(Audio)
Jesus declares glad tidings to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth. They, unfortunately, don't allow themselves to be poor enough to receive them. Jesus proclaims liberty to captives, but they are like the Pharisees who insist that they have never been slaves to anyone (see John 8:33). They would love to see the miraculous healing of blindness but don't realize it is they themselves who are blind and in need of healing.
Jesus has not come simply to impress them with the things that they hard were done in Capernaum. He has not come merely to do this or to say that. He has come to offer himself. And while some of his words impress them, they cannot imagine surrendering entirely to his authority. They know him too well, or so they think.
And he said, "Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
They see Jesus as just another man, with some good words perhaps, but not one worthy of an entirely change of life. And Jesus does not and cannot have the change he wants simply by miracles. Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are all insufficient, even when they demonstrated to be true, for the claim Jesus is making. Other prophets have done all of these things. Yet Jesus is more than any of them. What he claims of himself is greater than any of them. The question is can we welcome him? He does not come without proof, exactly. It is just that the proof he does provide is the proof of love, first and foremost. He proves his power over creation only as a consequence and after effect of love, love which lays life down for a friend.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
The question is not so much whether Jesus has wisdom and power as whether he has love. And this is why the cross and resurrection perfectly demonstrate the truth of his claims. His love in obedience to the Father is rewarded. His love for our sakes is vindicated. It is not by argument, nor by mere demonstration of power. It is love alone that never fails.
Love seems like the most fragile of things. Yet in actual fact it is the strongest. Saints like Theresa of Calcutta or Therese of Lisieux seem like the least significant of people, yet their impact in the world echoes and reechoes more than the so-called great men of history. Let us too choose the more excellent way.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah's kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
We who have seen the love of Jesus must sing his salvation to all the world. If Nazareth is not yet ready we must keep knocking on the door. For God never abandons those for whom Jesus died.
No comments:
Post a Comment