People like us: Luke 4.16–30 (Day 324)

Pray

Lord, open my ears to hear what you have to say to me; open my heart to love your word, and open my mind to understand your truth.

Read

1 Chronicles 15 James 2 Amos 9 Luke 4

Daily reflection: Luke 4

Jesus' appearance at the synagogue in Nazareth marked the real beginning of his ministry. He sets out his manifesto: good news for the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, the year of God's favour (verses 18–19). So far, so good; the people among whom he'd grown up would have approved, because they could have assumed he was speaking about them. Things rapidly turn sour, though when he points out that God's favour had consistently been shown to non-Jews, to outsiders.

When we read these verses as Christians, it's really important to acknowledge where we are in the story. We assume the 'good news' is for us, and we're thankful for God's mercy to us. But most of us are probably insiders; we might have grown up with Jesus, and see him as 'one of us'. In other words, we're probably the people in the synagogue, listening approvingly while he seems to be saying things we want to hear – and perhaps horrified when he starts telling us things we don't.

All the way through the Gospels, the Kingdom of God is for the outsiders. The temptation for insiders is to assume that God wants to make them like us. That's not really the point. The gospel is just as challenging for 'us' as it is for them – it's just harder for us to see how. Perhaps we might begin by listening to the voices of people who aren't like us. After all, they, not we, tend to be the heroes of the Gospel stories.

Pray

God, thank you for calling me into relationship with Jesus Christ. Help me never to assume that I've arrived, and have nothing left to learn. Open my heart to others, and open my ears to hear their stories.