Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
To whom much is given much is expected (see Luke 12:48). It is for this reason that it isn't always a blessing to see a miracle. One possible result we sometimes see is that of the Pharisees who seemed shockingly capable of ignoring the divine power on display and only hardened their hearts as a response. But another way people sometimes respond to miracles is less aggressively hostile and yet still insufficient. Like the lands of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, a town might be casually appreciative of the miracles done in its midst. It might even endorse Jesus and join the local branch of his fan club. Yet such a generically positive response can exist without the change of heart that Jesus intended to provoke. If people can't be bothered to change their lives in the face of a miracle, what will motivate them to do so? One might hope that the reproaches of Jesus might be the push they needed, helping them to recognize things were not yet copasetic for them.
And as for you, Capernaum:
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.
Sodom was guilty of great sin. But great sin was less important, less of an obstacle in the eyes of Jesus, than a great ability to repent, or in the case of these three cities, a lack thereof. Sodom faced judgment, but it was a judgment that might still prove to be a lesser one than that of those places who did not respond to the miracles of Jesus. On the last day Sodom would ultimately by judged based on what its peoples were able to know, what could legitimately be expected of them. Perhaps some were moved to last minute repentance. Or, even if not, there was still less that could have been expected of them in the time and place they lived. They hadn't had a first hand encounter with the living God in their midst.
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were the places in and around which Jesus performed his ministry. They had heard him teach and seen him work and were therefore more obligated to make a response than places that were not so favored with his presence. So too for us who are members of his Church. His teaching is available and his sacramental power is constantly on display. We even hear of a steady stream of actually miraculous mighty deeds that still occur, some of which are hard to dismiss. And yet we stagnate. We know there are ways in which we are still meant to change but we put it off. We try to pretend that it is enough for now to give Jesus our tacit endorsement as members of his fan club. But in some ways what he has given to the Church is more and greater than what his physical presence was for the cities he reproached. And our response, as yet, has not measured up to the gift. Before we ask for more miracles, which may only serve to make us, not necessarily holier, but certainly more accountable, let us ask him for help to hear the ways in which his reproaches describe ourselves. We need to hear this, not so that we can feel bad, but so we can know what needs to change. Once we allow ourselves to see it we can seek the grace he longs to give us to make it happen.
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