EPIPHANY 4C - Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6, 15-17; 1 Corinthians 14:12b-20; Luke 4:21-32 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Who Don’t You Hear?

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Last week we talked about the dramatic moment when Jesus went to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and got up to read from Isaiah 61. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives...” Luke wrote that as Jesus finished reading, and sat down, the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then Jesus said, “Today” - that is, after more than 500 years - “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, “You are looking at the guy that the prophet Isaiah wrote about..”

 

Today we hear the reaction of those in the synagogue.

 

It is an interesting reaction, for it is a conflicted reaction.

 

On the one hand, Luke tells us that “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” And yet, in the very next sentence, Luke tells us that they also said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” In the parallel passage in Mark, it says that “many who heard him were astounded.” Then they said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!” And then: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” Then Mark adds, “And they took offense at him.”

 

They were on the verge of really listening to all that he had to say. Perhaps some of them were even on the verge of following him, of becoming his disciples. “Gracious words... he seems so wise. He teaches with authority!” And then they thought about the Jesus that they were quite familiar with.

 

“Wait a minute! We grew up with this guy. We went to synagogue school with him, went fishing with him, played soccer with him. Some of us bought tables and armoires that he made. Why some of us even got married to his sisters! Now he’s suddenly an expert on the scriptures, and they say some words from heaven were said when he was baptized by that fellow John in the Jordan River, and some folks claim he is healing people? Hold on a minute! This is just Jesus! He’s only Jesus, that kid we grew up with, Joseph and Mary’s boy, a common carpenter - that’s it.”

 

When they heard him going on about no prophet being given honor in their own hometown, and saying how Elijah and Elisha reached out to those foreigners instead of the people of Israel, they were enraged. They tried to throw him off the cliff at the edge of town, as a matter of fact. But somehow Jesus got away, and went on his way.

 

Yes, this was quite a reaction. They wouldn’t allow themselves to hear anything else that Jesus had to say, because he was just Joseph’s son, the carpenter. Is there anything in this story for us?

 

FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

 

I am reminded of the adage “Familiarity breeds contempt.” “Familiar”, derived from the word family. He’s family! We know him! And then we tune him out, or even worse, hold him in utter contempt, and try to get him.

 

This is definitely us at times.

 

I know all I need to know. I know what he or she is going to say before it is spoken, because she’s my wife...he’s my husband... and I’ve been married to him for a long time. She’s my sister. She’s been this way ever since I can remember. He’s my dad. That’s just the way he is. She’s my best friend. I love her. But there are things about her. Well, you know, she’s always done those things.

 

We can take offense - quite easily, in fact - at anyone we are familiar with, at anyone that we think we know. In fact, if you think about it, those are the people with whom we most often take offense.

 

It can happen in any system that is like a family system. It can happen in your work family, in your church family, in your school family, in your neighborhood family, in your faith family, in your national family. We can label and write off anyone, anytime, and sometimes we do.

 

In Christian circles, it used to be Catholic vs. Protestant. Not it’s likely to be evangelical vs. progressive, or mainline denomination vs. non-denominational. Within Islam, its Shiite vs. Sunni. In politics, if we find out someone is a Democrat or Republican, we think we have them all figured out. Or how about this? He grew up in the city. She grew up in the suburbs. That girl over there grew up in Vail. He grew up on a farm out in eastern Colorado. Yeah, well he’s an engineer, and that’s all you need to know. Computer geek. Waitress. Hotel chambermaid. Therapist. Artist. Carpenter. We know about what he’s capable of, and what kind of education he’s had. He’s a carpenter! A professor - head in the clouds. A priest - talk about head in the clouds! A teenager - what else do you need to know? An old man, over the hill.

 

I know you! As my dad used to say, “Yeah, you’ve got me pegged, don’t you!” The problem is, we often don’t have the person pegged, because we’ve stopped listening, we’ve stopped being open, we’ve stopped being fascinated with the person across the aisle or across the kitchen table from us. We know all there is to know, or so we think.

 

WHAT WE MISS, AND WHY

 

They tried to throw Jesus of Nazareth off a cliff! They totally missed him, and what he had to teach them. They missed a whole new possibility for a relationship with God. They might have even missed an opportunity for healing. They missed a chance for a whole different type of life, a much better life - because they knew him, and they wrote him off.

 

Aah, she’s nothing special. She’s only... fill in the blank. He’s nothing great! He’s only...

 

Sometimes we are in way too big of a hurry to label people so that we can move on to the next person, the next thing. It’s very de-humanizing, if you stop and think about it. I wonder, do our “he’s only” and our “she’s only” statements tend to come out of our mouths more frequently when we’re not feeling so good about ourselves, when we’re in an “I’m only” space?

 

God called Jeremiah to be a prophet. Jeremiah heard God saying to him some absolutely beautiful words. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

 

What was Jeremiah’s reaction? “Wow, Lord! You have that kind of faith in me? What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go?” No. That’s not what he said. He said, “Ah, Lord God!” Or was it, “Aaaaaaaah!”, as in a big scream of fear? “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”

 

There it is. “I’m only...”

 

Our “I’m only” moments are such roadblocks. They tend to stop us even before we get started. And if we’re feeling stuck, unsatisfied, or inadequate, it’s not too long before we say to others, “You don’t have anything to say to me! You’re only.... You’re only my brother, you’re only my child, you’re only my spouse, you’re only ...” Wait a minute! What are we saying? Are we really willing to write off all the people who are closest to us, just because we’re kind of tired of them, and think we know all there is to know about them? Are we only going to listen to the “expert” who comes from the next town over, who we know even less about?

 

WHO DON’T YOU HEAR?

 

Who don’t you hear? That’s the question. Who can’t you hear, because they have become too familiar to you, and you have stopped opening up your heart and your mind, your soul and your ears to them? Are you missing some prophetic words, being spoken from God to you, because they are being spoken through a member of your own family?

 

Are you missing some loving and life-giving words, because they are being spoken by someone who has a job that you can’t relate to at all?

 

Are you missing some healing words, because they are being spoken by someone who belongs to a different political party?

 

Are you missing some life-transforming words, because they are being spoken by a person who talks about their relationship with God in a way that puts you off a little bit?

 

What do we miss? What don’t we hear, because we say to ourselves, “Oh, that’s just Fred. That’s just Mary. That’s just a politician talking. That’s just a pro athlete. That’s just a first-year teacher. That’s just a teenager. She doesn’t know anything.”

 

CONCLUSION

 

When we hear ourselves thinking these words or even saying these words, we need to stop and listen for God’s still, small voice. “Peter, what is really going on right now? What’s the problem? Why can’t you open up your heart? Why are you so closed off? Are you in that “I’m only” place again? You are my beloved. I have called you. You have gifts like anyone else. And the people around you have gifts, too, and things to share with you. Open up your heart. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. You don’t know everything about this person, and I want to teach you something, through her... through him. Listen. Open up your heart. Hear the words. Welcome this person. There’s no telling what might happen, as a result of your opening up.”

 

Help us to be open, O Lord. Help us to hear. Help us to pay attention to those who are right around us. May we be open to being surprised by your grace. Amen.