St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen & Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
February 3, 2019
Year C: The Fourth
Sunday after the Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30
Excellence in Nazareth - and Jersey City
Today’s
gospel lesson is part two of the story of Jesus at his hometown synagogue in
Nazareth.
After
beginning his ministry, after traveling around to different towns, teaching and performing wonders, Jesus has now come home – home to the place where many had
probably known him since he was a boy – home to where his relatives and
neighbors had undoubtedly heard what he had been up to lately.
So,
you can imagine it must have been a kind of electric atmosphere in the
synagogue that Sabbath day when Jesus arrived – with everyone looking at him
and wondering what he would say, what he would do.
Luke
tells us that Jesus stood up to read and he was given the scroll of the Prophet
Isaiah.
And
then Jesus read, or perhaps recited:
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor.”
And,
that’s where we pick up today.
After Jesus
finished and while all eyes were on him, Jesus delivers the kicker:
“Today this Scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing.”
At
first everyone seems quite pleased but the mood changes quickly.
They
ask, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
And
then Jesus admits that he won’t or can’t do the same wonders that he had done
elsewhere and then things go from bad to worse to terrible when Jesus mentions Bible
stories about God healing foreigners and then we’re told they chased Jesus out
of the synagogue and out of the town, aiming to throw him off of a cliff.
Welcome
home, Jesus.
Mark,
Matthew, and Luke all tell this story in somewhat different ways, but the
bottom line is the sad and still pretty shocking truth that Jesus was flatly,
and even, as we heard today, violently, rejected by the people of his hometown.
But,
why?
Well,
I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it had something to do with what we might
call today the low self-esteem of Nazareth.
Back
in the first century, Nazareth was a small town in the country – we don’t know
exactly how small, but it may have had as few as 400 people.
Nazareth
is so small and insignificant that it’s never once mentioned in the Old
Testament and no Jewish source mentions it until 300 years after Jesus’s
earthly life.
And
so, I’m guessing that the idea that this little backwater town could somehow
produce the One who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah – the idea that Jesus, the
one they had known since he was a boy, who seemed pretty much like all of the
other kids in the town – maybe a little different somehow, but still - the idea
that “our” Jesus could be the one to fulfill the Scripture was just too much -
preposterous and even insulting and, apparently, even infuriating.
The
idea that such excellence could arise in their town was absurd, just not
possible.
But those Nazareth
people were very, very wrong.
“Is
not this Joseph’s son?”
Well,
we know the answer to that.
And,
in another hint of Nazareth’s low status and perhaps its low self-esteem, in
the Gospel of John, Nathaniel asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Well,
we know the answer to that, too, right?
And, you know, in
some ways Nazareth reminds me a little of Jersey City.
More
than two centuries ago, Alexander Hamilton famously predicted that a great city
would arise on the left bank of the Hudson, but, while many of us love Jersey
City and it certainly has its charms, I think it’s safe to say that we’re not
quite there yet.
(I’m
from here so I can say that.)
Of
course, part of the reason we haven’t yet achieved the greatness predicted by
Hamilton is because we sit in the shadow of the world’s greatest city.
But, I think another
reason why we’re not there yet is because of a kind of communal low self-esteem
– a low self-esteem that says “good enough” is as good as it’s going to get – a
low self-esteem that shrugs and says our politics will always be corrupt and
our schools and roads will always be falling apart.
And,
I think this Jersey City low self-esteem has sometimes even infected the church,
where we have too often settled for “good enough,” too often failed to dream
big, and too often failed to pursue excellence.
(I’m
from here so I can say that, too.)
But,
you know, the people of Nazareth were wrong – really wrong – our most excellent
God chose their little backwater town – a town overshadowed by greater, more
famous cities – God chose Nazareth as the incredibly important place where
Jesus was raised.
Something
– Someone – amazingly excellent came out of Nazareth.
And,
as I’ve reflected back on the past year here in our beautiful and diverse
congregation, I’m struck by how much excellence I see – excellence that we make
happen by opening our hearts to our most excellent God.
I
think of the excellent hospitality that we offered just a few months ago when
we welcomed four homeless families – eleven people – into our spiritual home –
excellent hospitality offered by over seventy of us – excellent hospitality
offered by creating a warm and homey environment, by taking the time to play
with the kids and get to know the moms, by preparing and serving delicious
food, and by giving up a night or more of sleeping in our own beds.
I
think of the excellent fundraiser dinner-dance back in June – such a beautiful
affair, carefully planned from the beautiful new logo on the coffee mugs and
bags to the diverse music played by the DJ – the excellence of all different
kinds of people united by a love of this church coming together and having one
great party – and actually making some money for the church!
I
think of the excellence of Jersey City Together, which has done wonders for our
Jersey City low self-esteem – teaching us that things don’t have to be this way
– that, yes, we deserve decent and affordable housing, quality schools, and
safe streets – and Jersey City Together has taught many of us that we have the excellent
talent right here to push for what we deserve.
I
think of the excellence of one of my favorite ministries – our monthly lunches
at the homeless drop-in center. When we started we agreed that we would serve
food at least as good as what we provide at coffee hour, at last as good as
what we put on our own table. And that’s how it’s been with Sonia and Eric and
the small band of volunteers, month after month.
I
think of the excellence that many of us saw here last Sunday – first at the
launch of our All God’s Children service – a project not driven by me – not run
by the priest – but by Patrice and a team of talented and generous lay people.
All I had to do
was come up with a two-minute homily!
Truthfully,
we didn’t know how it was going to work out, but it was excellent – offering a joyful,
sincere, and loving welcome to everyone who was there – a powerful reminder
that God loves each and every one of us.
And
then, that evening at our Martin Luther King service: excellence yet again.
Not
that it’s a competition, and not that I’m competitive at all, but I would put that service – with the powerful sermon by
Canon Jacobs and the over-the-top music made by Gail, the choir and musicians,
and with the spirit here in this room that night – I would put that service up
against worship absolutely anywhere.
Excellence
– right here in Jersey City.
Excellence
– right here.
Among
many other things, Jesus is the supreme example of faithfulness – of opening
his heart to our most excellent God.
Long ago, the
people of Nazareth couldn’t quite accept that God had chosen their town to
produce such excellence.
In a similar way,
we may think “good enough” is as good as it’s going to get.
But when we truly open
our hearts to our most excellent God, we know what’s possible: excellent
service, excellent worship, and excellent love.
Here’s to another
year together.
Amen.
Posts
