Jesus the Lord had bad days. If we can't look to HIM and recover, who you gonna call?
Luke 4:16-29
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 2
3 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house.
Simon Peter's house and Synagogue before the current buildings in 1968
Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place.
And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Yesterday I got a phone call from someone I value. A minister. And he wanted to know a few of the details of my mom's 16 day hospital trip and our reactions to her being in Physical Rehabilitation. And we discussed the way hospitals operate today. And advocacy of care.
At the end of the phone call, which was joyous, he said you and Edward are going to be worn out.
And make sure you understand that. I said , oh we had about 3 days of just sitting.
However, this is true. We are facing my mom (who is really quite happy to have lived and likes being in rehabilitation in another city) being elderly now. I had hoped this was going to be something easy.
Edward has a terminal diagnosis of FLTD a frontal and temporal lobe disorder of the brain and this was hard on him. He cried when Hospice came to talk to us about my mom. (She Lived!) And so yesterday, Edward was yelling at me at Starbucks over lunch with a friend and then yelling at me and throwing a Tomatillo at the Grocery Store over a Recipe. I think I am tired.
One day life is great and the next day, same life, you wonder about keeping the family home, health care, future lives and relationships.
If you are offended I pictured Jesus running from being thrown from the cliff - please do not be. I love Jesus had emotions. Like Peter, life could be very hard. It's just that Jesus sometimes spoke tartly and walked on water to think about the death of John the Baptist and what Jesus could do. Why shouldn't Jesus run rejoicing in living another day?
The part about Jesus that I find So Appealing is, Jesus calling the Paralytic "My son". The Loving and Wise All Knowing GOD. The Christmas story is so much more than a frightened teenager and a baby. This is GOD picking a very romantic story of loyalty for His Son.
Jesus is ... Having s BAD DAY. And in spite of all the difficulties, all the trauma - JESUS WOULD PICK TO LIVE LIFE.
Now, recently, I have not experienced people in my town wanting to throw me off the cliffs. Capernaum - they Really Do Have Cliffs. And Jesus decides, that HE is going to continue on with - not a nap, not a glass of wine, not a good cry - Jesus is going to continue on to see to the needs of those around Him.
I like that about Jesus. JESUS IS NOT GOING TO QUIT DOING GOOD THINGS. JESUS PICKS TO KEEP BEING GODLY.
And Jesus is not going to waste time whining about how mean Capernaum is. So what is Capernaum known for? For the many good works that Jesus did here.
And I like something else about Jesus. He didn't sit in dried up Nazareth saying, "Well this is where I was put." Jesus looks all over and HE chose to see the Beauty of God. Capernaum is amazing. Jesus never said Capernaum was going to disappear like the two towns that actually did. Jesus said Capernaum was going to be treasured. Jesus being God, Was Right. Capernaum survived three devastations of Judea and went on for 1300 years leaving us the ability to see the town that Jesus lived and loved and forgave and healed.
Jesus gives us the idea - some days are rougher than others. And we can do like Jesus did. Keep going knowing Life and Love and JOY are bigger than we are. So get in there.
Jesus is my hero. I want to be like Jesus.
Now on a Living Parable note, I am going to include a family story about my Grandmother Anita. I am seeing this continue in my mother in her joy in being alive. I joked wryly with an long time friend that mother was happy because she finally had her mansion (Physical Rehab) and her servants, but really my mother is thrilled to be Alive and getting stronger.
My brother jokingly told her for her 83rd Birthday that she might be a pain of the nether region, but she had a spine that has overcome all kinds of adversity and he was mighty proud of her. She was not so pleased to be called that kind of pain, but the sincerity of the truth of the compliment won over and she smiled very broadly. Mother is nicer. Living will do that to you, when dying is pushed back.
So, the original story was about Grandmother Anita. She had a stroke at age 90 and was able to recite, mid stroke, her medications. She was sent to a nursing home afterwards because her strong spine got very, very bossy. I still feel badly about that today. But Grandmother's nursing home room could be heard down the hall. Any time you went in to the place she had 5 or 6 health care workers in there and they were frequently heard to say, "You got that right."
Well one day, my Mother and the nurses and I were hauled in there to see why Grandmother was refusing to take any medication. Other than Allergy meds. And this time she had 15 heath care workers and us. And Grandmother's 89 lb body sat up straighter and she said, "If you come to my room, who do you see here?" I answered and said there are always 5 or 6 people here talking to you. Grandmother Anita pointed at me and reached over and got her cane and pointed that at me and said, "That's right. Do you agree? You all are always in here, talking to me." They didn't want to agree, supervisors were there. I said they agree. She said, "That's Right. You all give out all the medication and all those people can't say anything. I'm keeping my mind and that's that."
She was so determined all the people had to smile and a few giggled. The Supervisor started to say that all the meds were for her benefit. Grandmother Anita said, "Let the meds benefit others. I find my Strength in the Lord."
The result was, the nursing home decided to put the meds on the food tray as usual, but Mother said Anita got to decide and she seemed fine to them both. Grandmother was born in 1898 and lived to 1992. Four more years. She went out still going to the outside porch to see her Lord change the sky from day to evening. Grandmother loved her front porch at home and spent a lot of her days looking to see what God was growing.
She shared that trait with Jesus. God Bless her.
Father God,
Good Christian Men Rejoice. With Heart and Soul and Voice. Jesus Christ was Born Today. Jesus Christ was Born Today.
We thank You, God, that as Your Son left this life, He left a record in John 14, 15, 16 saying Jesus Loved Life. Jesus was Glad to be here.
You tell us Life is in Your Words. Let our lives be abiding in Your Words. With salt and light and Joy.
This Love for the ones we love. For our communities, Churches, Government and the People You see all over the world looking to Jesus the Savoir. Help us bring more Heaven to earth. In Jesus, we have our Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
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