By Revd George Mwaura

[Bible readings: Jeremiah 4: 1–10 and Luke 4: 20–30]

From remote villages to urban cities, politicians love throwing vanity shows that say, ‘Look, I’ve finally arrived,’ also known as home-coming celebrations. While leaders everywhere indulge in this tradition, it’s in the developing world that this political success is often turned into a circus that makes Simon Cowell’s £1.6 million birthday fiesta look like a puritan tea party. After all, homies must be impressed and hometown is where your most passionate supporters can be found. And Jesus, too, launched his public ministry in his home town of Nazareth. It was there he had grown up, played with friends, worshipped in the synagogue, and assisted his father in the carpentry shop. So, it was natural that he would officially launch his preaching ministry right there in his home town.

The scripture tells us that they had invited him to be the guest speaker in the local synagogue. At first, things went pretty well. Everybody whispered how well and graciously Jesus spoke. But then, he changed gear and began to tell them the hard, uncomfortable truth, and the homecoming turned into a disaster. So offended were these former neighbours and friends, that they tried to throw him off a cliff, but he did a Houdini and left Nazareth for good. I’ve always wondered how Jesus escaped, and I would love to hear your thoughts some other time. For now, though, I want us to tease out some of the lessons we can learn from this unhappy homecoming.

First, in Nazareth, there was little faith, and too much familiarity. Their question: ‘From remote villages to urban cities, politicians love throwing vanity shows that say; look, I’ve finally arrived, aka home coming celebrations. While leaders everywhere indulge in this tradition, it’s in the developing world that this political success is often turned into a circus that makes Simon Cowells 1.6 m£ birthday fiesta look like a puritan tea party. After all, homies must be impressed and hometown is where your most passionate supporters can be found. And Jesus too, launched his public ministry in his hometown of Nazareth. It was there he had grown up, played with friends, worshipped in the synagogue, and assisted his father in the carpentry shop. So, it was natural that he would officially launch his preaching ministry right there in his hometown.

The scripture tells us that they had invited him to be the guest speaker in the local synagogue. At first, things went pretty well. Everybody whispered how well and graciously Jesus spoke. But then, he changed gear and began to tell them the hard, uncomfortable truth, and the homecoming turned into a disaster. So offended were these former neighbours and friends, that they tried to throw him off a cliff, but he did a Houdini and left Nazareth for good. I’ve always wondered how Jesus escaped, and I would love to hear your thoughts some other time. For now, though, I want us to tease out some of the lessons we can learn from this unhappy homecoming.

First, in Nazareth, there was little faith, and too much familiarity. Their question: ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?’ drips with contempt born of familiarity. Perhaps an older man was seated there thinking, ‘I remember when he was just a little boy hanging around his father’s shop; how then can he be special?’ Or perhaps a young woman sat there shaking her head and thinking, ‘No way; he can’t be special; he had a crush on me when we were teenagers!’ Truth is, much of Jesus’ healing power is a mystery to us, but we do know that it increased when faith was present. There was little faith in Nazareth, just familiarity. Jesus concluded; no prophet is accepted in his home town.

I wonder, are we any different, though? Some of us are so familiar with Jesus that we never see the need to enter into a personal relationship with him. You know, if you grew up in the church, it’s easy to think that you’re a Christian by association. Or, that you can be grandfathered into the Kingdom of God. But it doesn’t work that way. There are no grandchildren in the Kingdom, just children. The doorway into abundant and eternal life is narrow. People enter one by one, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The second truth is this: In order for Jesus to heal us, he must first expose our sins, prejudices, and myths. That process is not pleasant at all. It made the people of Nazareth very angry with Jesus. In order for him to heal them, he had to challenge some of their cherished myths and prejudices. I remember as a young boy, an accident with a piece of metal left me with a deep cut on my foot. Instead of seeking help, I hid, terrified of the potential stitches from the doctor more than the injury itself. It was a common myth in my village that the doctor used the same needle to stich humans as was used for horses. Though eventually my mother found me, the doctor spared me the dreaded needle. This personal story mirrors a profound spiritual paradox.

While we seek salvation and forgiveness, we often resist the painful transformative process of genuine change, preferring the familiar pain of our weakness. What made the Nazareth people so angry with Jesus? Well, he dared to challenge the myth that their race and nationality gave them most favoured status with God as opposed to the gentiles. Jesus challenged their racial prejudice and accused them of lack of faith.

What about us? What myths and prejudices do we have that must be corrected before God can heal us? Myths such as that our affluence is proof that God loves us more than he loves other people. Or myths that tell us that our race or nationality makes us superior to other people.

Like the Jews of Jesus day, we despise people who challenge our cherished myths and make us uncomfortable. The truth is, when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to his spirit.

The third truth is this, when people reject Jesus, they miss the opportunity of a lifetime. There is no record that Jesus ever returned to Nazareth after they attempted to push him off a cliff. From then on, he made Capernaum his headquarters. Years later when most of the Jews rejected the message of the Apostle Paul, God sent him to the non-Jews. Listen up people: if one turns down an opportunity to receive the Gospel, there is no guarantee of a second chance.

Today Christianity is the world’s largest and fastest-growing faith. There are only two continents on which Christianity is not growing; Europe and North America – two of the most prosperous places in the world where our faith was planted long ago. But in Europe and America, many people no longer believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. Many refuse to believe in the miracles of the Bible, including the Resurrection. If the people of Europe and America will not receive the Gospel, God will send it elsewhere. When the risen Christ met Simon Peter at the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he asked him a deeply personal question. Simon, do you love me more than anything else? The Christ question for each of us is not whether or not we understand theology, can steward on a Sunday morning or can teach a Sunday School class. Nope! The risen Christ is still asking us that age-old question: ‘Do you love me more than anything or anybody else?’ To this, allow me to add another question that Jesus might ask us: ‘Do you have faith enough, to let me cleanse you of your myth and prejudice?’

If I were to take something out of my pocket, hold it up inside my fist, and ask you what it is, you’d probably guess what it is, but you won’t know for sure. But a guess is not faith; it’s just a reasonable opinion. But suppose I told you that what I have in my hand is a pound coin. Would you believe that? If so, you now have faith; faith that what I told you is true. But if I showed you the £ coin, you no longer need faith. Now, you have proof.

Get this though, God never confronts us so vividly and directly that we have no choice but to believe in him; nope: God wants us to rely on faith, not proof. The kind of total faith that makes you sleep soundly on a flight piloted by a total stranger at an altitude of 39,000ft flying at an incredible speed of 500miles an hour! The apostle Paul tells the Romans: The righteous will live by faith. Jesus confronts each of us and asks; do you love me more than anything else? Is your faith in me strong enough to let me cleanse you of any prejudice and myth? I pray you’ll answer Yes, yes, yes, Lord! Can I get an Amen!

isn’t this the carpenters’ son, drips with contempt born of familiarity. Perhaps an older man was seated there thinking, I remember when he was just a little boy hanging around his father’s shop, how then can he be special. Or perhaps a young woman sat there shaking her head and thinking, no way, he can’t be special; He had a crush on me when we were teenagers!  Truth is, much of Jesus’ healing power is a mystery to us, but we do know that it increased when faith was present. There was little faith in Nazareth, just familiarity. Jesus concluded; no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

I wonder, are we any different though? Some of us are so familiar with Jesus that we never see the need to enter into a personal relationship with him. You know, if you grew up in the church, it’s easy to think that you’re a Christian by association. Or, that you can be grandfathered into the Kingdom of God. But it doesn’t work that way. There are no grandchildren in the Kingdom, just children. The doorway into abundant and eternal life is narrow. People enter one by one, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The second truth is this: In order for Jesus to heal us, He must first expose our sins, prejudices, and myths. That process is not pleasant at all.  It made the people of Nazareth very angry with Jesus. In order for Him to heal them, he had to challenge some of their cherished myths and prejudices. I remember as a young boy, an accident with a piece of metal left me with a deep cut on my foot. Instead of seeking help, I hid, terrified of the potential stitches from the doctor more than the injury itself. It was a common myth in my village that the doctor used the same needle to stich humans as was used for horses. Though eventually my mother found me, the doctor spared me the dreaded needle. This personal story mirrors a profound spiritual paradox.

While we seek salvation and forgiveness, we often resist the painful transformative process of genuine change, preferring the familiar pain of our weakness. What made the Nazareth people so angry with Jesus? Well, He dared to challenge the myth that their race and nationality gave them most favoured status with God as opposed to the gentiles. Jesus challenged their racial prejudice and accused them of lack of faith.

What about us? What myths and prejudices do we have that must be corrected before God can heal us? Myths such as that our affluence is proof that God loves us more than he loves other people. Or myths that tell us that our race or nationality makes us superior to other people.

Like the Jews of Jesus’ day, we despise people who challenge our cherished myths and make us uncomfortable. The truth is, when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to his spirit.

The third truth is this, when people reject Jesus, they miss the opportunity of a lifetime. There is no record that Jesus ever returned to Nazareth after they attempted to push him off a cliff. From then on, he made Capernaum his headquarters. Years later, when most of the Jews rejected the message of the Apostle Paul, God sent him to the non-Jews. Listen up people: if one turns down an opportunity to receive the Gospel, there is no guarantee of a second chance.

Today Christianity is the world’s largest and fastest-growing faith. There are only two continents on which Christianity is not growing; Europe and North America- two of the most prosperous places in the world where our faith was planted long ago. But in Europe and America, many people no longer believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. Many refuse to believe in the miracles of the Bible, including the Resurrection. If the people of Europe and America will not receive the Gospel, God will send it elsewhere. When the risen Christ met Simon Peter at the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he asked him a deeply personal question: ‘Simon, do you love me more than anything else?’ The Christ question for each of us is not whether or not we understand theology, can steward on a Sunday morning or can teach a Sunday School class. Nope! The risen Christ is still asking us that age-old question: ‘Do you love me more than anything or anybody else?’ To this, allow me to add another question that Jesus might ask us: ‘Do you have faith enough, to let me cleanse you of your myth and prejudice?’

If I were to take something out of my pocket, hold it up inside my fist, and ask you what it is, you’d probably guess what it is, but you won’t know for sure. But a guess is not faith; it’s just a reasonable opinion. But suppose I told you that what I have in my hand is a pound coin. Would you believe that? If so, you now have faith; faith that what I told you is true. But if I showed you the pound coin, you no longer need faith. Now, you have proof.

Get this though, God never confronts us so vividly and directly that we have no choice but to believe in him; nope: God wants us to rely on faith, not proof. The kind of total faith that makes you sleep soundly on a flight piloted by a total stranger at an altitude of 39,000 ft flying at an incredible speed of 500 miles an hour! The apostle Paul tells the Romans: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ Jesus confronts each of us and asks: ‘Do you love me more than anything else? Is your faith in me strong enough to let me cleanse you of any prejudice and myth?’ I pray you’ll answer, ‘Yes, yes, yes, Lord!’ Can I get an Amen?

Amen!