Jesus teaches in his hometown
From the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verses 21-32.
[Note: Portions of this story have been adapted from Back in the Days of Jesus: Gospel Homilies for Children (Luke) published by Living the Good News.]
God filled Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit, making him able to teach and preach and to heal people. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus traveled to many places. Everywhere he went, he told people about God's love for them and about their place in God's beloved community. And he touched them and prayed with them and made them feel like they really mattered.
One day, Jesus went to Nazareth, the town where he had grown up. While he was there he worshiped with his life-long friends, reading from the Holy Scriptures and teaching about them. In a sure and steady voice, Jesus said, "The words that the prophet Isaiah spoke hundreds of years ago have come true as I have read them to you today. I know that God's Spirit is on me and that God has chosen me to bring good news to everyone who feels lost, trapped, forgotten, and hopeless. I know that I am supposed to bring God's message of salvation to everyone."
Everyone in Nazareth was impressed with how wise Jesus seemed and how sure of himself he was. They were amazed to hear Jesus claim to be specially chosen by God. They began to talk with one another about him.
"I remember Jesus when he was just a boy, running and playing around town."
"He was such a good boy - so kind to everyone."
"I always figured he'd become a carpenter, like his father Joseph. Who would have ever expected him to start talking like this?"
"If he's the one God has chosen, then why hasn't he done any miracles here in Nazareth?"
Jesus listened to what they were saying, and then he spoke. "You think you know all about me because I grew up here. You want to see for yourselves the things I have done elsewhere. But my work will be done as God wants, not as you want."
This made the people angry. "How dare you speak to us like that!" one man said.
But Jesus continued. "Do you remember the story in our Holy Scriptures about the time long ago when there was no rain for 3 1/2 years? Food did not grow and God's people were really, really hungry. But God decided to send the prophet Elijah not to the people of Israel, but to a woman who lived far away from Israel."
The people got even angrier, but Jesus kept talking. "And I know you remember the story about the time when many people in Israel were suffering from an awful skin disease. But God didn't send the prophet Elisha to them. Instead God sent Elisha to a man who lived far away from Israel."
Now the townspeople were furious! "Be quiet! You don't know what you're talking about, Jesus! God loves us more than our foreign neighbors!" They grabbed Jesus and dragged him to the edge of town, right up to the edge of a tall cliff.
Jesus didn't try to fight back. He stayed quiet, looking at them.
Finally his friends began to take their hands on him. They stopped yelling at him. They stepped back and looked at each other, surprised as much by their own actions as his. Quietly, Jesus walked through the crowd and went on his way to Capernaum, a town nearby. And there, in Capernaum, he continued to teach everything that he knew about God.
Questions to ponder:
Who has known you for your entire life?
How does it feel to have someone know you for your entire life?
I wonder if someone has ever been really angry at you. I wonder how that made you feel.
I wonder if you can love someone and be angry with that person at the same time.
I wonder what God's love feels like.