Good News Has Enemies

Prayer of Preparation

Good News Always Has Its Enemies

Sunday Scriptures:

Psalm 146

Luke 4:14-30

“Good news always has its enemies," says Fred Craddock in his Interpretation Bible commentary on Luke (54).

Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah in a synagogue in Nazareth on the sabbath day. He reads that “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor" (Luke 4:18). And release to the captives. And sight to the blind. And freedom for the oppressed. And to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

All of that sounds like it should be good news, doesn’t it?

And THEN he said that the scripture he read had been fulfilled that day in their hearing! What?!

For at least a few moments everyone who was gathered that day was speaking graciously about him. And then, in one of those smackdowns that is couched in friendly language, someone present asks, “Is not this Joseph’s son?" (Luke 4:22)

Should a carpenter’s kid be talking like this? Should a child of this town be speaking this way? Oh, young man, you can’t be serious! And then he pushes back on them, challenging them with thoughts that are rolling through their minds about curing himself before he says anything to them, and doing more and speaking less. He is not surprised that they are not welcoming this good news.

Yikes! There’s more.

No prophet is welcome in his home town, he tells them, pointing to Elijah and Elisha. Elijah fed a widow (good news to the poor) at Zarephath (she was not like them, not one of them). And Elisha healed Naaman, a Syrian! The good news, the healing, the release he just read about is coming to people that traditionally were held – at that moment of his reading – held as outsiders, and even enemies.

He’d pushed the envelope before with his words about the scriptures from Isaiah being fulfilled in their hearing. But now, this was too much. They turn on him, drive him out of town and let him to a cliff with the intention of throwing him over.

Luke says he just walked through the middle of the angry, blood-thirsty crowd and went on his way.

Good news, indeed, always has its enemies.

The good news of Isaiah and God’s work in the lives of Zarephath’s widow, the Syrian commander, Ruth, the woman at the well, the Roman Centurion, and many others are all in scripture – in the Good News.

As people of faith, we are sometimes tempted to think that it is people outside of the church who are enemies of the Good News. But in this story, those who are most resistant to the news Jesus brings are part of the worshipping community.

Craddock notes, “Jesus does not go elsewhere because is he rejected; he is rejected because he goes elsewhere" (64). The Good News can’t be separated from God’s love for the entire world.

It is not good news for some. It is good news for everyone.

And that kind of good news always has its enemies.

 
Blessings on your preparation for worship! If you're interested in joining us in person for worship, find out details  here.

To join us virtually, use this YouTube link.

All are welcome!

Works Cited:

Works cited:

Fred B. Craddock. Luke. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990,

Preparing for Worship posts are sent out to our email list every Friday. If you'd like to be added to our email list, please email us. Thank you!