Luke 4:21-30
Rejection of Jesus’ Ministry 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204%3A21-30&version=NRSVUE
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In the fuller reading of this chapter, within two verses, we go from the “beginning of Jesus’ ministry,” to the “rejection of Jesus’ ministry,” particularly from his own people from his childhood synagogue. So quickly do the people go from having their eyes fixed on Jesus to wanting to hurl him off a cliff, which only proves Jesus’ declaration that “no prophet is accepted in his hometown” (v.24). In their search for truth, they were not open to hearing it from one of their own.

“But the truth is…” (v.25), the phrase that changes the course of action in this holy moment in the synagogue, is the phrase that we long for from Jesus. We are all searching for truth. In a time of misinformation and disinformation used to create a narrative to uphold power, we are all searching for someone to tell us, “but the truth is…”

However, the truth is hard to hear. We all bring our own self-serving biases when searching for the truth, so it is truly hard to listen with an open ear. The people in the scripture were mesmerized by their hometown boy who had obtained local fame in nearby towns. They were so excited for him to return to their little town, in hopes that they would get some of his healing miracles that others received in other towns. After all, they raised him. Shouldn’t they get special treatment since Jesus knows them personally?

But the truth is…there’s no special treatment in God’s grace. We are all loved equally by God. We can’t call in special favors to God. God holds all of us in the palm of God’s hands, but it’s hard to hear that God loves our enemies as much as God loves us. Truthfully, we don’t really want to be grouped together with our enemies in the palm of God’s hands.

But the truth is…God will do what God will do. The truth that Jesus shared with his people was that he was sent by God to bring good news to the poor, oppressed, and marginalized. Even though his own people were poor, oppressed, and marginalized by the Roman Empire, God will extend merciful grace to all within the Empire. Jesus used two examples from Elijah’s and Elisha’s ministries where God did not send them to heal and care for their own people, but to Gentiles who were also oppressed by the Empire. God’s hand reached through the barriers to lovingly care for the non-Jewish people, and that went against their own expectations of being God’s chosen people.

But the truth is…God does not stay within the bounds of our expectations. In fact, God thrives on going beyond our expectations. That’s when we know that God is present and working to change our hearts. The mystery of God seeps in and turns everything we thought we know as truth upside down.

But the truth is…we have to be open to it. The people in scripture were open until the truth got really hard to hear. The people turned their focus off Jesus back onto themselves, in order to uphold their own self-serving expectations of their God, and they were “filled with rage” (v.28). They closed their hearts to the truth and lashed out at Jesus. Forming a lynch mob, they tried their best to get rid of the truth.  

But the truth is…Jesus was “in the power of the Spirit” (v.14) and “he passed through the midst of them and went on his way” (v.30). God was not finished with the truth. The truth of Jesus’ good news would continue to spread beyond their boundaries and expectations. God’s truth is still being shared with all who are poor, oppressed, and marginalized, but it requires us to speak truth to power. It will take courage, but in the end, the truth will remain.
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever heard something from Jesus that you didn’t want to hear? How did you respond?
If you were in the crowd of people in this scripture, would you join the lynch mob or would you stand with Jesus, the truth-teller?
How hard is it for you to tell God’s truth?
 
Pray: Help us, God, to accept your truth graciously, especially when you tell us something we don’t want to hear.
 
Action: Take a risk this week and tell the truth.  
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Luke 4:14-21
Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204%3A14-21&version=NRSVUE
 
Jesus had just come from his time in the wilderness, in which he was led there by the Spirit, and then led out “in the power of the Spirit” (v.14) to begin his ministry in Galilee. It’s important to notice the mention of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we think the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost when Jesus ascended to heaven, but we see here the Spirit was always present. In fact, the Spirit guides Jesus just like the Spirit guides us.

Before Jesus’ time came to begin his ministry, the Spirit led him deep into the wilderness, alone, to battle his own demons, and to prepare for his work ahead. Even Jesus needed a spiritual pilgrimage or a silent retreat to be alone with the Spirit to learn, to listen, and to surrender to the Spirit’s nudging. Once his preparation time was complete, the Spirit led him, fully-Spirited, to begin his work. The Spirit was always with him, and so it’s important for us to understand that we always need the Spirit to lead us, fill us, and be present with us at every step.

Jesus went to Galilee to begin his ministry by teaching in the local synagogues, and when he came to his hometown in Nazareth, he revealed himself by reading scripture. Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2 that announces the coming of the Messiah and the good news that he will bring to the poor, and then says “this scripture has been fulfilled,” (v.21) referring to himself. Jesus revealed himself many different ways – through miraculous healings, private conversations with the disciples, preaching and teaching, and through reading scripture. Jesus still reveals himself through our reading of scripture, particularly through the practice of lectio divina. If we come to the scripture without an agenda and truly listen intently and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, Jesus will reveal himself through the reading of the holy text.

We must be like the listeners in the synagogue, though, whose eyes were fixed on him (v.20). How do we normally listen to the reading of scripture? Are we looking for an answer that backs up our preconceived notion? Are we looking to weaponize it to prove our understanding is the “right” one? Are we thinking about our shopping list during the reading? We truly have to come to scripture with the intention to listen openly for Jesus. Or, as The Message translation phrased it, with “eyes placed on him, intent.”

The Greek word “atenizō” is the word translated to mean “fixed” or “fastened.” Other definitions are “to look intently, gaze, stare, and see.”[1] When Jesus revealed himself through the reading of scripture, the people looked so intently at him that they saw who he was. We have to look intently if we want to see Jesus.  
Jesus could not have done this if the “Spirit of the Lord” (v.18) wasn’t upon him. Jesus had to be “in the power of the Spirit,” (v.14) for the people to see him and to trust what he is saying is true. Jesus needed the Spirit’s presence to be with him, to open the people’s eyes and understanding.

This big revelation will come with mixed responses, which we will explore next week. There will certainly be a fallout, in which Jesus would need the power of the Spirit to guide him through it and to help him carry out his work. Likewise, we need the presence of the Spirit to guide us through the naysayers and the obstacles that will always come with bringing good news to the poor. The Spirit will be upon us if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
 
Reflection Questions:
Do you fix your eyes intently on Jesus?
What causes you to shift your eyes away from Jesus?
Has Jesus revealed himself to you when you’ve read scripture?
Have you experienced the Spirit’s presence with you when following the Spirit’s nudge?

Pray: Help us, God, to keep our eyes fixed on you, especially when you tell us something we don’t want to hear.

Action: Do an act of kindness to someone in need this week to share Jesus’ good news to the poor.  
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 
[1] NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary. Zondervan, 2015.

John 2:1-11
Wedding at Cana
 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE
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Jesus’ first miracle, the advent of his ministry, takes place at a wedding in Cana when he turns water into wine. The NRSV uses the word “become”: “The steward tasted the water that had become wine” (v.9). Become means “to come into being, or to change or grow to be.” The setting of the wedding is a perfect place for becoming. We often say at weddings that “the two become one,” which is repeated many times throughout the Bible. This was also the time when Jesus “becomes” the Son of God. He always was, of course, but people knew him as Jesus of Nazareth, or Mary and Joseph’s son, or the brother of James. This was the turning point, according to John, when he revealed his glory for the first time to his disciples. He becomes who God created him to be.
 
When the water becomes wine, it was a very subtle miracle and goes unnoticed to everyone except the servants and the disciples. The chief steward, and we can assume the wedding guests, all believe it is good wine without knowing about the miracle. Jesus allows the bridegroom to receive all the credit. His intention for the miracle was to fulfill a need, not to demonstrate his glory. He quietly shared that with only those who assisted with the miracle and his closest friends.
 
Water that becomes wine is a miracle, but the real miracle is in the becoming. There are subtle and unnoticed miracles that happen all the time that assist in our becoming who God wants us to be. We may not realize it is happening, or who inspired it, had a hand in it, or nudged it along, but the end result shows that there was a transformation, a turning into, a becoming, that wasn't short of a miracle.
 
We are in a new and challenging time, a time that holds great need. We are in the process of becoming during this time. Maybe we’re becoming someone we don’t want to become. Someone who lashes out in frustration. Someone who loses it on the service worker who makes a mistake. Someone who lives with a short fuse that ignites at every little thing. Someone who withdraws so deep into loneliness that we may not know how to come back out.
 
Or, maybe we are on the right path to becoming who God wants us to be. Maybe this is our turning point too. We had a wake-up call during this pandemic, and we want to re-focus areas of our lives that were checked out or dwindling. “Our wine had run out” and now we want to become good wine, the best wine. We participate with Christ to fill our cups, so we have something to draw out; something that we can give to others in need. And so, we draw near to Christ, listen to his direction, and sometimes without knowing, a miracle happens. We become someone who Christ uses to demonstrate his glory. We become someone who sees a need and helps fulfill it, even though it may not seem the right time for us. We work with Christ behind the scenes, very subtly and without calling attention to ourselves, so that others receive the credit they deserve.
 
Who are you becoming? Do you like who you are becoming? Where in your life does God want you “to come into being, or to change or grow to be?” I invite you to spend some time reflecting and praying on these questions. We don’t have to wait until our cups are empty to be filled with the Good Wine. We can begin at any time by bringing our water jars to Jesus for him to work miracles in our lives.
 
       
Reflection Questions:
What does this miracle tell us about Jesus?
Have you ever had someone nudge you like Mary did to Jesus? How did it turn out?
What was the significance of saving the good wine to last?
What miracles go unnoticed that help us become whom we are meant to be?
 
Pray:
Gracious God, help us become who you have created us to be. Show us where we need to bring you our empty jars for you to work within our lives.
 
Action:
Take a step this week in growing into who you think God wants you to become. 

*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Baptism of the Lord
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%203%3A15-17%2C%2021-22&version=NRSVUE
 
Unquenchable is the word that drew my attention in this scripture reading. When I first think of this word, I think of its root, quench, as in something that quenches our thirst. We are so thirsty that we reach for water that quenches or satisfies our thirst. Usually, it is water that satisfies our thirst more than other drinks, particularly sugary drinks. They typically make us thirstier, and so they are unquenchable.
 
With the use of water in this reading, we could easily jump to the conclusion that the water at baptism quenches our thirst for Jesus or satisfies our spiritual longing. If we dig a little deeper, we will see that John the Baptist says he baptizes with water, and he is just a “stagehand” (v.16, MSG). He’s not as worthy as the One who baptizes with fire.
 
Jesus is the one who baptizes with holy fire, and it is unquenchable, meaning the fire cannot be put out. It is inextinguishable. It will never burn up. It will keep burning, a never-ending flame within us.
 
But that’s not quite how John the Baptist used the metaphor of fire. It is interesting that both water and fire are used to describe the spiritual aspects of the Christian life. They are opposites. Water extinguishes fire. Wet wood will not ignite. So, again, we must dig deeper to understand John the Baptist’s message.
 
The tradition that formed me taught that his message was: if you are baptized, you go to heaven, Jesus’ granary, but if you aren’t, you go to hell, an unquenchable fire. It was further taught that Jesus separated the good people from the bad people, rewarding the good and punishing the bad. I find it interesting that this interpretation is considered a literal reading since John the Baptist is clearly using a metaphor. Further, who can prove there is a literal hell with unquenchable fire. No one has seen a literal hell and lived to tell about it.
 
John the Baptist uses a well-known metaphor to his audience, the process of harvesting grain. Many would have understood the message, that Jesus is the harvester who uses the winnowing fork, the tool used in separating the edible or usable parts of the grain from the inedible parts of the outer husk or chaff. John does mean to say that Jesus will perform a separating action, but instead of separating “good and bad people,” he separates or pulls out the goodness in all of us from the unusable parts that might prevent us from living into the person God created us to be.  
 
Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation rewords this teaching in modern language that helps us understand the metaphor’s meaning: “But John intervened: ‘I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned” (v.16-17). Our false self is removed and burned by an unquenchable fire.
 
The unquenchable fire continues to burn the trash that Jesus removed from us during the act of baptism. It’s not just a ritual or symbol that we go through the motions, because it’s the trendy thing to do, as was John the Baptist’s context for his reading. Baptism is a life-altering action where Jesus takes the goodness within us and makes it better, and he also takes away the things that hold us back from being who God created us to be. Maybe that is sin, temptation, or other “trash” that functions as chaff in our lives, but Jesus takes it away and it never comes back.
 
Baptism is not a “one and done” experience. It is living a life with the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within us and trusting Jesus to keep the chaff burning away from us. Unquenchable speaks to the promise that Jesus will always be with us and helping us with the chaff in our lives. We can see that promise in verse 21 when Jesus was baptized with the people.
 
Reflection Questions:
What chaff do you need to give over to Jesus’ unquenchable fire?
Have you experienced this promise to be true? Has Jesus separated and helped keep the chaff at bay?
Have you been baptized with water and fire?
 
Pray: Holy God, help us to release the chaff that you have separated from us, so we can live vibrantly through your Holy Spirit.

Action:
Remember your baptism in a special way this week.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.