“And coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13: 54, 57-58
I’m told that News- Herald readers are highly educated, so I wonder if any of you recognize what these names have in common: Owen Young, Pierre Laval, Hugh Johnson, James Byrnes, Harlow Curtis. I sure didn’t know the answer when I first ran across this list.
Here’s what they have in common. All six were once named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year.”
Each one of them was considered to be the most influential person in the world. Each one of them, for a moment, was famous. Today they are almost completely forgotten. You’d probably have to go online and search Wikipedia to find out anything about them.
Fame is a crazy thing. Some people are famous just for being famous. Kim Kardashian is famous. Paris Hilton is famous. Kevin Federline is famous. Almost anyone can be famous once the ball starts rolling and there’s money to be made off of your brand.
When Jesus returned to his hometown, by his neighbors’ standards, he was famous. In fact, by Nazareth standards, he was a rock star. Word had come back that Jesus was healing people, confronting the civil and religious authorities, and speaking about God’s kingdom in an unfamiliar way. Other people thought that he was wonderful. Other people were following him around and hanging on every word that he said.
There’s a fine line between someone who is famous for 15 minutes and someone whose fame is earned by making a lasting contribution to society. There’s also a fine line between being famous and being infamous. And the people of Nazareth had yet to decide just which Jesus was.
They probably all had an opinion about him … good … bad … or indifferent. And it didn’t take long for their familiarity with Jesus to turn their curiosity into suspicion, and then into outright rejection of him. They knew him too well, and so they felt the need to cut him down to size. He’d gotten too big for his britches.
I believe that Matthew shares this story for a very specific reason. He wants us to look at those people who knew Jesus so well, and yet who couldn’t bring themselves to believe, and to see ourselves in them.
When Jesus brought the gospel home, all of the power to transform their community from what it was to what it could be, was present. The power to heal the sick, the power to lift up the oppressed and the outcast, the power to bring eternal life into lives that would otherwise end in death, all of this was present. God’s kingdom was present in Nazareth, just as it is in our own community today.
But this gospel of resurrection life won’t transform us unless we respond to it, by living it and by sharing it. We have a part to play in how God’s kingdom comes alive here on the North Shore.
Unless we respond to the blessings that we have been given, the gospel will die within us. We are partners with God in sharing the kingdom that has broken into this world through Jesus.
We are responsible for being the eyes and the ears of the Christ, seeking out those who are lost in addiction, pain, abuse, prejudice or distress. We are responsible for being God’s hands, working to end the hatred, violence and prejudice that often threaten to consume us. God’s love and forgiveness are shared with us so that we can share them with others.
The gospel that we share will endure, even though our faith oftentimes falls short, and even though we sometimes fail to see God at work in our own neighborhood. God’s love is permanent, and it is the reason we are called to live together as a community of disciples.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Tom Murray of the Lutsen and Zion Lutheran Churches.
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