I loved John Ledder’s message in this year’s Annual Report. I don’t need to repeat any of it since you all read the report carefully, page by page. John mentioned how quickly this church became a home to his family after walking in here seven years ago. He described a sense of belonging that emerged early on. I would only add that this feeling is entirely mutual. All the Ledders have become very much part of what makes this church home, like so many of you. The council president’s message prompted me to reflect about the question of what constitutes a church “home”. We all know, it isn’t quite as simple as being in a place for a long time and knowing all kinds of people. It may be just that: you have been in a place for a long time and know the ropes, but it doesn’t necessarily make it your “home”. Home has to do with a certain feeling of comfort. Home is a place where you can be you and you don’t need to pretend to be someone else. Home is where you are known – and appreciated.
That’s precisely the reason why sometimes young people need to leave a congregation, even the so-called good and healthy congregations, to find themselves and not be viewed through the lens of their undeveloped childhood identity. They don’t want to be known the way they were known… in those years, back then. It is also, I suggest, why Jesus had to leave his home town, his synagogue and become an entirely different person than the teenager people in Nazareth remembered: young Jesus holding the tool bag for his dad Joseph; reciting pious passages from the Torah; banging his head on a metal bar in the fellowship area, bleeding profusely. Young Jesus having a crush on a girl named Rachel… Or was it Mary?
So, when the gospel writers say that Jesus came into his hometown, we shouldn’t assume that this was a smooth affair. Jesus had changed, most of the people in Nazareth had not. He knew the difference while they, for the most part, did not. This was a new Jesus, a changed young man who had fasted and been tested by the devil for 40 days, who was more aware of his calling and indeed, his divine mission. He wasn’t so much Joseph’s, but God’s beloved son.
Still, anyone who reads this scripture passage and pays attention will be startled by the sudden change of atmosphere described in the gospel. It starts out so nice and well. “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” You can picture the smiles on people’s faces. You can see his aunt beaming with pride and his mother wiping away a tear of joy. This is her boy! The people of Nazareth shower communal accolades on one of their very own who seemed to have a bright future ahead. That is, until verse 23. Then it changes in a matter of seconds. What went wrong?
Please allow me to make a strange connection here. You know, my brain often makes strange connections and sometimes that leads to surprising discoveries… This past week I listened to a program featuring a small town in rural New Hampshire, a town filled with a sense of pride at a moment when someone from their own ranks was about to become a national celebrity. It was in the town of Concord where people gathered thirty years ago to witness their teacher go into space, to become a pioneer of space education. Her school installed a special video system so that teachers and students could watch the marquee event together, Space Shuttle Challenger carrying their educator into space. As we all know, 78 seconds later that day ended in a terrible tragedy and the same sense of small town familiarity with this teacher turned into a deep shock and unspeakable loss and mourning. Can you picture how something like that would affect us if this teacher were teaching at North Penn High School and the whole community were assembled to watch with joyful anticipation? Oh, the thought of it, even 30 years later! Therefore, at this very moment let us send a collective prayer of appreciation and solidarity to all the surviving family members of those astronauts of 1986 who were forced to relive these moments last week. May God be with them!
The connection that I made to the gospel story is that of a hometown celebration going wrong. In the case of Jesus’ homecoming, his words turn people against him and cause outrage and anger. A metaphorical explosion takes place. And my first unfiltered instinct when I read the story was to say, “Jesus, maybe you need some sensitivity training!” What was our Lord thinking, barraging this friendly crowd with criticism and turning them from affectionate supporters into his enemies, in just about seventy eight seconds! It almost feels like Jesus is living in his own fears when he says, “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.” Some might describe this as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Didn’t it first appear as if this prophet were very much accepted, even adored? What turned it all around? Was it the seemingly innocent question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Had he gotten wind of expectations to perform miracles now that he was home? Or was he intentionally, from the start, trying to prevent hero worship, which is often nothing but idolatry anyway?
I am leaning toward the last interpretation. I think Jesus didn’t want admirers, he wanted followers. He didn’t want a statue or a pedestal, but a community seeking God. And it is quite possible that he was weary of an element of bigotry in his hometown, as local pride and rejection of outsiders often go hand in hand. Why else would Jesus mention the healing of people from out of town during the times of the great prophets Elijah and Elisha when none of the locals received the favor?
Home then is a very comforting place, but also one that can seduce us to become cliquish or prejudiced. And having a church home means that, as we enjoy a wonderful sense of community and belonging, we should always take care that others too are welcomed and invited, recognized and appreciated, yes, loved. I guess I take a certain pride in the fact that at St. Peter’s, people who join tend to quickly become part of the community. I mean, within five years they become council president. Within a few months they become chair person of a committee, and so on and so forth. God’s home will always be a home that is open for people to come in. As a church we always try to emulate God’s home, even as we can never fully attain that. As a pastor I tend to err on the side of embracing the newcomer. And I have to say, self-critically, maybe sometimes at the expense of the faithful people who have called this home for a long time. Please forgive me! I am trying my best to be a pastor to everyone! I want us all to continue to build this place as a church where all people feel that they are accepted, appreciated, loved and, at home. I want this church to be a place where even Jesus would be accepted, even if he criticizes us. Sounds strange? Read the story again!
Amen.