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Luke 4:14-30: Today!

Picture a famous Torontonian leading a big rally at the ACC, under all the championship banners hanging from the rafters, extolling the virtues of the ‘greatest hockey franchise ever’ and as everyone in Toronto here is cheering about how they will win another Stanley Cup and maybe even soon - understanding the speaker to be talking about the Leafs - and the crowd is all worked up and then he yells out ‘God bless Canada’s greatest hockey team... the Montreal Canadiens!’ This would be the feelings aroused in these scriptures. And even more, it would be like Jesus extolling the virtues of the greatest country on earth, working us all up into a frenzy believing he is talking about Canada and then says ‘God bless America’ or ‘God bless Saudi Arabia’… ‘Oh you, thought I was talking about Canada?’You can see why they might get a little upset.

They came here wanting words of encouragement and wisdom. Jesus read and spoke about the scriptures and he gave them some words alright. They thought he was blessing them in the synagogue but he was telling them quite plainly that just like God could have saved Israelites in the times of Elisha and Elijah but he chose rather to save their enemies; so too today. This is why they are upset.

Jesus is – as always - concerned about people on the fringes: the poor, ill, and the marginalized; our enemies, our rivals, and others who are on the outside. Those who think they are healthy do not seek a doctor (Lk 5:31; Mt 9:12, Mk 2:17). Those who think they are saved are not looking for salvation. Jesus here foretells and more Israel’s rejection of her and our messiah and how regardless of that, Israel’s saviour is going to save her enemies and anybody else too.

Now this is offensive but honestly the people there should know this. They should be and the Pharisees would be very familiar with the fact that Israel was not chosen to be saved in place of other people; Israel was chosen to bring salvation to the entire world (Jn 3:16-17). God says to Abraham, before Israel even exists, that ALL the nations of the earth will be blessed through you (Gen 12:3). Israel was chosen by God not to be saved from the world but to bring salvation to the world and though they had not been to that point faithful in that task, still God uses the Israelite, Jesus, to save the world. God loves everyone and He wants everyone to be saved and even in this (cf. Gal 3:28, 1 Cor 12:13), as John Wesley says, He has a preferential message for the poor and the marginalized. We need to still bring and be brought that message here today.

The truth is that as John 3:17 proclaims, Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but instead he came so that whosoever, anyone and everyone, might be saved. And this is wonderful news: salvation is not just for the privileged few. It is for any of us and especially those of us when we are in real need. As Jesus says, Luke 11:18-19:

- today good news is announced to the poor;
- today he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners;
- today, he has sent me to preach recovery of sight to the blind;
- today, he has sent me to set the oppressed free;
- today, he has sent me to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

Today is the day of the Lord’s favour when we can all be rebuilt, restored, and renewed; do we believe that?
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