Luke 4:16-23
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ”
In our scripture today we see where Jesus was taken to task for his bold interpretation of scripture, coupled with the fact he didn’t have the level of success at home he had in other places he traveled to. Because of that, the home folk discounted his words and his testimony even though they were honest and true. It got so bad they tried to kill him. And unfortunately, this scene has been played out thousands of times throughout history. A hometown hero or heroine makes it big, comes home expecting a grand welcome, and gets the exact opposite. Author Thomas Wolfe once wrote the famous adage, You Can’t Go Home Again. Truer words have never been spoken.
It all started when Jesus was lead by the Holy Spirit to go out into the wilderness and prepare for ministry. He obeyed God and was endowed with great power and authority. He used his gifts to heal the sick, open blind eyes, wake-up the dead, and countless other miracles. One would think that his acclaim and accomplishments would earn him a grand celebration when he returned back home. But the exact opposite happened. Jesus was scorned, hated, ostracized and attacked simply because he used his gifts in service to those outside his “presumed” circle of influence. That’s really all that happened. Nazareth wanted to own him and his gift for their own prestige and purpose. And not to do so alienated him from his people. You want to make some enemies? I dare you to make some noise about Jesus. Start serving the poor. Start giving your time and talent to lift those that are in trouble. Help another church!!! You will be hated just like Jesus.
Conversely, the opposite is true as well. Those that embrace the presence of the Lord experience his loving kindness, power, and deliverance. Which brings me to a very interesting point in this morning’s text. Please note that Jesus totally expected his neighbors to have something negative to say. He was ready for them to doubt and try to minimize his calling. But he never let that stop him. He continued on until his assignment was completely over. He never let people’s doubt deter him from his destiny.
It’s so important to fully understand the culture, mindset and disposition of the people in your surroundings. The Spirit gives your discernment, wisdom and understanding. Follow the Spirit, not people. Jesus knew the saying, Physician, heal yourself would be attributed to his circumstance. He understood the negativity, and withstood the naysayers. And so must we all. As difficult as it may be at times to ‘go it alone’, sometimes that’s just how it has to be.
The Bible ask, ‘can two walk together, except they be agreed’? Amos 3:3 The problem with trying to return to the home of your past, is that it is truly in the past. The ideals, people, progress, attitudes and even language (lingo) changes over time. You can’t go back and fix that. Today our challenge is the church. Church means something totally different to a 60 year old than it does someone in their 20s. The definition has morphed and changed over the years and needs a serious overhaul if we hope to communicate with one another. When I was coming up, it was popular to say that church was a hospital for sick people needing to be healed. We all knew exactly what that meant, and why it was an appropriate analogy. But that definition may not be sufficiently adequate today. Some analogies no longer work like they use to. So this morning I’d like to try something new. I’m suggesting, “Church” is an urgent care center with a training institute for Care Givers. We don’t want you to just come, get treatment, and leave. We need you to stay and become a bonafide Care Giver. The mission of the Church of Jesus Christ is singular. Love God and His creation. In this sense, love is not simply an activity, it’s a responsibility. As a care giver you administer love because it’s your duty, your job, your obligation, and your privilege. Church is more than a hospital. It’s an adventure. And we need everyone we can get to join in.
Dear Child of God, as a spiritual physician and care giver, there will be times you’ve got to make precise cuts, and expert incisions to your own flesh. You may have to cut some friends. You might have to lose some family. You probably will have to toss aside some stuff of your own. But after all is said and done, you’ll be all the better for it.
God Bless
