts out the light of God."  So, therefore, St. Ambrose sees in this prophecy the pattern observed elsewhere in Scripture, that as faith is diminished, so the world becomes "darkened," a sense in which Christ the true Light is harder to see and to perceive.  Effectively, these prophecies become teachings on the importance of enduring in our faith and the practices of our faith.  For the light that we truly need is the spiritual light, and the truth we surely need to live by is the spiritual truth which Christ brings us.  The progress we make in material terms can be diminished with so much darkness that we can no longer see our path correctly without this light.  Let us not be taken in when things appear to be progress, but human suffering and the diminishing of life and of faith continue to our detriment.  At the same time, Christ asks us not to be deceived, and to persist in our faith, to watch.  As we in the developed world consider a wide array of material goods with which we may celebrate holidays, let us keep in mind our spiritual reality, and not be so dazzled that we don't keep our eyes on the true light.   There are many in the world who suffer for our faith, for Christianity, today.  Let us keep our eyes on His reality, and the teaching of the poor widow who sacrificed all she had for the love of God, for there are those who have kept and are keeping their faith in the face of violence and the swords of those hostile to Christ.  Let us keep in mind the great sacrifices as gifts to God some are willing to make and have made -- even of their very lives and security -- as we celebrate the holidays with gifts of a commercial kind.   Remember our brothers and sisters across the world in your prayers.

 

Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country

 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

Last week, we began reading the Gospel of Luke. On Friday, we read of Jesus' Baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan.  On Saturday we read that then Jesus, 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.  Just as Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, here He returns in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and begins His Galilean ministry, in which He is 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 says that, being the eternal Son of God, Christ did not become the world's anointed Savior, but that He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world (John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4).  Christ spoke through Isaiah the prophet to say, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  At Jesus' Baptism, the descent of the Spirit of the LORD like a dove (3:22), it was a sign that revealed the eternal truth of Christ to the people.   The acceptable year of the LORD is the time of the Incarnation, 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 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 calls our attention to the double response of the people to Christ -- of both marveling and rejection.  It is a frequent occurrence in the encounters with Christ (see 11:14-16; John 9:16).  That Christ is rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha.  It foreshadows Christ's rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  But Jesus accepts death according to the Father's will, not according to the will of those who will seek to persecute Him.  But here in today's reading, His hour of the Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).

Notable in today's passage is Christ's emphasis on faith in God the Father -- and particularly in God's word, as it is living and active and presented to us, as opposed to what we learn from ancestors, custom, habit, and the condition of the society.  What is familiar is incorrect here, because God's word (and Christ is the Word, see John 1:14) intervenes, and is present and living, standing in front of them.  And it is this that they cannot accept.  His familiar townspeople and neighbors know one thing, and God is presenting to them another.  They ask, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  Jesus is already well-known and well-received around Galilee.  The Gospel tells us that He is preaching in the synagogues, and is glorified by all.  But in His hometown of Nazareth, they know one thing and that is what they're sticking to.  They demand a proof, a sign, some great sign such as has been done elsewhere, as in Capernaum.  Jesus goes on the offensive, pushing for recognition of spiritual truth as it's been given in the Scriptures.  He tells them that there were many widows in Israel at the time of a great famine, but Elijah was sent to none of them, only a widow of Sidon, a foreigner, named Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9-16).   He reminds them also that at the time of Elisha there were many lepers in Israel, but Elisha was sent to none of them, and healed only Naaman the Syrian, another foreigner (2 Kings 5).  They understand what He's telling them about themselves.  Their outrage is clear; they wish to kill Him, to throw Him out of the city, and even over a cliff.  But God's intervention in our own lives could be met with the same outrage.  God will always come to call us to the truth, and to the reality of our own circumstances.  While the greatest of blessings come from above, even every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), God's blessings and love also come with the truth about ourselves:  where we need to go, what we need to do, how we need to step up to our own calling.  It may well give us correction, and even rebuke.  It will always ask us to expand the way we see things, and our own outlook on life.  The way that God is calling Christ's townspeople now is to recognition of the Christ in their midst, even as one of their own, whom they cannot recognize as anything but Jesus, the son of Joseph.  He announces Himself and His identity to them, but they cannot accept it.  They are outraged at what He claims for Himself.  They must be wondering how He can presume to tell them anything.  That Christ says to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country" is of such profound importance to our faith as given by Christ that it is found in all four Gospels.  Luke's Gospel has so far given us an emphasis on the pull of nationalism as opposed to the call of God to the recognition of holiness.  But this profound surprise and outrage goes even deeper than that.  It tells us something about God's work among us, in all of our communities and in our lives.  We can't rely on what is old and familiar.  The work of repentance itself is always a call to the new, the untried, what we don't know yet -- to reconsider how we've always done things, and to be willing to take the risk of change.  That is what faith is all about.  When we put our trust in God, we go where we are called, even if it is frightening, even unthinkable.  Have you ever been in a circumstance that called upon you to "step up" and try something new?  Has God called you to take a risk in trust and in faith?  Where has your prayer life led you?  Consider Christ's strong and harsh words, provoking such an impact of rage and wrath from His own townspeople.  You may find the same in your own life, but take heart and know where you are going, in faith.

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

St. Luke writes his Gospel (with Holy Spirit as dove), Armenian Illuminated Manuscript, Monastery of  Hromkla, 1166

 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

* * *

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." 

- Luke (1:1-4), 3:1-14

On Saturday we read that Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.   I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life."

 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.  In the ways in which the Gospels work throughout the changing of the lectionary, we get a strange kind of synthesis between Saturday's reading and today's.  On Saturday, Jesus spoke of Judgment, clearly indicating not only the time of the end of His ministry, but the time of the true eschatological end of all things of this world.  He has come to save the world, but His words will be that by which we are judged in terms of our own acceptance or rejection of them.  Today we begin reading from Luke.  It's quite a contrast:  Luke is very careful to set down all things in an orderly way, and to couch his Gospel in historical facts, time and place settings.  He was not a disciple from the beginning, but he writes that he has perfect understanding of the gospel message as his sources are the apostles themselves, the eyewitnesses of Christ.  Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, who was a prominent Gentile who had received Christian instruction (see also Acts 1:1).  St. Ambrose comments that the name Theophilus can mean any "lover of God.  Therefore, he says, "If you love God, it was written for you."

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  Luke sets down very carefully the setting of his Gospel in its historical time and place, noting the rulers and the high priests.  Herod and Philip have succeeded their father, Herod the Great, while Pontius Pilate is governor of Judea.   Caiaphas at this point is sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, a previous high priest who was deposed by the Romans.

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .  John the Baptist's call to repentance was a traditional one for prophets.  His baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but was a prefiguration and preparation for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  My study bible says that John is a figure of the Law in that, like the law, he denounced sin but could not remit (literally to "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin.

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  John the Baptist ascribes to himself this role of the voice crying in the wilderness (prophesied by Isaiah) in John 1:23.

 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."  My study bible comments here that while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones, it says, symbolize the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  John gives them a formula for righteousness in preparation for the Messiah.  But when Christ comes, grace and truth will make an immeasurable difference to our understanding of righteousness. 

John gives a warning in today's reading:  "Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  Interestingly, in Matthew's Gospel, John gives the same warning, which is later repeated by Jesus when He preaches in the Sermon on the Mount about false prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing (see Matthew 3:10, 7:15-20).  And in Matthew's Gospel, the words, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" are clearly directed at the leadership who come from Jerusalem.  The term brood of vipers is again repeated by Jesus in reference to the religious leaders.  (See Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33.)  We can hear the outrage, the response to what is clearly considered to be scandalous behavior on the part of the religious leaders at this time.  The fact that Luke tells us (via John the Baptist) that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones should tell us something about the gospel going out to the rest of the world and being taken away from those who have failed to heed the word of God.  Indeed, John the Baptist says, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'"   In John's Gospel, in which we've been reading recently until today, this is precisely what the leaders say to Jesus.  Jesus replies to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham" (see John 8:39).  Clearly there is something at work in these scenes that reflect this theme.  John warns of the fire that awaits the trees that do not bear good fruit.  This is a time of expectation, of the return of the Messiah, widely watched and hoped for by the people.  But it is also a time, tellingly, of corruption and greed, of distrust of those leaders who are meant to care for this flock and insure spiritual heritage of the Jewish people.  John comes bearing warnings as prophet, speaking about making the path straight for the expected Messiah, who will surely fill every valley, bring low every mountain and hill, make straight all the crooked places and make smooth all the rough ways.  What is he telling us here?   What is the meaning of this?  The Messiah is the great leveler.  Whatever is crooked, or depends upon position for advantage, whatever is rough -- all of it will be removed as obstacle for this straight path of the Lord.  In His judgment to come, there will be no standing on ancestry or position or coveted place before the world and the "praise of men" (see John 12:43, in Friday's reading).  Ceremony and inheritance won't count, and surely as John the Baptist warns in today's reading, anything gained through cheating and corruption and dishonest, unrighteous behavior.  It is the Word who is coming, and as we read on Saturday, it is every word that proceeds from His mouth that is given by the Father, those words and commands themselves will be the judgment.   If you see corruption and dishonesty, unfairness and unrighteous behavior around yourself, a disregard for justice, know that Christ's words are this judgment that is present and at work in the world.  It is all about what we can hear and what we are simply deaf and blind to.  The Holy Spirit, the breath of God, remains active in the world, a gift of grace and truth.  We heed the words of John and understand the One who makes all things straight and level, and cherish the words we're given, living them in faith, and in response to times like these which are always with us.  God is working, and so is the word of the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 5:17).