Luke 4:21-30

The recent Inauguration of the US President took place on Martin Luther King Day.  An historic moment.  But the lead stories in the media seemed to be more concerned with Michelle Obama's new hairstyle (bangs!) and the possibility that Beyonce may have lipsynced the national anthem (she did).

So the sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live opened their show that week with a sketch that made fun of that.  In a Dickensian moment, the President is visited by the ghost of Martin Luther King Jr.  Obama wants to talk about how things are going, but all MLK's ghost wants to talk about is Beyonce and Michelle's bangs.  When Obama seems to get impatient and annoyed with Dr. King's seeming lack of seriousness, King's ghost says "Can't we just sit and talk like a couple of real guys.  Why do I have to be serious and stately for all eternity?"

Good question.

The actor Daniel Day-Lewis, currently being praised for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, admitted that he was at first reluctant to take the role.  How do you portray a character whose words and actions have become so huge in history, so legendary that those same words and actions have eclipsed the human-ness of the person?

I imagine actors portraying Jesus would feel that way, too.  We have almost 2,000 years of interpretations, images, ideas, traditions and dogma that inform our understanding of how to be more like Jesus.

I was pondering that this week because of the story of Jesus preaching in his home synagogue.  The people hearing him are "astounded" at what he says and question how he could possibly be so wise.  After all, they know him, he's just that carpenter's son from down the street.  They're offended at what he would presume to tell them.  Jesus replies with the popular proverb that a prophet is never welcome in their hometown and goes on his way.

But hang on, as Mark and Matthew tell it, the people seem to take instant offence to Jesus' preaching because they think they know him.  At least, they've already labelled him as a local boy of a certain status and therefore he can't possibly know or say what he does.

In the Gospel of Luke, however, the story is a little more elaborate.  Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah "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 favour."  He tells everyone listening that this scripture is fulfilled in their hearing.  "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, 'Is not this Joseph’s son?'" (Luke 4:22).

That sounds to me like they're proud of him, willing to hear what he says.  But, as Luke tells it, Jesus responds by saying something along the lines of "I know what you're thinking, you're just expecting me to do miracles like I did elsewhere.  Well, I'm not going to because you don't really accept me or the truth I must tell you."  When they hear that, that's when the crowd gets mad.

Who is this Jesus?  The Jesus Luke describes seems to be confrontational, a very real life, honest and "in your face" kind of prophet.  No wonder they didn't like what he had to say.  It seems to be a different Jesus than the one on the short end of his home town's assumptions.

Or is it?  Perhaps Luke's Jesus reminds us how important it is to be honest and say what needs to be said, even when it's easier and more comfortable not to.  Perhaps this Jesus reminds us, too, how hard that can be in our own lives.  And perhaps that might also remind us to look and listen beyond the surface appearance that challenges our acceptance.

Another question worth pondering here might also be how Jesus knows what they're thinking?  Is he, too, making assumptions about them or does he truly know them?

Who is this Jesus?

The point is that we need to know Jesus to follow Jesus authentically.  And to know Jesus, we need to get close, to realize he's more than a sterile, one dimensional character who speaks and acts in a way we've come to expect.  Jesus is full of surprises, just as we all are.  Jesus "the Word made flesh" and "God with us" is also Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph, the ordinary working, playing, living and loving person like you and me.  To live like Jesus isn't about being more "godly," it's about being more fully human, to be more fully true to the image of God that is at the heart of each of us.

We can do that.  Just as we can make Dr. King's "dream" come true.  Not because it's great oratory, or because it's engraved on a monument, but because it's true to our God given humanity.