Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
Lectio (Reading)
Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.Meditatio (Reflecting)
Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
Oratio (Responding)
Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.This passage begins with Jesus reading the scroll of Isaiah, and then saying that “these words are fulfilled in your hearing.” I cannot stress enough how startling and shocking this statement would be for these jews to hear. Jesus is saying plainly that He is the Messiah that was fortold in Isaiah and many of the other Old Testament prophets. These people listenting to Him where His extended family and friends that He grew up with. And instead of being grateful that is was they that Jesus choose to reveal this incredible revelation to, they instead ask for another sign… They want Jesus to do for them what He is said to have done for the afflicted in Caphernum. They want a spectacle to prove what they find it impossible to believe. It is almost like they want Him to perform like a circus clown.
That is when He makes the statement about the prophet in his home town, and He quotes scripture, telling the story of the widow of zeraphath, and Naaman the Leper. Recalling these stories, the widow was the one that Elijah asks give him a jug of water and a small cake. The woman replies that she only has enough flour to make one small cake for her and her son to eat, and after that they will certainly die. Elijah tells her that if she does this thing for him that God will make it so that her water will never run dry, and her flour jug will never go empty. The Widow trusts Elijah, and immediately does as he suggested…, and as a result her faith is highly rewarded.
In the story of Naaman, he was a great military leader of Syria and a very wealthy man. Naaman had leprosy, and non of the healers of syria could help him. A jewish handmaiden of Naaman’s wife tells him that he should go to the great prohet Elisha in Israel and ask him for healing. Naaman, out of options, goes to Elisha. When he arrives at Elisha’s tent, Elisha does not even go out to see him, but sends a servant to tell Naaman to wash 7 times in the Jordan river. Naaman is indignant, because he not only was He not given the dignity of a formal greating but he is told to wash in the dirty muddy Jordan river. Naaman begins to leave until the maidservant convinces him to do as he was instructed. Naaman trusts and immediately does what was proscribed and his leperosy is washed away, and he is made clean.
Jesus tells these stories in the synagog, because He wants to remind the pharisees and all of His kin that were listening, that it was was people just like them that rejected and ultimately killed all of the prophets that were sent before Him. Prophets that brought the message of the Lord God to His people to change their ways and return to the covenants of their forefathers. Every prophet that has ever been sent to the jews was not accepted until years later, and only after they had first been brutally martyred. It was only the Gentiles in scripture that ever accepted one of God’s prophets immediately, like the widow and Naaman the Syrian
Further, Jesus chooses these two stories because they include both Elijah, and his disciple Elisha. Both of these prophets were considered among the greatest of all of the prophets. But they were also prophets that had the rare task of bringing the good news of the Lord, to both the Jews and the gentiles. Jesus here, is actually making several points all at the same time…, He is first telling His audience that He is a prophet; Second that he is GREATER than Elijah (another stunning and shocking statement); Third, that He too was sent to preach to both the jews and the gentiles; And finally He is reminding them, that it was men like them, that killed all of the prophets that came before Him.
The pharisees are now utterly humiliated, and furious at the accusation. They are beside themselves because Jesus has not only claimed to be the messiah, but has accused them of being just like their forefathers, who murdered all of the great prophets. And they respond as if they were reading from a script, the Pharisees rise up, drive Him to the brow of a cliff and try to kill Him. But Jesus denies them their moment because He is not ready for His passion yet, and passes from their midst. I like to imagine this moment as a moment where all of the pharisees and His kin are arguing about whether they should do this or not, and Jesus just walks away while they are arguing. Amusing, but we can all imagine it.
The reality is that people do not change. Power and wealth corrupt, and cause people to not see the truth that is standing right before them. Whether it was the centuries of martyrs that proceeded Jesus, or Jesus in this very moment. The people in power have much to lose if Jesus is who He says He is. And instead of seeing the truth they do something horrible, and unforgiveable, because the loss of their worldly power and wealth is more than they can bear. Mark Twain once said that “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” I think that Jesus is making a similar point here, although not as funny.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.Resolutio (Resolving)
Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.Oh lord, help me to be a prophet that brings your word to the world. And allow me to be humble enough to see the prophetic word that comes from the mouth of others that I encounter in my life today. Amen.