Jesus is in the synagogue on the Sabbath day at Nazareth. He stood there in the center of all those who knew him. He was a hometown boy, the center of attention that day. “The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him” says Luke. From the prophet Isaiah, Jesus reads these words: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Jesus closed the Scriptures, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The Word of God is not always pleasant to hear. It does not massage the status quo at the expense of the truth. People don’t want their turf invaded, not even by a home…