There seems to be a lot of anger in the readings of the last week, and that anger continues today. In the first reading (2 Kings 5:1‑15), Aram, king of Israel, is enraged because he thinks that the king of Syria is trying to pick a quarrel with him by sending Naaman, his army commander, to him to be healed of his leprosy. The prophet Elisha persuades the king to move beyond his anger, declaring that he, Elisha, could cure Naaman. When Elisha asks Naaman to bathe seven times in the river Jordan, it is Naaman’s turn to fly into a rage. How could something so simple cure his leprosy? Elisha’s request is nothing more than a chance to humiliate him, or so Naaman thought. Now it is his servants turn. They persuade him to move beyond his anger and do what Elisha asks of him. When he does, his leprosy is cured.
Today Jesus identifies himself with both great prophets: Elijah of Sidon and Elisha of Syria (Luke 4:24‑30). Jesus is showing the people of his hometown, Nazareth, that God’s horizons are much wider than they wanted to accept. Jesus always challenges our image of God. He knows God better than we do. The God of Jesus is a big God, with a big heart, with a wide horizon, with a generous purpose for our lives. Our vision of God can sometimes be too restricted, just as King Aram’s is, just as Naaman’s is in the first reading.
In the gospel (Luke 4:24‑30), the people of Nazareth are enraged because Jesus identifies himself with Elijah and Elisha, two prophets who ministered to individuals beyond the boundaries of Israel. Unlike for King Aram and for Naaman the leper, on this occasion there was no one present to persuade the people of Nazareth to move beyond their anger and listen carefully to what Jesus is teaching. Instead, they decide to throw Jesus to his death. But Jesus somehow manages to slip away.
We can be angry for various reasons, but it isn’t always right to act upon our anger. We are blessed if we have people around us who help us to see that our anger is propelling us in a direction that will not serve us well. Jesus’ way of revealing God often made people angry. He proclaimed a God who welcomes all sorts: sinners and tax collectors, people from outside Israel, even from Israel’s traditional enemies, such as the Syrians. In the parable of the prodigal son, the older son was angry that his father was throwing a feast for his younger, rebellious, son. The older son was being asked to journey into the father’s unconditional love. It is a journey we are all asked to make. We are asked to accept a God who passionately loves those we find very difficult to love, and then to reveal something of that indiscriminate love of God in our own lives.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!