Lk 4: 24-30 (Jesus’ vision of God)
There is one emotion that we always struggle with, and that is anger. When anger is expressed in words or actions, nothing good will come out of it, and it will burn and destroy relationships. Even when anger is not expressed, we are not going to be that open to the other person or any discussion.
In today’s Gospel, there is a fit of explosive anger: The people of Nazareth were enraged with Jesus. They were so angry with him that they were prepared to kill him. Jesus is often described as angry in the gospels. When he is angry it is because there is something not right with the people he is talking to or with the situation in which he finds himself. The anger of the people of Nazareth, however, showed that there was something wrong with them.
They had a very narrow view of God; they believed that God had a special relationship with them, and had no relationship with those beyond Israel. Jesus reminded them that many of the prophets ministered to people beyond Israel, Elijah to a widow from Sidon and Elisha to a leper from Syria. The implication was that Jesus would do the same. He came not just for the people of Israel, but for all men and women.
In reality, God had no favourites. It was this generous image of God that Jesus displayed that the people of Nazareth objected to. Our calling today is to allow Jesus to shape our image of God, to rejoice, rather than to be angry at the generous and expansive God that Jesus reveals. The God of Jesus is a big God, with a big heart, a wide horizon, and a generous purpose for our lives. Our vision of God can sometimes be too restricted. We need to keep on being exposed to Jesus’ vision of God. That is one of the reasons why we need to keep reading, reflecting upon, and praying the gospels.
Be on guard of the crowd mentality, which quickly turns a gathering into a gang or a group into a mob. It’s easy to follow the crowd, but it takes courage to stand apart. Choosing the cliff means standing with Jesus, who sides with the underdog, protects the weak, serves the poor, loves sacrificially, and speaks the truth—no matter the consequences. When we have the choice between the cliff and the crowd, always choose the cliff, for that is where Jesus will be.
