Can't see beyond the border.....

It shouldn't surprise us that there was some kind of competition between Capernaum and Nazareth.  We humans are always comparing ourselves to one another and, of course, wanting to come out on top.  We have this terrible tendency to treat everything in life......even life itself.....as some kind of contest.  (That, in fact, might be a good definition for original sin.  I'll think about it.)

This, often hidden, tendency to want to be the best pops right up when (after an outpouring of the Holy Spirit) Jesus takes on God's mission as his mission - to mend and heal the world, i.e. "to preach good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind, release to the captives."

There was amazement that day.  The Gospel of Luke tells us so.  I also think there was that giddy kind of nervous laughter mixed with joy that occurs when something GOOD and TOTALLY UNEXPECTED comes your way.  Wow!

And, just think.  It's Joseph's boy.  One of our own.  From here in Nazareth.  Wow!  This is going to be something.

And it will be something.....something for the entire cosmos.....those who live in Nazareth and those who live in Capernaum.  Those who follow Torah and those who do not.  Those who do dastardly deeds and those who are faithful and obedient.  Jesus' mission is to mend and heal the entire world.  Not just Nazareth. Not just you.  Not just me.

Seems reasonable to you and me, but apparently there were a bunch in the crowd who were truly unhappy with this turn of events.  Jesus was their homeboy.  He owed it to his village to take care of them - if not exclusively, then at least well ahead of everyone else.  Otherwise, how are we going to one-up Capernaum, the next village over?

Healing belongs here, they might say.  Charity begins at home.  Take care of our own people first.  Use your talents and gifts and time right here.  If anything is left over for those other folks, fine.  But us first.

Which of course is another definition for original sin.  Us first; them maybe.

Know why I call it original sin?  Because we all do it.  Perhaps not all the time; but we all do it.  We all secretly believe that there is only a limited amount of Jesus to go around.  Forgiveness is limited.  Healing is limited.  Reconciliation is limited.  Heaven is limited.

So we will build walls, put up fences, set up check points, have secret passwords, stare down the outsiders, stand our ground when a stranger appears at our pew, never wear our name tag (because everyone knows us) nor introduce ourselves to new people (because it is their job to get to know us)....and a thousand, thousand other things to keep US and THEM separate.

Of course, Jesus gets lost in all of this.  The Jesus who loved all in the face of hate and forgave all in the face of death.  The Jesus who died at our hands yet blesses our hands again and again.  The Jesus who invites YOU to the table as he moves in this world, mending and healing and loving.  The Jesus who is Good News for us.

I can't decide if I should cry at my own stupidity or rejoice at Jesus' overwhelming love.  Or maybe both.

That, and try to refrain from building walls.

Re-arranging the furniture

'Re-arranging the furniture' is shorthand for 'taking what you have always known and giving it such a new spin that you are liable to crack your shins against it'.....with the accompanying howl of pain.

Re-arranging the furniture is not about 'something entirely new' but rather, it is the process where that which is known is somehow presented in a new light, with a new perspective and, as a result, with new implications and expectations.

This is what Jesus is about in Nazareth when he points out to the hometown folks that the God who loves them loves others as well.  Where the folks in Nazareth were accustomed to sitting in the chair called 'covenant' God was focused on the granting of mercy - to Israel to be sure, but also to all others God had created....even the enemies of Israel. 

You could hear the howl of murderous anger of the hometown folks - this was not the God, nor the covenant, nor the outcome they had anticipated nor wanted.  Or to paraphrase Fred Craddock, 'they were an either/or people with a both/and God.'

We will trip over this one again and again in our journey of faith.

Too much praise

At first glance it is hard to consider 'too much praise' as a problem.  Perhaps it is even hard to imagine getting 'too much' praise. 

But if we think about it a bit, we will recognize that when everyone thinks you are a genius two things are at work:  #1 there is a wide range of definition of genius among the members of the crowd and #2 you've got no where to go but down.

In a nanosecond, someone, somewhere will be disappointed in your work.  Praise will turn to critique, snarkiness and in time, anger.

Just as with Jesus.  When he returned home to Nazareth and began teaching in the synagogue, the hometown folks were "amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, 'Is not this Josephe's son?'"  and it was all downhill from there.

One second you're God's gift to the community and the next they are trying to throw you off a cliff.
If Jesus teaches you anything, it's that there is such a thing as 'too much praise.'