"The Prophet's Hometown" | The Rev. Deacon Christy Stang | January 30, 2022

May I speak in the name of the Source, the Savior, and the Sustainer.

The scene of our Gospel begins with Jesus in the synagogue. He has just read a scroll, proclaiming through the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” To bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Beautiful, dramatic words. And then, I imagine skillfully holding the attention of everyone present, Jesus rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. You can almost feel the anticipation that was in that room, with, as Scripture tells us, the eyes of all in the synagogue fixed on him. Jesus opened his mouth to speak again. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” he said, identifying himself as the anointed one who had been sent to bring about these transformative experiences. 

The people of Nazareth started out receiving Jesus well. They spoke well of him and were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” A very positive first impression. “Is this not Joseph’s son?” they remarked together. Everyone was basking in the afterglow of Jesus’ words, but Jesus tested their admiration. With challenging words, he predicted that the people would ask him to cure himself and demand that he perform the same miraculous acts that he had brought about in Capernaum. In his accusatory speech to the people, Jesus said that “no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” And, true to his word, the people rose up in anger. Overwhelmed by their rage, they drove him out of the synagogue, out of town, and toward the edge of a cliff. Jesus narrowly escaped, faced with the painful snap of an illusion shattering and reality being revealed underneath.

“No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” Jesus is naming the expectations that people have of him, acknowledging that his spiritual gifts elicit particular assumptions. You can almost hear the hurt and the challenging tone in Jesus’ voice. Who he is to the world has now changed his experience of his own hometown. He can no longer be just Joseph’s son, just the son of carpenter. Another ordinary person in the town. The people become enraged because Jesus is not who they expect him to be. His spiritual evolution meant that he no longer felt familiar to the people of Nazareth. Change can defamiliarize the familiar, and Jesus living into his truth as God incarnate frightened people. Jesus is not a cookie-cutter God. Jesus does not stagnate, does not remain passive as a human being, but continues to grow and evolve as he lives into his purpose on earth in his 30s. This is a man who followed his sense of call and chose to lean into his ministry in spite of the misunderstanding of those around him. 

Jesus knew that he would not be accepted, but he went to Nazareth anyway. Jesus chose his own authenticity and chose telling the truth over being understood. Jesus was not afraid to lean into conflict and to disappoint other people for the sake of following his own sense of call. What Jesus is getting at here is that powerful ministry does not depend upon meeting expectations. You do not have to meet a certain standard to make a difference in the world.

Jesus did not meet expectations. Beyond this passage from Luke chapter 4, Jesus disappointing people is a theme throughout Scripture. People had a vision of who they wanted the King of the Jews to be. A valiant hero who would fight to raise the status of Jews in the world. Perhaps someone strong and intimidating who was undefeatable. Who would protect his people and bring them to prosperity. A man ready for battle with a bronze helmet, a coat of mail, and a shining sword strapped across his body. But that vision of a hero is not the vision that Jesus fulfilled. Jesus’ ministry is not about meeting anyone’s expectations. It is about guiding the world forward in love and justice even when it takes people out of their comfort zone. It is about fulfilling Scripture in the uniquely surprising and innovative ways that only God can come up with. 

And as we follow Jesus, our call to our own ministry is not about meeting expectations. It is not about being accepted in our hometown or in our communities. Whatever form our ministry takes in our lives, whether we are teaching, working an office job, working in the service industry, working in the helping professions, whatever it might be - that ministry is about showing the love, justice, and presence of God. And sometimes showing God’s love means letting go of the expectations of others. When we are afraid of breaking out of the cultural mold of “every person for themselves,” of “accomplishment over presence,” of “hard work over relationships and self-care,” we allow barriers to remain between us and who God asks us to be. 

Everyone is expected to meet certain standards in their work. But whether or not we meet a certain standard does not dictate how much God can work through us. No matter who we are and what we do, there will always be someone whose expectations we can’t meet. Even Jesus, God incarnate, disappointed people and made people angry because he was not who they expected. So angry at one point, that they chased him out of town, almost off the edge of a cliff. The people’s hatred that met Jesus’ expression of truth was not a reflection of God’s incompetence. It was a reflection of the insecurity and fear that the people of Nazareth felt when faced with something new and different. When we expect ourselves to be able to please everyone, to always meet society’s standards of productivity or social status, we expect ourselves to perform better on earth than Jesus did. Instead of striving desperately for that impossibility, God invites us to see that we are already just as accepted as we need to be. Because we are accepted by the deep and abundant love of God. 

Following Jesus means leaning into love, presence, and authenticity. Knowing that accepting God’s invitation into relationship begins the most powerful experience we could ever know. We can let go of expectations, knowing that relationship is the most important product of union with God, not meeting any standard of productivity or efficiency. We must dare to lean into the fullness of who God calls us to be. A God who is not afraid of telling the truth and facing people’s anger as a result. Leaning into who God calls us to be might look like doing what we love instead of what others expect us to do. It might look like loving and giving to all the people we encounter, regardless of how society might judge us. It might look like prioritizing relationships over increasing our accomplishments and productivity. 

Jesus’ embrace of truth over societal acceptance was rebellious. And God beckons us to join in that holy rebellion. All God needs is our “yes.” Not our high productivity, not our efficiency, not our accomplishments. We are not God’s investments. We are God’s children. All God needs is for us to say “yes” to being loved and to risk sharing that love with the world.

Whether or not we meet the expectations of others, each one of us can show God’s love in the world and have an impact on our communities. We are not machines. We are humans. We are not a line in God’s financial statement. We are beloved children of God. People may expect certain standards of us in our communities. We may disappoint people as we attempt to pursue our calling in this world. But when we find ourselves driven to the edge of a cliff, overwhelmed on all sides by societal expectations, Jesus is ready to grab our hands as we make our escape through the crowds. Because the hometown where we know we can always be accepted is the hometown of God’s presence. Amen.