There are several points of...
Illustration
There are several points of interest in this week's Gospel, which is a sequel to the last week's. Why did Jesus say that the men in the synagogue might well quote the proverb, "Doctor, heal yourself." Did Jesus have a physical defect, either then or earlier?
Compare the fierce resentment of the townspeople of Nazareth after he had lived there in quiet obscurity as a loving son, with the enthusiasm of the people of Sycar in enemy territory.
It's interesting that there is no slur or attack on the character of Joseph and Mary, or remarks about an illegitimate birth, no charges of sin or folly.
Jeremiah ended his prophetic ministry in a dry well and Joan of Arc at a stake. Good Friday wasn't the only day they tried to kill Jesus. And Jesus went away ... never to return.
The fate of the church is to be that of its Lord.
(Jesus did not counter violence with violence ... he left.)
George B. Shaw wrote a great play about Joan of Arc --how she left her home and inspired the French people to battle against their English conquerors. In one scene young Prince Charles is complaining because Joan, obedient to her heavenly vision, has rebuked his softness and cowardice. With no desire to be a hero, he cries out, "I want to be just what I am. Why can't you mind your own business and let me mind mine?" The peasant girl in her fanatical zeal replies, "Minding your own business is like minding your own body. It's the shortest way to make yourself sick. What is my business? Helping mother at home? What is thine? Petting lap dogs and sucking sugar sticks? I tell thee it is God's business we are here to do; not our own. I have a message to thee from God; and thou must listen to it though thy heart break with the terror of it."
Often clergy (and statesmen and prophets) feel like saying to people, "It is God's business we are here to do. You must listen though your heart break."
Compare the fierce resentment of the townspeople of Nazareth after he had lived there in quiet obscurity as a loving son, with the enthusiasm of the people of Sycar in enemy territory.
It's interesting that there is no slur or attack on the character of Joseph and Mary, or remarks about an illegitimate birth, no charges of sin or folly.
Jeremiah ended his prophetic ministry in a dry well and Joan of Arc at a stake. Good Friday wasn't the only day they tried to kill Jesus. And Jesus went away ... never to return.
The fate of the church is to be that of its Lord.
(Jesus did not counter violence with violence ... he left.)
George B. Shaw wrote a great play about Joan of Arc --how she left her home and inspired the French people to battle against their English conquerors. In one scene young Prince Charles is complaining because Joan, obedient to her heavenly vision, has rebuked his softness and cowardice. With no desire to be a hero, he cries out, "I want to be just what I am. Why can't you mind your own business and let me mind mine?" The peasant girl in her fanatical zeal replies, "Minding your own business is like minding your own body. It's the shortest way to make yourself sick. What is my business? Helping mother at home? What is thine? Petting lap dogs and sucking sugar sticks? I tell thee it is God's business we are here to do; not our own. I have a message to thee from God; and thou must listen to it though thy heart break with the terror of it."
Often clergy (and statesmen and prophets) feel like saying to people, "It is God's business we are here to do. You must listen though your heart break."
