Best known for his radio program, Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor is a superb story teller. In one series entitled, “Leaving Home,” he writes, “I can’t stay, you know. I left so long ago. I’m just a stranger with memories of the people that I knew here.” His point is this: one can go home again, but you can’t call it home any more.
That thought crossed my mind as I reflected on how Jesus must have felt in this gospel setting. He had been away from his hometown of Nazareth for awhile, out on the road making a name for himself as a rabbi. Now he was in town for a visit. Many remembered him well. He was not just any hometown boy coming home, for he had become a minor celebrity. Many were in the synagogue to hear what he had to say.
As was the custom in those days of showing courtesy to a visiting rabbi, Jesus was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He came to these famous lines, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to announce a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he then sat down, a sign that he was about to teach something profound. He then gives the shortest homily ever. “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
What caught his listeners by surprise was the word, “today,” for they had been trained to look for the future. Yes, a messiah is coming someday, but without warning, Jesus is telling them, “Your messiah is now here.” Notice that he doesn’t promise them that things will be different in the future. Instead, he claims the power to transform the present. He tells those who are listening that the kingdom of God is already here. In most of his recorded lines, Jesus speaks in the present tense, not the future: here and now, God has broken into your life. Today God’s grace abounds. Today, the kingdom of God can be realized. Today, God is revealed behind every episode in your life. Not on another day, not tomorrow, but today.
Had Jesus spoken in Latin, he might have said, “Carpe diem!” In other words, “Seize the day!” This gospel passage challenges us to live and be open to the message and life of Jesus Christ here and now. Not tomorrow, not next Easter, not next year, but today. And how might we do that?
For starters, have you ever thought to go through just one day endeavoring to accept everyone you encounter, making no judgments? In his book, Love is Letting go of Fear, Dr. Gerald Jamplosky wrote, “Everything we think or say or do reacts on us like a boomerang. When we send out judgment in the form of criticism, fury, or other attack-thoughts, they come back to us. When we send out only love, it comes back to us.” Make this a day of acceptance and see how this scripture passage can be fulfilled in your hearing.
Secondly, look for the opportunity in the present, even if today is not quite what you had bargained for. A graduate student once complained to his friend that he was quite frustrated with his job. “I don’t do pencil-pushing.” His friend, not a bit sympathetic, shot back, “You know the world is a better place because Michelangelo didn’t say, ‘I don’t do ceilings.’” So it is. Look through the bible. Notice that Moses didn’t say, “I don’t do rivers.” Noah didn’t say, “I don’t do arks.” Paul didn’t say, “I don’t do gentiles.” Jesus didn’t say, “I don’t do crosses.”
Look for the opportunity today. In things you’d rather not do and in places you’d rather not be, today’s grace awaits you.
Finally, take time to put things in perspective. I read about a couple who were having their share of marital difficulties. Cultural tensions, financial strain, and two headstrong personalities made for a very volatile relationship. They had separated several times, but each time they decided to give their marriage another go.
One neighbor was empathizing with the wife over her problems. “Gee, marriage can be tough,” and offered bits of advice. As they chatted, he was hit with a fresh thought and instinctively said to her, “What a love story! You two have been through hell and high water, and here you are still committed to working at your marriage. That is an inspiring example of what love is all about!”
The wife smiled and didn’t say much, but gradually their conversation shifted. Instead of focusing on the obstacles in their marriage, the wife now talked about how she and her husband were working to resolve them. Her attitude became more hope-filled. She had put things in perspective.
Years later shortly after their 25th anniversary, the wife told her neighbor that his positive words had changed her perspective on their marriage. “When Dan and I were going through that difficult period, most of our friends were anticipating our divorce. I started believing we were heading that way, too. But you were different. When you praised us for our ‘love story,’ you gave me hope. You believed in our marriage and that made all the difference.”
To sum up the gospel, make God’s grace real, living a day of acceptance without judgment, a day of opportunity without complaint, a day of perspective without fear. These three things have the potential to make our scripture reading be fulfilled in your hearing….today.