John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, says this of Luke 4:24: "No prophet is acceptable in his own country - That is, in his own neighbourhood. It generally holds, that a teacher sent from God is not so acceptable to his neighbours as he is to strangers. The meanness of his family, or lowness of his circumstances, bring his office into contempt..."
I agree with Wesley. Why is it that we are often most criticized and condemned by those closest to us? Why are we more likely to harshly judge our family members than our friends? This story about the people from Jesus' hometown synagogue turning on him when he talks about his call to the other is partially a commentary by Jesus on how we see our own. And yet, it is also a story about how insular we are.... angry when we see one of our own embracing the 'other' instead of us. It's a complicated mix of relationship spotlights.
When Jesus first speaks to those in his hometown synagogue, they are exuberant and elated! How exciting to see this "hometown boy made good." But when he lets them know that what he is declaring is not a pollyanna message of good tidings and he flat out tells them that they are going to reject him, the tides turn.
Jesus seems to incite this crowd. It's amazing how they go from patting him on the back to him saying, "No you won't like me for long." It's hard to read between the lines here. I mean, they would not have turned on him if he hadn't given the two examples of foreigners receiving the message the hometown crowd would reject.
Why does he say this to rile them up? Is he uncomfortable with the idea that they seem to see him as a hometown hero who might help their star to rise instead of as a prophet with a counter-cultural message to share? Is he afraid that he will be seen as a do-gooder who works the crowd to his advantage instead of one who turns the status-quo on its head? Is he afraid his message has been misunderstood?
Jesus' message was misunderstood because he was seen as 'one of them' and his ministry was always about reaching out to the 'other' instead. When the hometown crowd gets so angry they want to run Jesus off a cliff because he tells stories about prophets helping foreigners, you can just feel the xenophobia in the air. And it may indeed remind some of us of our hometowns. The people who never leave there have a difficult time expanding their horizons. Those who leave, either by traveling the world or relocating or both, gain a different perspective because, at least to some degree, they have been the 'other' somewhere at sometime themselves. The perspectives become broader. The empathy wider. Not always, but often.
The old adage "You can't go home again," rings true here. It wouldn't be a bad title for the sermon, actually. But 'far from home' also rings true here. Sometimes we grow so much that when we do 'go home' we don't fit in. We can't blend back in. We have become the other. Everything seems far away. Home isn't here anymore. And even though the familiar haunts of home (like the rocking chairs I LOVE seeing in the Knoxville, TN airport) are comforting and reassuring, there is a dissonance that rings true.
Jesus never returned to his hometown. His ministry took him elsewhere. What does this story teach us about embracing who we are, who we aren't, and opening ourselves up to the 'other' that we have yet to let in our doors, our world, our lives. What does it highlight about our own tendency to remain insular?
Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.
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