As we celebrate 75 years, we will be experiencing a lot of homecomings – hearing the wonderful stories of those who have been nourished in this place.
![[1] “Homecoming” by Norman Rockwell](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ff6591_2b7899318f4941e4bb3e3f3d7918cf1a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_506,h_662,al_c,q_80,enc_auto/ff6591_2b7899318f4941e4bb3e3f3d7918cf1a~mv2.jpg)
Luke 4:14-21
January 26, 2025
Dr. Todd R. Wright
I have fond memories of childhood vacations at a cabin in Canada! My days were filled with canoeing and camping, swimming and exploring; my nights with singing songs around the campfire and roasting marshmallows, playing hearts, and piecing together puzzles!
I remember one puzzle in particular – it was a reproduction of the cover of a Saturday Evening Post from July 1945. The picture by Norman Rockwell was called Homecoming and it showed a soldier being welcomed home!
Maybe I remember it because it captures such a joyous scene; or because it brings a small piece of history to life; or maybe I fixated on it because the soldier has red hair!
Whatever the reason, I thought of that picture when I was reading about Jesus’ homecoming. But when I pulled it up on the internet, I had some grown up questions about Rockwell’s picture … and about Luke’s depiction of our Lord’s appearance in Nazareth.
Rockwell contrasts the stillness of the soldier – like he has come a long way and can go no further – with the joyful motion of the family spilling out of their doorway. The neighbors are caught up in that joy too! But wait, the people next door have three blue stars in their window. It makes me wonder, have they heard from their loved ones? Are they safe? Or will one of those stars turn to gold and their smiles turn to grief? Maybe tragedy has already struck for some neighbor and they cannot bring themselves to get out of bed, much less celebrate this soldier’s return.
And Rockwell has painted the soldier with his back to us. What would his face reveal?
What has he seen? Perhaps the liberation of Rome or Paris or Berlin and crowds lining the streets with flags? Or maybe he pictures the shy children with whom he shared his Hershey bars, saying grazie, or merci, or danke! But maybe he liberated one of the camps, or saw friends die in battle, or spent long months as a prisoner. Maybe he has censored his letters to present a rosier picture of things or to hide the hurt he carries. Maybe he is no longer the innocent boy who went off to fight; maybe he is not sure how to tell them what he has seen; maybe sometimes he wakes up screaming.
There is more to the picture than we can see. I suspect that is true of Luke’s account too!
What has Jesus seen since he left Nazareth for the River Jordan, and the wilderness, and the neighboring towns?
The power of God unleashed, surely; but also the cloying call of temptation; and the brokenness of people struggling with disease, and poverty, and the soul crushing indignity of Roman occupation.
How has that time away molded Jesus, and broken his heart, and steeled him for ministry?
What is going on beneath the surface that we don’t see in the bits Luke has given us?
Perhaps the answer is hiding in plain sight.
Luke says that when Jesus returned to Nazareth and went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom, he stood up to read from the scroll of Isaiah.
We are not told whether he asked for that scroll, or if it was the attendant’s choice, or if it was the set reading for that season.
One scholar speculates, based on the Greek text that says “Jesus was in the synagogue on the day of the sabbaths,” that this could have been the lectionary text for Yom Kippur. He writes, “The Book of Heaven has been open since the beginning of the High Holy Days on Rosh Hashanah, and God is engaged in determining who is included in that Book.” [2] The text Jesus reads from Isaiah indicates that included in that book are, surprisingly, … “the poor, the crushed, the outcasts and the overwhelmed.”
So imagine the audience for this reading. Mitzi Smith observes that throughout Luke,[3]
“Synagogue attendees included Jewish people (ordinary folks, synagogue leaders, Pharisees, and other religious leaders), [as well as] Gentiles, men and women, people with various diseases, and those considered possessed by demons or unclean spirits. Some scribes, Pharisees, and other leaders and wealthy people occupied privileged seats. [Furthermore] synagogues could be places of judgment and arbitration. [So] the synagogue could be a diverse space and a site of struggle.”[4]
If we can assume that the Nazareth synagogue is similarly diverse, what do you think that mix of people heard when Jesus reads from Isaiah?
On the surface, the words are like that lone soldier standing in the alleyway.
To some they are the source of great joy.
To others they are a reminder of painful waiting and unfulfilled promises.
I believe that Jesus is aware of all that as he looks out at the eyes of the crowd – the people that raised him and labored beside him, the people he danced with at feasts and cried with at funerals; the people who had nourished his faith and the people who were desperate for hope.
So he does not just repeat the words of the prophet – “In the past, our fathers and mothers envisioned a world of justice, freedom, and healing. The fullness of abundant life in a land of milk and honey as God covenanted with Moses.”[5]
Or promise something better in the world to come – “We, along with Isaiah, await the
fulfillment of this glorious promise! One day, the poor will be lifted up, captives set free, and the blind will see! Oh, how we long for that! How we pray for that!”
No, Jesus says, “Today, in your hearing, this scripture has been fulfilled!”
He is talking about Jubilee. He is talking about a new golden age. The waiting is over!
He is talking about those old words coming alive … in him. Now!
We’ve heard similar words on Monday, but with Jesus we know they come true!
One scholar puts it this way: Jesus “reprises [the words of Isaiah], crystallizes them, incarnates them, [and] “fulfills” them. He fills them out, like an arm sliding into a perfectly tailored sleeve.”[6]
No one else can fill that suit!
Only he has seen the Spirit descend like a dove and heard the voice of God at his baptism.
Only he has used the power of God’s word to confront the devil in the wilderness.
Now he is ready to unleash freedom and bring holy blessing into Nazareth … and beyond!
That is why he came!
As we celebrate 75 years, we will be experiencing a lot of homecomings – hearing the wonderful stories of those who have been nourished in this place.
But all that will be nothing more than indulgent nostalgia if there are not also stories told of how we have brought good news to the poor, and release to the captives, sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed. In short, if our presence here has not proclaimed the Lord’s favor to those who doubt it, we will have failed to respond to Jesus’ proclamation and the mission of those saints who established this church. Amen
[1] “Homecoming” by Norman Rockwell
[2] Here and following, from Richard Swanson’s reflections on the text, “A Provocation”, 1/27/19
[3] See Luke 4:16–33, 44; 6:6; 12:11; 13:11; Acts 14:11; Luke 11:43; 20:46; and Luke12:11; 21:12
[4] From her reflections on the text for workingpreacher.org, 1/26/25
[5] Both these possible preaching avenues are from “The Power of Today” by Diana Butler Bass, 1/24/16
[6] From the SALT project commentary on the text, “Jubilee”, 1/21/25
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