22nd Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Notre Dame Seminary, NOLA
So,
Jesus – the hometown boy – walks into his synagogue, picks up a
scroll, reads a passage from Isaiah, and says, in effect, “God the
Father has sent me to rescue y'all, you bunch of sinners.”
Surprisingly, this little stunt goes over well. . .at first: “. .
.all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words
that came from his mouth.” Then some of the less-impressed
listeners start asking questions designed to put Jesus in his place,
“Hey, wait a minute, isn't he Joseph's boy?” Seeing where this
line of questioning is headed, Jesus nips it in the bud, “Amen, I
say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” He
then goes on to point out their faithlessness and how their ancestors
abused God's prophets, earning the Father's wrath. This went over
like a possum fight at a church picnic, and Jesus finds himself run out of
town. What's the lesson here? When your people don't like your
preaching, insult them repeatedly and wait for them to get their
pitchforks and torches? No. Not quite. If there's a lesson here, it's
this: remember who you are wherever you are and preach the truth with
charity.
Now,
you might think that I'm accusing Jesus of not preaching the truth
with charity. Not true. Jesus was on a tight schedule. He was headed
to Jerusalem on a time-table. And he didn't have the luxury of
winning hearts and minds with carefully crafted homilies. He spoke
the truth. And he did so as a sign of his salvific love for his
people. That he was dealing with hearts grown cold and minds long
closed is no fault of his. No doubt, someone in that synagogue that
day heard and saw what he needed to see and hear and came to know
Christ as Lord. Jesus' method of revealing his identity and mission
is meant to shock those cold hearts and closed minds into recognizing
the truth that stands before them. What they heard him say amazed
some and enraged others. How these two groups divided out has
everything to do with who Jesus is for them. He's a hometown boy.
They know him and his family. They've probably known him all his
life. And now, here he is claiming to be the long-awaited Messiah.
Some are amazed at his gracious words. Others are enraged by his
arrogance. But Jesus is who he is – the Lamb of God headed to the
altar of sacrifice in Jerusalem. He speaks the truth. And his love is
made manifest on the cross.
And
how does he love us from the cross? He says himself that he will
bring
glad tidings to the poor. He will proclaim liberty to captives. He
will restore sight to the blind. And he will let the oppressed go
free. All true. He also says, pointing to Isaiah's prophecy, “Today
this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” But do his
listeners hear him? Some do, some don't. Do we? Do we hear the Lord
when he says that he is sent to set us free? Maybe we hear, but do we
believe? Do we truly trust his word, his word that we are free? Free
from sin, free from death, free from the traps of daily disobedience
and despair. Free from whatever and whoever it is that oppresses us.
And as men and women freed from sin and death, we are vessels of and
vehicles for bringing Christ's truth to the world and bringing that
truth in love. It's not enough that the truth be spoken; it must be
spoken so that it might be heard. When you speak the truth, be
prepared to hear “hypocrite,” “don't judge me,”
“holier-than-thou,” “keep your god out of my life.” Do not be
put off. Speak the truth again and speak it until you can speak it to
be heard. Remember who you are in Christ. Wherever you go, you belong
to Christ. It's his truth you speak. Speak it with love.
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