In today’s Gospel Jesus returns to Nazareth where he has been brought up, the place which gives him the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. We know that Jesus left home to go and see John the Baptist, and we know that his whole lifestyle changed after his time with John. Jesus didn’t stay in the wilderness to live a hermit’s life with John: he received a prophetic anointing in his baptism to announce the new age of the kingdom of God. So, he became a travelling preacher.
By the time Jesus returns to his hometown his reputation has arrived before him: when he goes into the synagogue on the sabbath as he usually did, this time he is invited to preach. He chooses a passage from Isaiah which gives a beautiful summary of the program of his new mission: to announce good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to proclaim a year of favor; which was a time when all dets were cancelled and all property returned to the rightful owners (see Leviticus 25:8-55).
Jesus points to himself as the fulfilment of ancient prophecy: today the text becomes true in the hearing of his own townspeople. At first their reaction is approval of his words, but then they remind themselves of his identity and say, ‘’This is Joseph’s son, surely?’’ The neighbors don’t allow Jesus’ wisdom to interfere with their memories of him. When he presents himself to them for the first time as the prophetic preacher, they remind themselves of his address and pedigree. They won’t allow Jesus to grow up, so they lock him into the past and into a former identity.
Perhaps the neighbors have a vested interest in focusing on who Jesus was to them, rather than who he is now. It’s much easier having a carpenter around the house than a prophet; it is much easier talking about broken chairs than broken lives. The neighbors want to keep Jesus at the level they can handle him at; they want to keep him reasonably harmless. After all, he’s only a carpenter!
Jesus reminds them that no prophet is accepted in his own homeland, and as if to prove him right the local crowd become so enraged, they try to throw him off a cliff. But Jesus escapes, and it is no surprise that he never returns home again.
We all need a place to belong to and people we can call our own. Usually we call that ‘’home’’ where you are accepted in love for who you are, but also encouraged to become the person you could be. Perhaps the last people to accept our changes are those who live with us: they’re so used to the old ways they can’t believe in real change.
Jesus had to leave home to become the person his Father wanted him to be. He couldn’t rely on his own folks to foster his new life and new mission. So, he established a community, a body of people, who would recognize, as St Paul says, their need of each other. That’s us. We’re home for each other, pledged to support the growing life of the Spirit in each of us. In this gathering here everyone should feel welcome, and everyone should have the freedom to grow.
Welcome home.