To get someone’s attention give them a gift. And to get millions, or perhaps billions to take notice? Make the gift huge. Perhaps expensive. And definitely make it extravagant.

But watch out, because your motives for the gift just might be questioned.

Here’s a few eye-popping examples of epic gifts, some old, others new.

Island
In 2013 Angelina Jolie treated her beau and hubby hunk Brad Pitt to quite the gift for his 50th birthday: she bought him an island. Petra Island to be specific, a heart-shaped secluded oasis, a short 15-minute helicopter ride to New York City. What makes the gift even more amazing is what’s on the island – not one, but two houses designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The first house is a cottage. The other is the main residence dubbed by those in the know as “one of the most spectacular designs of (Frank Lloyd Wright’s) career.”

The 11-acre private island and historic homes didn’t come cheap; Angela Jolie paid a reported $12.2 million for it.

We might wonder to ourselves, couldn’t this money have been used for a better, more altruistic purpose?

Perhaps.

Tho consider this: prior to this gift hubby Brad claimed the master architect had changed his life. And when someone has changed your life, and you love that person, it’s natural you want to bring them closer to what means so much to them. Angelia had, after all, acted out of love for her man.

Next, consider this other rather famous gift from another pair of American socialites.

Rock
This big gift is actually rather small, size-wise – at least compared to an island – we’re talking about the Cartier Diamond.

When the 69-carat diamond was auctioned in 1969 it had a flurry of interest, including large bids from the likes of Aristotle Onassis, the Sultan of Brunei, and Richard Burton. Bidding started at $200,000 and quickly got much higher.

Richard Burton had a max bid of 1 Million on the diamond, and asked his lawyer to do the bidding. When he found out the jewel had sold for 50 thousand more Burton was terrified. He immediately contacted Cartier to see what could be done to buy it. After a slew of calls arrangements were made, and the diamond was his. Final cost? 1.1 Million – that’s over 7.5 Million in todays dollars. It set a record price for a publicly sold jewel.

It’s natural to want to critique this as just another example of the uber-rich only thinking of themselves. And on this surface, perhaps you’re right.

But consider this.

Burton bought the item as a gift for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. Reflecting on this moment, in his diary, Burton wrote:

“I wanted that diamond because it is incomparably lovely. And it should be on the loveliest woman in the world.”

Burton had, after all, acted out of love for his wife.

Statue
Then there’s one of the biggest gifts in all of history, both literally and figuratively. And it arguably also centers on another one of the loveliest women in the world. This one you definitely know – we’re talking about the Statue of Liberty.

Size-wise it’s massive, the statue is 151 feet high and made of over 200,000 pounds of copper. Including the pedestal it’s mounted on the structure reaches over 300 feet high, from the ground to the tip of the torch. That’s about the length of a football field.

Designed by French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, with the metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel, it was initially conceived of in 1865. Which was right after the abolition of slavery in the US.

While many believe the statue was a gift, from one government to another, that isn’t technically correct. When given the opportunity neither the French government nor our US Congress decided to financially sponsor it.

Instead it was the people, of both countries, that made it happen. First French citizens raised the equivalent of 2.7 Million in today’s dollars for the statue. Then US citizens raised 2.3 million in today’s currency to construct the pedestal and install the lovely Lady.

This gift, too, was criticized by many at the time. Some felt it was too expensive. Others that it was too large. Or that it was simply bad art. Several cities turned Lady Liberty down not wanting her in their town.

Yet, despite all those challenges, Lady Liberty finally found a home on an island in the New York harbor. She was dedicated in 1886.

Looking back, this gift, too, was an act of love. Love from the citizens of one country, to the citizens of another. And accepting the gift reflects a shared love from our country, founded on freedom, toward another country thousands of miles away, beginning to experience new freedoms of their own.

Perfume
Today’s text in John 12 features another big, and controversial, gift.

The narrative features a story of two people and their relationship to Jesus. Mary, the faithful disciple, and Judas, also a disciple, but one we soon learn is something less than faithful.

The setting for this gift-giving was a dinner party at Lazarus’ house; his sisters Mary and Martha were also there. A chapter before, in John 11, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.

After someone brings you back to life I suppose the least you can do is to throw a party.

And to invite the giver of life to it.

During dinner Mary brings out a valuable possession, a bottle of perfume, and anoints Jesus’ feet. But this is no normal perfume. It is made from a plant only found in the Himalayan mountains of India. Coming from such a distance it wouldn’t have been easy, or cheap, for her to acquire. Theologians suggest a pound of it was worth about a year’s worth of labor.

After someone brings your brother back to life perhaps a big gesture like this was in order. Mary, after all, loved her brother. And she loved Jesus. She wanted to show appreciation for all he’d done for their family.

Scripture tells us the house was filled with the fragrance, the scent of perfume at the party would have been impossible to miss.

Now I’m no perfume expert, so I asked my wife about this. For her, normally a squirt or two of perfume is plenty. More than that and it gets to be too much. And when it gets to four of five squirts you can really tell.

Imagine your favorite perfume, and putting on 100 or 200 squirts of it.

It must have gotten the attention of everyone there.

Greed
The disciple Judas, watching, and smelling this grand gesture chimes in, asking:

“Why wasn’t this perfume sold, with the money given to the poor?”

At first blush it’s a reasonable question. A year’s salary goes a far way in feeding, clothing, and caring for those that need it.

But Judas’ motives weren’t pure.

• This is the Judas that would soon betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
• This is the Judas that managed the funds for Jesus’ ministry
• This is the Judas that was known to steal from those funds

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Judas had no intention of helping the poor. Instead his motives were to line his own pockets.

Jesus then responds, defending Mary, telling Judas to leave her alone.

This perfume foreshadows Jesus’ upcoming death. In no small way it helps prepare him for it.

Christ ends this passage by saying “you always have the poor with you. But you do not always have me.” Incredibly, this verse at times has been used to imply nothing should be done for the poor.

Connections
It’s worth noting that the Old Testament text Jesus references here, from Deuteronomy 15:11, speaks to this more clearly.

“Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you: Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

This passage is reminiscent of the greatest commandment, which has two parts. First, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind. And secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself.

It is out of a selfless love, for her God, who was in that moment also her neighbor, that Mary gifted perfume to her savior.

It is out of a selfish desire, for more, that Judas greedily chose to critique her gift.

Callbacks
In these two archetypes, of Mary, and Judas, today’s text asks much of us.

As Lutherans, we of the saint and sinner variety, with the knowledge that we have both the capacity for good and evil, it is we who understand well that we all have Mary and Judas tendencies baked right into us.

It is the Judas qualities we harbor that cause us to judge others for their lavish gifts.

And when that happens we forget some important details.

We forget that Angelina Jolie is a well-known philanthropist. She consistently funds the care of refugees from over 20 war-torn countries across the globe. In 2006 alone she gave 8 million of her own money that helps many, many others.

And we forget that when Elizabeth Taylor later sold her famous diamond she gave much of the proceeds away, to an African medical charity.

And hopefully we don’t forget the lasting legacy of the statue of Liberty. Despite the historic critiques of it. Let us not forget this statue contains a broken chain at the feet of Lady Liberty as she walks forward. It is a symbol of freedom that we readily embrace.

And let us not forget the more than 12 million immigrants, who entered the US through Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954. As they entered they saw, for the first time, the Statue of Liberty, welcoming them home.

Close
The most lavish of gifts, like what Mary gave to Jesus, are not given with our own self-interests in mind.

Instead they are given from a place of love. Not for us. But for others.

And it is this love, for the whole world, that Jesus models through his life, death and resurrection. It is this love, for the whole world, that culminates with our Easter celebration.

While we each have the broken nature of Judas in us, let us aspire, instead, to be like Mary. Who gave lavishly, out of love, to her savior. A savior that gives lavishly, out of love, to the world.

A savior that beckons us to give lavishly, out of love, to our neighbors, whomever those neighbors may me.  Amen.

Tragedy. When it hits boy does it get people talking. And no matter the source, or cause, or who is affected, egad we love to speculate. We love to ponder why whatever horrible tragedy went down, went down.

Take, for example these American workplace tragedies, ripped from the headlines of our nation’s history.

Molasses
Sometimes tragedy involves a sticky situation. This first one is so bizarre it’s almost comical. In January of 1919 a storage tank in Boston, holding 2.5 million gallons of molasses mysteriously burst. As a result a wave of molasses flowed down the street, travelling as fast as 35 miles per hour, and reaching a height of 15 feet. Can you imagine?

As funky as this is to visualize this odd occurrence was not without cost: the accident injured 150, killing 21.

So who was to blame for this sticky situation? Was it the fault of the storage tank manufacturer? Or bad management at the molasses company? Or maybe the people walking down the street when the sugar flood arrived just had it coming.

Fire
Often tragedy involves fire. That was the case at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City in March 1911. When the fire, of unknown origin, began on the eighth floor it quickly raced through the garment factory, feeding on the textiles that filled the building. Firefighters at the scene quickly realized their ladders and hoses would only reach the sixth floor. Even worse there were only two exits on the floor for people to leave. One was locked, with the other engulfed in smoke and flames.

Fifty-four were injured that day, with 156 killed. Prior to the 9/11 attacks, this was the largest mass-casualty in New York City history.

And who’s to blame for this one? News articles at the time speculate an errant match or cigarette could have started it. Or maybe it was the fire department’s fault, they really should have had longer hoses and ladders. Or perhaps we should blame the workers for their own demise. If all those employees had more ambition, and went to college, and had better jobs, then they’d be alive today.

So our speculation goes.

Explosion
Tragedy often involves massive explosions, like in the Texas City disaster of April 1947. While workers loaded cargo on the SS Grandcamp a fire broke out. The biggest problem wasn’t the fire, it was the nature of the cargo. Which turned out to be explosive grade ammonium nitrate, better known as fertilizer. And there was 2,300 tons of it.

When the fire and fertilizer met it caused a massive detonation. And that was pretty much that.

But wait, there’s a bit more.

The explosion had such force, and burned so hot, that 16 hours later another nearby cargo ship, which was also carried fertilizer, also blew up. The twin explosions created a blast radius of almost a mile, flinging glass, metal and debris in all directions. This monumental tragedy injured more than 2,000, killing 581.

Who should we blame for this one?

The 1947 explosion is recent enough there is video of the damage done online.  Tho viewer please beware. Frankly after seeing the devastation I’m at a loss for words.

These are the types of newsworthy events that get people talking. It’s what we as neighbors discuss. It’s our water cooler conversations at work. It’s our coffee- talk, from home to church to the café.

Tragedies, of course, have been with us since the beginning of time.

Tragedy at the Temple
And sadly, sometimes they happen in holy spaces. Today’s Luke 9 text begins with Jesus listening to others from Galilee describe a news story of that day. This one is a temple tragedy. Let’s listen in to hear what those that were there might have had to say.

Did you hear about our friends and neighbors who were killed in Jerusalem? They were there at the temple, offering their sacrifice, when this horrible thing went down. So many were killed. All while trying to live out their faith the best they knew how. I hear Pilate had his Roman minions do it! Even worse, their bodies were left right alongside the animals they brought to sacrifice to our God. What barbarians!

Perhaps those sharing the news with Jesus grumbled, in self-righteous anger, at the injustice of it all. Arguably they had good reason to be enraged. As Galileans foreigners occupied their land. And were killing their people. And were insulting their God. In similar circumstances you just might be upset too.

And who did they blame for this one? Perhaps the Galileans were judging their own. Maybe their friends that had been killed should have waited to take that trip. The roads are rough these days, you know. These are dangerous times. They should have known better than to travel. Perhaps God was punishing them for choosing to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps.

What do you think about all of this, Jesus?

The people wanted to know.

Let’s get back to Christ’s response in a bit. But first, one more tragic story, from just last week.

Mosques
Similar to temple tragedies, sometimes tragedies happen at other places of worship too. Like mosques. On the 15th of March, 2019, in Christchurch New Zealand, a 28-year-old Australian man, described in media reports as a white nationalist, entered two mosques and began shooting. Right in the middle of their Friday prayers.

The attacks killed fifty, and injured fifty more.

The parallels between today’s scripture and this modern headline are striking.

Both tragedies occur at places of worship. Both smack of religious persecution. Both are an attack of one ethnic group on another. And both involve the loss of life among people engaged in ancient, faith-based, holy ritual.

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The implication of his words is clear: blame the immigrants.

If they weren’t here they wouldn’t have been killed.

This is the world we live in.

But it is not the world, or the way to view it, that Christ desires.

Christ Chimes In
Jesus, when asked to respond to the temple tragedy of his day, offered a response that can’t help but surprise.

When listening to his fellow Galileans, about who was at fault, Christ didn’t nod his head in agreement. And he didn’t pile on examples of his own self-righteous anger. And he didn’t simply walk away, avoiding it all.

Instead he chose to engage his fellow countrymen with a question.

Do you think you’re better somehow than those who have died? That you have been living a Godlier life and have been spared? You’re not, Jesus responded, answering his own question.

Tower
Christ then gave a news story of his own for those gathered to consider. Remember when that tower fell in Jerusalem? Eighteen people died that day. Do you think they had it coming? That everyone one else in Jerusalem has it all figured out?

The query almost answers itself. No, of course not.

Yet when tragedy strikes our broken human nature can’t help but want to assign blame. Sometimes we blame people or groups that have nothing to do with it, using them as a scapegoat for our own bias. Other times we simply blame the victim.

But that’s not the nature of God.

And by extension it’s not what we should be about either.

Jesus then shares an allegory to drive the point home.

Fig Tree
There was a fig tree in the orchard, and the manager came to look at the tree to see how it was doing. But the fig tree was barren. It gave no fruit. And it had been that way for a while. So the manager asked the gardener to cut the tree down, to make room for another plant that wouldn’t waste the soil.

The gardener objected. Leave it planted for another season, the gardener pleaded. I’ll dig around the roots and make sure it has the best soil there is. And the highest quality fertilizer available too. If the tree bears fruit next season let us rejoice. And if not? Perhaps then it is time to cut it down.

In this allegory we humans are the fig trees. Our world is filled with over seven billion of them. And we’re prone to look around at all the other fig trees and make our own assessments; which look healthy, which do not. Which bear good fruit, which bear none. When we’ve made our assessment we’re prone to talk poorly about the trees that don’t bear the fruit we think they should.

And when tragedy strikes parts of the orchard we’re quick to draw our own conclusions. Those trees must have been in bad shape. They must have deserved to be cut down.

Perhaps we even go so far as to think God did the cutting.

But Christ, the master gardener, wants nothing to do with the cutting down of anything in the orchard. Christ advocates for us, always asking for another season to be added to our lives. Christ cleans up our roots, plants us in the good soil, and brings water, light, and life to us each day. Regardless of where in the garden we’ve been planted.

Christ always advocates for all of God’s children. Christ always will.

Close
We live in an era where everyone wants to blame everyone else for the ills of this world. Sure, we can go around cutting down others, either in word or in deed. And we can continue to judge others that get cut down in the inevitable tragedies of our time.

We are only human, after all.

Or, we can take the high road, as Christ models, and rise above that faulty, fallen nature.

We can choose to lift others up in times of crisis, instead of putting them down.

We can help ensure God’s children are planted in fertile soil, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, orientation, nationality, political affiliation, or any other group we marginalize.

And, most importantly, we can be a people that don’t rage at the world when tragedy strikes.  Because God knows we all have our biases, our stereotypes, our ways of being that minimize some of God’s beloved. It’s hard work to address these biases, and we all have them. And that work, my friends, starts with an honest, humble, and heartfelt look at what lies within.  Amen.

On February 12, 1993, in Minneapolis, Mary Johnson’s only son was murdered. Ironically it happened less than 48 hours before a holiday that celebrates love. The backstory sounds downright familiar, downright senseless. Two groups of macho young men got to trash talking each other at a Friday night party. Things, as can happen, escalated from there. Words were weaponized, and before long a real weapon emerged. One shot, at point-blank range, was fired, killing 20-year-old Laramiun.

Mother Mary, in that instant had lost her only son. She was devastated.

When the killer was identified three days later, a 16-year-old named Oshea, her feelings of loss now had a target. Mary was angry with Oshea, of course. Hate for him soon set in.

Mary says she viewed Oshea as an animal, and wanted him locked up for the rest of his life. She went to his trial to ensure justice prevailed. It did, arguably; Oshea was sentenced to 25 years in prison for second degree murder.

It’s safe to say that if Mary had an enemy in this world it was this young man now behind bars.

Enemies
Today we reflect on the second section of the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6; Pastor Bryan covered the first part last week. The dozen verses of this text pack quite a wallop.

After considering all sorts of ways to approach the text I keep coming back to one word in verse 27: enemies.

And find myself ruminating over what enemies are, and what Christ calls us to do with them.

I soon realized, after Googling around some, that who or what is considered an enemy is entirely self-defined.

What one person describes as the enemy of the state another may consider their favorite newspaper.

In war times who the enemy is depends on which side of the battle you’re on.

Heck, sometimes an enemy can be made while simply driving down the road. Perhaps that’s what leads to road rage.

And some enemies are downright cool. That’s the case for the 80s/90s hip hop group Public Enemy. The group made a career out of defining themselves with this label. This rap ensemble was pretty good at it too, and were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Love me some Chuck D and Flavor Flav.

Put another way, an enemy is merely a label we place on another. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tires
The tendency to apply this enemy label to people can pop out of nowhere, seemingly, with storylines that are downright mundane. Driving over to Cabin Coffee earlier this week, to prepare this message, I noticed the nearby Kum & Go had a tire pump, excellent. The tires on our Honda Fit have been low for a while.

But there was a big truck right parked right in front of the pump.

And a guy near that truck looked to be involved in some kind of construction project. I watched as he methodically cut into the slab of concrete on the ground with a huge circular saw. He was totally unaware his truck was in my way.

After considering the situation I decided to move the Fit as close to the air pump as I could. Which was inches away from his truck. To my delight it turns out the pump hose was long enough!

Long enough to reach the first three tires.
But not long enough to reach the fourth.

Oh this silly man! I found my emotions going to unhealthy places.

As I drove away, my feelings toward this guy were less than charitable. Was he my enemy? The dude had, after all, unknowingly prevented me from reaching my goal.

Wars have been fought over less.

In that moment I certainly wouldn’t have called him friend.

Groups
Because what makes for an enemy is self-defined it turns out today’s text applies to each of us in different ways. I have my enemies, conceptually speaking, you have yours. It’s part of each of our shared, broken, human nature.

And lest we think that this passage isn’t compatible with local sensibilities and #IowaNice consider these synonyms to the word:

Adversary
Opponent
Foe

With more than one side, the other side might just be your adversary.
Multiple viewpoints can give rise to multiple opponents.
A few perspectives make it possible to have more than a few foes.

Mexicans, Americans, Russians.
Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians.
Beer swillers, Wine connoisseurs, and those that choose to abstain.

Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.

Sometimes having an opponent is all in good fun. When the Green Bay Packers tied the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year – a foreshadowing of a poor year for both, as a Chicago Bears fan I couldn’t help but smile.

The smile widened when I heard a quote from the legendary Packer coach Vince Lombardi about it. Coach Lombardi, after a tie, proclaimed that a tie in football is like kissing your sister.

Aka satisfying for no one.

But even our innocuous sports team fandoms can sometimes go too far.
Silly banter can lead to shouting matches at the stadium.
Or worse, to fistfights at the bar.

And when how we treat the opposition ends up hurting another, we all lose.

The Acts
So what exactly are we called to do with our enemies?

Jesus is clear.

We are to forgive them, just as we have been forgiven.
We are to love them, just as we are loved.
We are to pray for them, despite their actions.

Perhaps hardest of all, we are to do good to those who hate us.

This text goes down *hard*. I mean really, who wants to love their enemy?

Especially when everything in our broken nature tells us to plot, attack, and harm them?

Loving your enemy isn’t Discipleship 101. It’s a graduate level course. And mastering this class is downright difficult. In fact it’s a lifetime endeavor.

It’s messages like this from Jesus that make him so radical.
Ultimately it’s wisdom like this that got him killed.
Yet it’s this ethos of peace that has, does, and will continue to transform our world.

Tires Revisited
After reflecting on this text some more I found myself thinking back to the construction worker at the Kum & Go. There are so many other approaches I could have taken. I could have asked the guy to move his truck. But really, he’s working, I really could have just let it go and filled my tires elsewhere.

I began to consider the nature of his work, having to be out there in the snow and ice for long spells. I found myself wondering how his day was going, who he was going home to; perhaps a wife and a couple of kids not too unlike my own.

The moment now gone I prayed God would keep him warm on the frosty Iowan day, and safe on our occasionally treacherous roads. I asked God to keep him safe with the circular saw that rotates around thousands of times a minute. I asked forgiveness for my own occasional tendency to label people in unkind ways. And I asked God to soften my heart the next time a similar situation pops up.

Mary and Oshea
A decade after Mary’s son was murdered in 1993 her heart, too, began to soften. Hers was a much harder task than mine, after all she’d lost her only son at the hands of another. After some reflection Mary came up with a way to harness her personal tragedy for good. To do this she wanted to bring mothers of murdered children together so they could share their stories. What a cool idea.

But before she could do that Mary, a devout Christian, realized she better get to prison. She wanted visit with her son’s killer, to make sure she’d forgiven him.

Walking up the prison ramp that day she almost turned around. It was so hard, she recalled. It took a friend to nudge her, step by step, up to the entrance.

When the two sat down for the first time she opted to keep it simple. “I don’t know you, you don’t know me,” she told Oshea. “You didn’t know my son, and my son didn’t know you. We need to lay a foundation. We need to get to know one another.”

After hearing this Oshea’s defenses began to come down. He’d expected to be verbally attacked for all the pain he’d inflicted on Mary these many years. Instead she simply wanted to build relationship.

One prison visit became two. Shared handshakes became shared hugs. With that first hug mother Mary became hysterical; imagine the pain that moment must have held.

It was then, she says, after that first hug, that the two began to bond.

All that Mary could say to a friend afterwards was, “I just hugged the man that murdered my son! I just hugged the man that murdered my son!” She found herself repeating this over, and over, and over.

She describes then feeling something that began in her feet, that moved up, and up, and up, and then left her. And she knew, instantly, all the hatred, the bitterness, the animosity, the anger, it was all gone. It just took a hug to get things moving.

Since then the two became friends, Mary refers to Oshea as her spiritual son. And when he finished serving his time, in 2010, Mary threw a welcome home party alongside other mothers of murdered children, some former gang members, and several local Catholic nuns too.

She even helped Oshea find housing; the two literally live next door to each other.

These days the two have partnered up, speaking to inmates, churches, and some pretty large audiences, sharing their story. Their goal is to teach and preach forgiveness that’s strong enough to break the cycle of violence that stems from taking an eye for an eye.

Mother Mary models what it means to love your enemies. And she does so on the daily.

CBS News ran a brief story about these two, check it out:

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Close
While I pray you never face the loss of a child like this – so horrible – Mary offers a beautiful example of what Jesus calls us to do.

Fortunately we have the opportunity to put the words of Jesus into action for our enemies, either real or perceived, every single day. We can do that –

With the construction worker at Kum & Go;
On social media threads that go sideways;
In our political conversations not all agree with;
And even during an occasional church squabble too.

Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. These are the words of Christ. Amen.

• 

A first-person retelling of Luke 4:16-30.

Imagine, you were there that day, in Nazareth, in the synagogue. You’re a farmer, have been working the fields all week, and finally, it’s your day off. You don’t work on the Sabbath, of course, this a holy day.

You go to be among God’s people.
You go to hear scripture being read.
You go to hear scripture interpreted.
You go frequently, religiously.

And you go, most of all, for a glimmer of hope. You seek a hope that will brighten your days in the here and now. Your crops this year have been decent, but boy it’d be nice to have better yields. You decide to take those prayers of bounty with you to the Synagogue that day.

Even better, this particular Saturday is pretty special. A friend mentioned that Jesus is coming to the synagogue to read and interpret scripture. You remember Jesus! He’s from Nazareth too. You watched the kid grow up, Mary and Joseph and Jesus and all his siblings lived right down the road. You’re aware of his humble beginnings, of being born in a stable. You’ve heard about how he got left behind at the temple as a pre-teen. Jesus struck you as a rebellious teen-to-be back then. He was definitely a non-conformist. You know those stories, and so many others about Jesus, because you and he hail from the same town.

And really, how could you not know them? Nazareth is pretty small, only 400 or so people live here. For reference that’s about the size of the Story County cities of Collins, Kelley, or Sheldahl. It’s downright impossible not to know a ton about everyone in town. Especially when we’re talking someone as unique as Jesus.

Sitting Room
As you enter the synagogue you find your favorite spot on the floor and get comfortable. With a town this size the space isn’t overly large.

But you know this space, the synagogue, and you know it well. You went to school on this floor, all the kids did. You went to court here when that bad deal with a neighbor went down. And when it came time to give back some of your harvest to those without, you brought it right here.

This space is the center of action for Nazareth. It holds so very many memories.

Your mind snaps back to the present as you see heads turn. Jesus walks in, He’s here! My how tall he’s gotten! He always was a good looking lad, it’s nice to see he’s grown up so well.

Initially Jesus sits down next to an old friend and the two begin to catch up. He fits right in, you realize, he is one of us.

The buzz in the air is downright electrifying.

Scripture
When it comes time for the reading of scripture Jesus stands, requests a scroll, and is handed one. Which scroll will he read? You find yourself filled with wonder, filled with excitement. Jesus slowly unrolls the scroll to his selected passage.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” he begins,
”because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.”

Hey, you recognize that passage! It’s from Isaiah. And it happens to be a personal favorite.

Jesus continues, saying,

“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
to deliver sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus then rolls up the scroll, hands it to the attendant, and goes back to where he’d been sitting.

You find yourself smiling; what a great selection. He picked a really good one. It’s a message of hope, for the marginalized, that things, very soon will get better. And he delivered it like a pro.

And you’re not alone in your awe, all eyes are on Jesus. He has everyone’s rapt attention. You could have heard a needle drop in that room.

What a way to make a mark in your hometown.

You then lean in, excitedly, to hear how he’ll interpret this fine passage.

Interpretation and Prophesy
Today, by hearing this, Jesus continues, scripture has been fulfilled.

What bold words! This must be where things get interesting!

You’re feeling better and better about that bumper crop you’ve been praying for.

The room fills with chatter, people talking over themselves, excited about all he had said.

Someone in the back of the room wondered aloud is this not Joseph’s son?

You find yourself mildly wondering the same thing. For all the excitement we’re still talking about the kid who grew up down the street, right? That he’s done some exciting stuff in other towns doesn’t make him that special you find yourself thinking.

Jesus responds by saying he knows we’re going to ask about that miracle he performed in Capernaum. Jesus cast a demon out there, how awesome that must have been. There aren’t even that many Jews there; mostly it’s people that worship other gods. Or no god at all. And if he can do His thing among those people certainly he can do the same back home among his own.

Show us a sign, Jesus! The hometown crowd awaits.

But Jesus does none of that. Instead he tells the congregation no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. Your sense of joy, about this local boy made good, begins to shift. Now he thinks he’s a prophet? Perhaps Jesus has gotten a bit too big for his britches. You begin to wonder if the trust you’ve placed in this guy has been misdirected.

Callbacks
Jesus then retells two stories. This is where things get really dicey.

First he recounts a drought in Israel that lasted over three years. But God didn’t have the prophet Elijah end the drought for the Israelites, at least not then. Instead Elijah was called to help but one, a widow, and a non-believer. The widow’s son was healed. And her family was fed. It was then the widow proclaimed she believed in the one true God.

You find yourself really bugged by this story Jesus shares. Why didn’t God’s prophet help God’s people? Instead he chose to heal an outsider! That ain’t right, you find yourself thinking. That ain’t right!

Jesus then shares one more story with the congregation. Quietly you hope he says something lighter. Something more positive. Something that will benefit his hometown. Something more about that bumper crop you’ve been praying for.

But that didn’t end up happening. Jesus goes on to recall the story of Naaman. A leper, Naaman was healed by washing seven times in the Jordan to be clean. There were a bunch of other lepers in Israel, and none of them were healed. In fact, Jesus said, Naaman was a Syrian, and an army commander for another country. The Jewish prophet Elisha healed a non-Jew, and an army man no less!

What is up with the stories Jesus is telling?

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Pivot
At this point you’re downright ticked.

Others in the congregation are too. In fact they’re angry; most gathered there are enraged. You watched as a mob of people surrounded Jesus, and take him to the top of the hill in town.

It sounded like they wanted to throw him off the cliff.

Somehow Jesus escaped. Perhaps that was the miracle.

All you know is the people of Nazareth are still really upset with Jesus. Deep down you hope God is big enough to help with your crops and take care of all of those other people Jesus talks about too.

And that’s went down, that fateful day.

What began as a happy homecoming for Jesus ended as an angry outcasting.

Broaden
This is the first example in Luke of Christ showing just how expansive this new kingdom of God is to be.

It isn’t for one people. Or one nation. It doesn’t even benefit people from just one religion. The kingdom Jesus ushers in is for all.

It’s an expansion from the…

Specific to the general,
Partial to the whole,
Local to the worldwide.

It’s for the atheist widow and her sick son.

It’s for the soldier from another country with a humiliating disease.

It’s for the Palestinian losing both land and livelihood because of religious oppression.

It’s for the migrant caravan families in Mexico escaping violence in search of safety. In search of hope.

And it’s for the groups of society we so often marginalize. Groups based on race, gender, sexual orientation and mental health status, just to name a few.
 
Close
The Nazarenes of old challenge us on how best to respond to God’s new, broader, expansive narrative. A narrative that is for all people of all kinds in all places. A narrative that is for those that often look, feel, act and believe differently from us. There are three basic responses we can take to today’s text.

We can be like the people of Nazareth, filled with wrath at the notion God blesses and is for other people so unlike ourselves.

We can choose to be indifferent, looking away from what God is up to around us.

Or we can follow God’s newly unfolding narrative, and find out, firsthand, where that new narrative leads. It’s a narrative that calls us to contribute to the renewing, redeeming work of God the world round.

Today’s Luke passage contains the first public word Jesus spoke as an adult. Today, he begins, this scripture will be fulfilled.

Today Christ brings good new to the poor.
Today He proclaims release to the captives.
Today the Son of God gives sight to the blind.
Today the Almighty lets the oppressed go free.

May you be not angry with Christ’s new, expansive narrative. May you be not indifferent to it either. Instead, may you dive right in, feet first, partnering with God to make this new narrative a reality.

And may God’s work in you, begin anew, today. Amen.