18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6]
20 After closing the scroll and returning it to the shammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He started to speak to them: “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!” 22 Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, “Can this be Yosef’s son?”
23 Then Yeshua said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me this proverb — ‘“Doctor, cure yourself!” We’ve heard about all the things that have been going on over in K’far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!’ 24 Yes!” he said, “I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his home town. 25 It’s true, I’m telling you — when Eliyahu was in Isra’el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows; 26 but Eliyahu was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Tzarfat in the land of Tzidon. 27 Also there were many people with tzara‘at in Isra’el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na‘aman the Syrian.”
28 On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off. 30 But he walked right through the middle of the crowd and went away.
22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21)Do you ever wish that life was like a vending machine? It would be so easy if we could just put in the correct amount of work and prayers, push the right button, and watch everything come out exactly as we have planned.
But sometimes even vending machines get jammed, and we end up with something we don’t want. Or nothing at all.
Then what? Some people get so angry that they shake or kick the misbehaving machine. Unfortunately, this rarely works, and they are left even more frustrated. They still end up with whatever they got.
Perhaps this is how the people in the synagogue at Nazareth felt when Jesus announced to them that he was the long-awaited Messiah.
Many of the Jews in Jesus’ time were very careful about pushing the right buttons in the hopes that God would fulfill their dreams. They prayed unceasingly for a powerful Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and bring about an era of peace and prosperity for the nation of Israel. So you can imagine their initial excitement when Jesus announced that he was the Messiah. And you can also imagine how angry they became when they discovered that this “Messiah” was just a carpenter’s son who preached a message of mercy, love, and compassion. They were so upset that they tried to kill him!
The Nazarenes couldn’t see that in Jesus they got more than what they had ordered, not less. Jesus wasn’t going to continue the cycle of vengeance and violence that was part of every kingdom, including theirs. He had come to put an end to that cycle and to save everyone by showing them the love of a servant, not an overlord.
Today, take time to consider how you react when life doesn’t hand you what you have ordered. Do you kick the “vending machine” only to end up hurting yourself? Remember that God doesn’t always appear or heal us or save us in the way that we expect. But his plans are always best. No matter what the end results are, he will make them perfect if we trust him. And best of all, we always end up with more than what we have asked for!
“Lord, you are the fulfillment of all my needs and desires. May I never reject your good gifts!” Amen!
1 Thessalonians 4:13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Psalm 96:1 Sing to Adonai a new song!
Sing to Adonai, all the earth!
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wonders among all peoples!
4 For Adonai is great, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared more than all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but Adonai made the heavens.
11 Let the heavens rejoice; let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and everything in it;
12 let the fields exult and all that is in them.
Then all the trees in the forest will sing
13 before Adonai, because he has come,
he has come to judge the earth;
he will judge the world rightly
and the peoples with his faithfulness.
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