This Sunday's Gospel Lesson reminds us that evil's prime target is always that which is good. Jesus, the Best of Good, was no exception. The lesson begins with the concluding verse from last Sunday's lesson. As Jesus began to show the people in the synagogue at Nazareth how Isaiah's prophecy was being fulfilled at that moment, the reaction of the crowd was very positive. Then Jesus made a political faux pas .
People prefer their own definitions.
The Jews at the synagogue enjoyed hearing gracious words about themselves. They ran Him out of town and would have thrown Him down a cliff, but He walked right through their midst and went on His way. My guess is that when the folks at Nazareth wanted to throw Him from the cliff, they backed away from a sense of authority in more than His words. No, you grab Him first. I will say again that it is sad to see anger and hate and destruction, when joy and love and creativity are so abundantly present and available.