February 4, 2013 at Saint Mark Catholic Church in Norman, OK
Jeremiah 1, 4-5,17-19 + Psalm 71 + 1 Corinthians 12, 31-13,13 + Luke 4, 21-30
The fear of abandonment is, I believe, the most powerful terror hanging in the shadows of our lives no matter how old we are. We know it from the first time we are put down in a crib and the light is turned off. We know it the first time we are taken to school and our parents leave us. In fact, my observation is that parents feel it too the when they take their first child to the door of a classroom and leave them. We know it as adults when relationships collapse or a spouse passes through the doors of death. Spiritual writers often reveal darkness and emptiness, a sense of God’s absence or distance when prayer is dry and there is a sense of emptiness. Jesus himself from the cross repeats the words of a Psalm he must have learned in the Synagogue: “My God, My God, Why have you abandoned me? All of us fear abandonment more than anything else.
Right after abandonment, the next fear we all face is rejection, and it is to this deeply human experience that Luke leads today. There are all sorts of levels and issues in theses verses in Luke’s fourth chapter: theological, cultural, historical, and emotional.
The theological level speaks about Israel’s sense of privilege as God’s chosen people. This sense of being “the elect”, the favorites of God, has led them to resent any proposal from Jesus that “others” might know God’s favor as well, or might even take their place. A widow from Zarephath in Sidon being granted a favor by Elijah; or lepers in Israel being passed over in favor of one from Syria is outrageous! The very suggestion of this challenge to Israel’s privileged status erupts into violent rage against the one who would propose such a thing. It’s a message the Lukan community repeats for itself as they find themselves struggling internally with Jews and Gentiles finding a place at the Eucharistic table.
The cultural level speaks about the challenge of integration, the blending of customs, and the respect of various traditions all coming together since Pentecost by the power of the Spirit to establish and preserve the Kingdom of God revealed by Jesus Christ.
The historical level speaks to us about the community of Luke who suffered so much in the cause of preserving unity amidst diversity. They realized that what had been given to them as God’s highly favored ones was not something to be kept, but a life-style to be lived in outreach to those who hungered and thirsted for Justice as God’s plan was being fulfilled not only in their hearing but in their living. Those people Luke is writing to had been rejected by neighbors, family members and old friends as they experienced expulsion from the synagogue because of their openness to the Spirit’s inclusive nature.
But even more than the theology, cultural and history, this Gospel speaks to our human experience even more powerfully. This Gospel speaks about rejection, a human experience nearly as sad and frightening as abandonment. It tells the story and reveals a Christ who has known the manipulative power of praise and approval as well as the cruel experience of being rejected.
There is not one of us in this church who has not felt the cruelty of being rejected by people who have praised us, loved us, or used us in some way only to reject us when we are no longer needed for their pleasure, their ambition, their greed, or their need to look good and enjoy the approval of others. Our young people are especially vulnerable to this experience, and they are too often manipulated and controlled, confused and frightened by a fear of rejection. The need to belong, to be accepted, approved, and admired is so strong in us! To this need, this fear, this power, Jesus stands before the fury of this crowd who have just ,seconds before, been so bold as to claim him as their own and puff up their own esteem by recognizing his origins among them. Suddenly their fury turns on him, and we know how it will go from here till the end.
If ever the first spoken words of Luke’s Gospel need to be heard and internalized, it is in the face of rejection. “Do Not Be Afraid!” is said over and over again in Luke’s first chapter. It is the message from an angel. It is the message of courage and hope. It is the message which the Word made flesh now puts into action. Remember it yourself when the values of your faith and the teaching of your church leads you to experience rejection. Fear Not.Speak to your children about this, and tell them this story. Help them understand that God Himself knows rejection and empowers us to rise above it without fear. Keeping good company, staying in the companionship of those who share our vision of the Kingdom of Justice and Truth, the Peace of Christ and world without hatred and violence will mean that this family of faith stays together. Learning how to seek the truth without alienating, learning how to disagree without offending, living together with a commitment to unity that forbids the breaking of the covenant we share is the way Jesus Christ moved on from that Synagogue and those who rejected. He sought the poor, the helpless, the sick, the blind and all others rejected by those in privilege in power. We must know where we stand and we must know with whom we shall remain and where to go when the hurt of rejection seizes our hearts and threatens our joy.