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Hometown rejection
Lesson for January 31, 2010 — Matthew 13:54-58
By Amy DueckmanThere’s an old saying: “You can’t go home again.” For anyone who has left his or her hometown, coming back can be an interesting experience. Sometimes it’s rewarding, and sometimes it’s disappointing.
Dueckman
When I went back home to attend a high school class reunion last fall, I was reminded of how we tend to label people according to certain roles. I remembered how back in high school different individuals were known as popular, shy, nerd, brainy, wild, star athlete or class clown. But meeting my former classmates after so many years, I found it interesting that these old labels didn’t apply or matter anymore. People had changed, and we could all meet on equal footing. Decades later, it would have been unfair to try to expect people to behave the same as they had when they were teenagers, or to assume they couldn’t move beyond what they had been in their growing-up years.
Stuck with an old idea
Jesus apparently doesn’t have that privilege as he returns to his hometown, implied but not named as Nazareth. He has just read the Scripture in the temple, which according to Luke 4:16-30 is a passage from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” and concluding with “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:22). Jesus is proclaiming himself as the Son of God.
But all his listeners can think of is what Jesus had been. They still think of him as the carpenter’s son, the simple hometown boy who grew up among them. They can’t believe he possesses such wisdom. Perhaps there is a bit of resentment on their part, thinking he is being presumptuous in talking like a prophet, when he comes from humble roots like theirs. In effect they are asking, “Who do you think you are, anyway?”
There’s another proverb that comes to mind here: “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
Expectations of Jesus based solely on his background blind the hometown folk to new experiences. They are surprised by Jesus, but it doesn’t translate to greater faith or belief.
As a result, Jesus chooses not to perform many miracles there. The consequences for Nazareth are that its people will miss the blessings of the greatest one to come from their midst.
Amy Dueckman, a former staff writer for Mennonite Weekly Review, works for Canadian Mennonite and Mennonite Central Committee British Columbia and is a member of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, B.C.
Comments
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Actually this e-mail is not a comment; it is a question. What happened to the Sunday School lessons for Feb. 7? I have been waiting for it for over a week. Thank you.
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It is up now. Sorry about the wait.
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