4th Sunday Ordinary Time | Luke 4:21-30; 1 Cor 13:4-13
If you are like me, it is important for you that people approve of what you do and say. Though this tendency seems to be deeply rooted in our nature and so has always been a part of human experience, this desire for approval is particularly evident in the world of social media. When we post something on social media, we want as many people as possible to “like” our picture or message. We all seek affirmation. The idea that others would be opposed to us or even resent us because of our words or actions is a fearful prospect. The Gospel today forces us to reassess this desire. It challenges us to realize that if we are living our Christian mission well, then there will always be some who disapprove of what we say and do.
In the Gospel, we see that when the people in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth become aware of the true nature of his mission, they violently reject him. In the Gospel from last Sunday, Jesus announced the nature of his mission while reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue. He told the people that he had come to “bring glad tiding to the poor”, “proclaim liberty to captives”, “recovery of sight to the bling”, “let the oppressed go free” and “proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord”. In today’s Gospel, the people respond to Jesus’ proclamation of his mission. At first, some respond positively. They are amazed at the “gracious words that came from his mouth”. Soon however, the crowd starts to turn against him. This happens in large part as Jesus explains that his mission would not necessarily be addressed at them, but would be aimed at those of the lowest social status. To highlight this, Jesus compares his mission to specific incidents from life of the great prophets Elijah and Elisha in which they reached out to people on the margins: Elijah’s miracle he performed for a non-Jewish widow and Elisha’s healing of the non-Jewish leper Naaman. Like these prophets, Jesus indicates that he has come in a particular way to aid those of the lowest tier in the society. When the people in Nazareth realize the true scope of Jesus’ mission, they react violently and attempt to stone him, perhaps enacting the punishment the Torah demands should be meted out to false prophets (Dt 13:1ff). Jesus is nearly killed when the true nature of his mission is made clear.
Like Jesus, when we fully live our mission to embrace those of the lowest status, some will meet our efforts with opposition. Similar to when Jesus was received positively in the synagogue, many aspects of the mission that we are called to carry out as followers of Jesus are met with general acceptance: service to the poor, working to promote peace, striving to bring about reconciliation between divided people. There are, however, other parts of our mission that people will oppose. Depending on their political leanings, groups might oppose different aspects of our mission. In Canada, for example, people on the “left” might oppose our defense of the unborn and our opposition to euthanasia while people on the “right” might take exception with our attempts to care for the environment or welcome refugees. If we do a good job of carrying out the mission that Jesus has given us, we cannot expect to always receive approval. When we reach out to those in our society who are of the lowest status, we will be resisted.
When we encounter opposition to our mission, we are called to respond non-violently and with love. In the second reading, St. Paul explains that love should be the chief characteristic of a follower of Jesus. He beautifully explained what this love should look like. Love is patient, it is kind, it is not rude nor quick tempered and so forth. It is interesting to note that in the original Greek, these adjectives describing love are all actually verbal forms. This suggests to us that love is so much more than an emotion or a feeling. Love is shown primarily in action. We can think of several examples of individuals who, in the face of opposition to their mission, responded with the loving resistance outlined by St. Paul. For example, the Canadian pro-life activist Mary Wagner has been imprisoned on multiple occasions since 2012 for peacefully standing vigil outside abortion clinics. Or, we can consider the late bishop from Brazil, Hélder Câmara, whose cause for canonization was recently opened. When he politically advocated for the poor in his country, his work was met with great opposition. In response, Bishop Câmara famously remarked, “when I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist”. Both Bishop Câmara and Mary Wagner are good examples of people whose mission to those of the lowest social status of society were opposed and who countered this opposition peacefully and with love.
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| Helder Camara (source) |
It is only natural that we would want people to approve of our words and our actions. The Gospel today reminds us that we should expect some opposition if we are truly carrying out the mission of Jesus. This opposition will come when we embrace those in society who are of the lowest social status. Today is a good chance to remind ourselves that there are times when we will have to prefer approval from God over approval from some sectors of our society.
