The Spirit of God Is Upon Me

Jesus. As was his custom, we’re told, he goes to the synagogue on the sabbath. It’s his turn to read from the scroll, and he reads that passage from Isaiah and sits down. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone’s looking at him and he says, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And that’s where our passage from the lectionary ends, but if you read further in Luke, you’ll read that the people react with appreciation. The reality is, for Jews and Christians, and all people of good will, our call is to be good people — to uplift, to heal, to care for people. So, “all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” It’s easy to speak highly of that.

But then he digs in a little deeper. He reminds them that a prophet is never accepted in their hometown. He gives examples of prophets who are not accepted by their own people, and in doing so, he critiques his listeners and places himself in the company of the great prophets. The people’s reaction then is “fury.” And they go after him. In essence, they prove his point. He’s definitely not accepted there anymore!

Now, Jesus could have read that passage, sat down, and let that be that. People would have walked away from that service thinking, “Wow, what a good guy Joseph’s son turned out to be.” But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he pushes till he gets a reaction. Why?

It seems like there’s an urgency in him. The time is now. So, Jesus “comes out” as a prophet. The people in his town think they know him, but they’re only making assumptions about him. Jesus lets them know that he’s not just the son of Joseph the carpenter. He tells them who he is, and they don’t want to hear it.

Also, as Jesus comes out as a prophet, he’s being a prophet. Prophets provoke. They speak on behalf of God, and they challenge people. As it turns out, then and now, people don’t like to be challenged. I say this from my own experience of challenging people and getting pushback. Also, if I’m honest, I don’t like to be challenged that much. That can be uncomfortable. We’re all called to grow, and mostly we do grow, but we don’t always want to, do we? Part of what prophets do is to comfort the afflicted, but the other part of what they do is to afflict the comfortable. And when people get too comfortable, that’s when prophets come and needle them. Such is the will of God. God is all loving and merciful, but when we aren’t those things, when we don’t demonstrate love and mercy or challenge injustice or live up to our potential, God will challenge us.

I’ve heard people say that God loves us where we are but won’t leave us there, and I’ve found that to be true. There are certain life lessons that I seem to keep needing to learn over and over again. God is infinitely patient with me. And yet, God also won’t leave me alone to stay the same. God keeps challenging and, mostly, I keep trying to grow. Sometimes I don’t want to. I take a little break from growth. Maybe I disengage or wallow in sorrow. I hope I don’t do that too much, and sometimes life makes me genuinely sad or angry, and God can be in that too. Maybe some of those feelings are how God challenges me. Periods of sadness or anger or dismay or frustration can be invitations for growth. Especially anger. Dang, that can be a force to propel me forward! In fact, when disappointment and dismay turn to anger, that’s not such a bad thing. It’s the emotions that lead to inertia that are a problem, at least for me.

There are some people who, by nature or learned practice, run toward risk and challenge. I’m not sure if I’m naturally like that, but I want to be a person who’s intentional about taking risks and doing hard things. I don’t take risks just for their own sake – no bungee jumping for me! But when God calls me to do a hard thing, I want to try and do the hard thing. I think there’s something spiritually good about making a practice of risk-taking. Being risk adverse can make me too comfortable. Being too comfortable can make me apathetic, and apathy is not the will of God.

For some, because of trauma or life experience or whatever reason, they can’t be challenged and can’t take risks. Some won’t allow themselves to do hard things or to even be inconvenienced. Recently, I’ve heard a lot of defeatist, negative attitudes, and part of me wants to be compassionate, especially in the face of someone’s trauma response. I don’t know why people do what we do, and I hope that we’re all growing in the ways we need to at our own pace. At the same time, though, I don’t want other people’s inaction to lead me there too. I don’t want other people’s discouragement or apathy to make me discouraged and apathetic too. Just the other night someone said to me, “Well things are just going to be what they are and there’s nothing we can do about it, so I’m not even going to try.” At first, I felt discouraged, but then, no. No. I will not let other people’s complacency and refusal to take responsibility in this world influence me. I will not stop pushing. I guess I feel that same sense of urgency that I see in Jesus the prophet as he stands in front of his community. Somehow God might be in my urgency too.

God calls us to be compassionate, but God also calls us to challenge injustice. The kingdom of God will only come about through our pushing for it. The people of God have moved through times of extreme injustice before and pushed their way through it, often at their personal expense, but always to their personal growth and the greater good. Our call during this time is not different. We too are called to rise up and work on behalf of the gospel, to work on behalf of people. Will that be difficult? Yes, it likely will be. And we will respond anyway. Like Jesus standing in front of his family and neighbors and proclaiming the will of God, the time has come for us too. The time is now.

Today this passage is fulfilled in your hearing and in my hearing. We are here to fulfill it. What call do you hear from God right now? And how will you step out of your comfort to respond?

For reflection:

• So, what call do you hear from God? How are you called today to challenge injustice around you? To respond with compassion to those who are suffering?

• What makes it hard for you to move into action? What makes it hard to grow or to take risks?

• What do you need from God to help you to respond to God’s call? Maybe you could take some time with God and listen for what God has to say to you.

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She enjoys music, spicy food, and a can-do attitude. :)

God Space is a ministry of the Sisters of Divine Providence of Kentucky. Do you want to learn more about the Sisters of Divine Providence? Check out our website here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.CDPKentucky.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.