The Message, February 2, 2025: "The Rest of the Story," Luke 4:21-30

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
February 04, 2025

 

“The Rest of the Story”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Luke 4:21-30

            What happened?! Everything seemed to be going so well.

            Jesus had begun his teaching ministry and had traveled through Galilee and visiting synagogues, as was his practice. He had been praised by everyone! Then, he made his way to Nazareth, the town or city where he had grown up, and went to synagogue on the Sabbath. He stood up and read from the Isaiah scroll. When he sat down to teach, all of the eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.

            All of that sounds like a very typical synagogue service. Nothing exceptional was noted, but we can imagine that there was a certain energy, or added expectation, among the people gathered there that day because this was Jesus. They knew him. He had grown up among them.

            The framers of the lectionary began this week’s passage with the verse that ended last week’s passage. It was their idea of a Gospel cliffhanger. “Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:21)

             All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ‘Remember when he was a little boy? Look at him now!’

            I say again … what happened?

            Jesus read from Isaiah, a favorite among the prophetic works. He read the words that proclaimed good news to the poor, restored sight to the blind, the release of the captives and the oppressed. He referenced ‘the year of the Lord’s favor’ … jubilee!  No doubt the people in the synagogue loved it. We just heard that they spoke well of him. They were amazed at his gracious words!

            He was telling them the good news! THEY would be set free! Their fortunes would be restored! Thank you, God! Praise you, Jesus, for fulfilling God’s promises!

            Over the course of my ministry, I KNOW that I have offered plenty of sermons that were stinkers. Probably more stinkers than I care to admit. My very first sermon elicited one of the biggest, open-mouthed yawns I have ever seen … from my brother. But I have never been thrown off of a cliff. Yet.

            What did Jesus say that enraged the people? They were not just upset. They were not just disappointed. They were not even angry. They were enraged!

            It almost seems as though Luke’s Gospel left out a portion of the story. How did we get from ‘Welcome home, little Jesus? It is so good to see you!’ To ‘Throw him off of the cliff!’?

            Luke does give us a clue. Jesus indicated that the people desired that he would perform some acts of power for them like he had done in Capernaum. “Dance for us, Jesus!” We might suspect that since Nazareth was his hometown that perhaps they expected EXTRA acts of power. ‘Come on, Jesus, give us some blessings too! Give us the GOOD blessings!!’

            If you think back a few weeks to our exploration of the story of the people flocking to the river to be baptized by John the Baptist. Remember that he told them that his was a baptism of repentance. They had to turn themselves toward God. They could not think that just because they were the Children of Abraham that they somehow did not need to repent. They could not believe that they already had received their ticket to salvation.

            Perhaps the same dynamic was at work here. The people gathered in the synagogue in Nazareth may have believed that they merited an extra blessing, and as was the case with John, Jesus told them that was not the case.

            Consider this … what if someone came to you and said to you, “You know, you are not a good person. You are not a good Christian. You are not following the Way of God.” Would those statements upset you? Anger you?  Perhaps enrage you?

            Jesus remined the people in the synagogue that day of their own history. Elijah had been blessed by the widow in Zarephath. There was a terrible drought and famine. The heavens had been closed for three and a half years. Elijah met the widow at the city gate and had asked her for something to drink and something to eat. The widow initially refused. She said that she only had enough for herself and her son for one more meal, and she was preparing for their death. Elijah asked her again to prepare bread for her and assured her that God would bless her. A Gentile. She did as Elijah asked, and God did indeed bless her with food that sustained her throughout the famine. Elijah returned later and raised her son after he had died. God blessed a Gentile.

            Elisha, Elijah’s protégé, blessed Naaman a Syrian … a Gentile. Naaman had appealed to the king of Israel and asked if the prophet could cure his leprosy. Elisha met Naaman at the river and told him to dip in the water seven times. Naaman followed Elisha’s instruction and was cured. A Gentile cured by a prophet of Israel’s God. It was unthinkable.

            Over the course of the generations, the People of Israel had forgotten the promise that Yahweh had made to Abraham. The angels of the Lord had promised Abraham that through his descendants ALL of the nations would be blessed.

            But the Hebrew people despised the Gentiles. They were wicked and evil. They were unclean. The Hebrew people believed that the Gentiles were nothing but fuel for the fires of hell in their eyes and in their hearts. Jesus reminded them of their own history. Jesus reminded them that the promise of God was not given just to them. God’s grace and God’s mercy were for all of the nations. Jesus reminded them that they were called to be the Light to the Nations, not just to themselves.

            When Jesus initially opened the words of Isaiah, the people gathered in the synagogue that day naturally thought that he was talking about THEM. THEY were going to be set free. THEY were going to receive God’s blessings … and only them. Obviously, the message that God’s love and mercy and blessings were for all the nations was not well received. “Throw him off of the cliff!”

            Jesus confronted their close-minded prejudice, and they reacted as one might expect. They tried to stone him. Jesus spoke the truth of God in love, but the people did not want to hear it. He confronted them with a moral and ethical dilemma, and they lashed out. “How dare he!! Throw the Truth Teller away!!”

            The Gospel matters today just as it mattered then. God’s Truth matters.

            Nearly two thousand years later …

            Entire sermons are preached in churches all across this country, and around the world, that are based upon someone’s understanding of who they believe Jesus hates.
            Legislation is being passed in statehouses around our country based upon someone’s interpretation of those whom God despises.
            People are being told that they are not good Christians because they actually love the people that Jesus loved.
            Entire doctrines are based upon one group of people deciding for themselves who they hate and then creating a “scriptural” narrative that supports their hate.

            The Gospel of Jesus Christ matters. The Gospel of love matters. The Gospel of Grace matters.

            Now, let me say that I am not a savior. I should also point out that none of you are saviors either. But we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to proclaim the good news to the poor, and the blind, and the captive and the oppressed.

            It matters what we say. It matters what we do. It matters.

            Being a Christian, being a follower of Jesus Christ has a bearing on our lives, and it should have a bearing on the lives around us. Jesus preached a profound message:
            Mercy matters. The acquisition of material possessions does not.
            Grace matters. Grasping for power and influence does not.
            Love matters. Creating institutions and policies of hatred, discrimination, and cruelty absolutely do not.

            There has never been an easy time to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The angry mob tried to throw Jesus off of a cliff! “Stone him!”

            But if we are to be true to our calling, if we are who we claim to be … followers of the Way of Jesus Christ … we have to proclaim the Good News.

            It matters. Amen.

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