MEEKNESS AND MAJESTY

Jesus now returns to his “home town” (1), Nazareth (Luke 4:16). He teaches in the synagogue, as would be customary for any visiting notable with something interesting to say. As elsewhere, his teaching makes an impact, not just in what he says, but what accompanies it—this is teaching “with authority” (Mark 1:27): that is, with acts of power which demonstrate that what he is saying is true. The kingdom of God really has come upon them.
The surprise quickly turns to sarcasm. How can the kingdom of God be present through someone ordinary, someone we know, whose family we still have with us? Jesus worked just as we do; the term tekton does not mean a “carpenter” (3) but a general builder. The point is not that the trade was humble—we might have called it middle class—but that they knew what he had done before, his human circumstances. If a celebrity had come from somewhere else, perhaps he might have been received more favorably, but what the people of Nazareth, a small and unexceptional village, could not cope with is the idea that God would make himself known through one of their own, someone as apparently ordinary as they were, with mother, brothers and sisters just like them (Joseph appears to have
died by now). “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11).
In reply, Jesus cites a proverb that was well-known in a variety of forms (4). Their response, however, inhibits what he can do—Jesus’ power is constrained by their lack of belief. In God’s humility, he invites us to be coworkers with him by responding in faith; where that response is lacking, God is held back from his work.

What are the ordinary ways, and the ordinary people, through whom God will speak to you today? Keep an eye out for them and be ready to respond in faith.