Words of Grace and Love

by Deacon Lorna Goodison on January 27, 2022

“All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” (Luke 4:22)

If only God’s people understood the depth of meaning behind the “gracious words” that flowed from Jesus’ heart into his speech! In last Sunday’s gospel, we read Jesus’ gracious words from Isaiah’s scroll. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”  Jesus proclaimed that He was the One sent from God to bring the good news that physical, mental, and spiritual wholeness is possible through Him; that liberation from all forces that captivate us interiorly or in the external domains is possible. Our spiritual and physical eyes can be so healed that we are awakened to the immeasurable love and redeeming grace of God expressed through His Son, Jesus Christ. The people were excited by Jesus’ proclamation, but something shifted. Their emotions turned to outrage!

This Sunday, as we continue reading where we left off last weekend (Luke 4:21-30), we consider what caused this shift in emotions. Jesus knew that the people would have wanted Him to perform great miracles in his hometown, Nazareth, like he did in Capernaum. But instead of performing miracles, Jesus prompted people to consider His divine purpose by retelling two miraculous events recorded in ancient Scriptures. In the events, the prophets Elijah and Elisha performed miracles for the wellbeing of two Gentile persons, the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Commander of the King of Aram’s army. The notion that God’s good news included Gentiles, regarded as sinners, was intolerable. The faith of God’s people rested solidly on being God’s chosen people, select and special. The people were so outraged that they drove Jesus out of town, intending to hurl him off a cliff. But Jesus escaped miraculously.

Was Jesus rejecting His hometown folk? Take a close look, for example, at the story of Elisha’s healing of Naaman’s leprosy. Naaman was not only healed of leprosy. He had a conversion experience and worshipped God, thus declaring that the Lord is God not only of the Israelites but of all people. God’s good news is God’s love and undeserved grace for the peace and wellbeing of all people. No longer do we need to compete against each other, presuming that God’s love is preferential. Jesus, filled with the Spirit, spoke gracious words from a heart overflowing with love for all.  May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts reflect our Savior’s love and grace for all.  Amen

Tags: faith, good news, healing, miracles, chosen people, gracious words

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