The problem was that they were expected to use their gifts the way the family wanted them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used. This is one of the story arcs in Disney’s recent movie, Encanto. Beyond the great music…which really is catchy in that stuck in your head all day sort of way…Encanto has a great storyline that could be preached in a million ways. Luckily for you, I will not preach it in a million ways today. Instead, I want to focus on two of the gifted family members in the movie and the promise and problems that each of their special powers provide.
First, there is Luisa who is super strong…like pick up a church and move it to a better spot strong. She actually does that. She is so strong that the village continually has heavy tasks that only she can solve with her super strength. Luisa showers honor on her family because of her hard work every single day. But, is Luisa only her muscles, or is she something more? Is she not allowed rest? Luisa is expected to use her gift the way the family wants them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used.
Then there is Isabela, whose beauty is picture perfect and who has the ability to make beautiful things grow. Rows and rows of beautiful roses are her specialty. She honors her family by making the town beautiful and making certain everything grows well. No weeds for her. But, why cannot Isabela make a mistake like everyone else? And, why is her creativity limited to roses and the requests of her town and family? A flowering cactus is also beautiful after-all. Isabela is expected to use her gift the way the family want them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used.
The very pressures that Luisa and Isabela feel are the very pressures that Jesus experiences as he arrives back in his hometown.
While in town, Jesus delivers a short but powerful sermon to the people of his hometown about bringing “good news to the poor,” “proclaiming release to the captives,” announcing “recovery of sight to the blind,” letting “ the oppressed go free,” and proclaiming “the year of the Lord’s favor.” And, the people of his hometown are completely captured by his gracious words. People envision their own lives filled with release from captivity, with clarity of sight, and freedom, and the restoration of all that once was.
In today’s time, Jesus’ words would create in people a longing for the prosperity and optimism of the 1950s and 1990s. Jobs would pay more than enough, homes would be built in the suburbs, children would play together in the cul-de-sacs without masks, and everyone would be free from the struggles and fears of today’s world.
With visions of a better world capturing their minds, the people hope to make Jesus and his power their own. “Wow, I can’t believe that’s Joseph’s son!” someone remarks. This powerful man of God is one of their own! And, with Jesus standing right there, the people of Jesus’ hometown feel special, and loved, and saved by God. They apparently feel wrapped with the love of God that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
And, right here where most problems in the faith start. When we, people of faith, expect Jesus to follow us rather than expecting that we will have to follow Jesus, there will always be problems. It is true. How many times do we convince ourselves that our enemies are evil, and, therefore, we expect that our enemies will also be God’s enemies? How many times do we expect Jesus to look like us and act like us rather than expecting that we will need to look and act like Jesus?
I remember one day showing a picture of Jesus dressed in Native American garb, with his long hair braided, to a member of the family. The picture is actually kind of cool because every item of clothing that this native Jesus is wearing comes from different Native tribes throughout the Americas. The meaning being that Jesus embraces all tribes and draws us all together in him. This is a very biblical notion. Of course, the artist knew that the historical Jesus did not actually look like this image.
But, the family member that I showed the picture to scoffed and laughed at how ridiculous and inaccurate such a depiction was. This is the same guy who has a painting of pasty white, blue eyed German Jesus hanging on his wall. He could not see the irony because he has unknowingly made Jesus his own, rather than allowing Jesus to make him Jesus’ own.
Jesus knows that the people of his hometown are doing the same thing in their heads. Jesus says, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’”
Jesus knows that the people of his hometown want him for themselves. They want Jesus to take care of the people at home first. That is the meaning of “Doctor, cure yourself” in this context. In other words, they expect Jesus to be the doctor who takes care of his own before anyone else. They expect Jesus to “do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”
The people of Jesus’ hometown automatically, and selfishly, assume that they will be the recipients of God’s love and favor, not the bearers of God’s love and favor.
Jesus quite starkly reminds the people of his hometown that the great prophet Elijah, during the great famine, did not come to the people of Israel, but to a widow and her son all the way over in Sidon. Nor did the great prophet Elisha cure any lepers in Israel, but rather only cured Naaman who was a Syrian. In other words, we follow Jesus and do what Jesus thinks is right, and help those who Jesus thinks we need to help. Jesus does not follow us, nor does he do what we think is right. He does not just show up to help those who we think should be helped first.
Jesus’ sermon was not a “feel good” sermon after-all. “I’m not here for you…I’m here for your neighbor…I’m here for the foreigner…I’m here for the captive…Now, come and follow me.” This is what Jesus is essentially saying as he quotes the book of Isaiah in his sermon.
No wonder the people tried to throw Jesus off of a cliff.
(Sung badly to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”)
Jesus loves your
neighbor, this I know, for Isaiah tells me so.
Poor and foreign to him belong.
They are weak but he is strong.
Yes Jesus loves them. Yes Jesus
loves them. Yes Jesus loves them. Isaiah tells me so.
The truth is that we can get so full of ourselves and our needs and our wants that we become completely blind to others. And, just because I am preaching these words does not mean I am immune to it. I too prefer a good old “feel good” sermon with some great old hymns any day. After-all, who wants to follow Jesus into the lives of those who reside in the darkest of places? It is hard to even bring myself to look into those dark places, so I would rather just worry about myself thank you very much.
But, Jesus is not afraid. Jesus is not afraid to go into the dark places. In the old version of the creed we say that Jesus descended into hell. There is nowhere that Jesus fears going, no length that Jesus would not go in order to save those who dwell in the dark. That is love. That is a love that never ends. That is a love that bears all things and never loses hope. And, that is a love worth following.
As you have probably seen already, our congregation’s new working vision statement reads, “Come and See, Come and Serve, Follow Christ.” “Follow Christ;” that is the foundation of who we are. We are a people who strive to follow Christ wherever he goes. We strive to love those who Jesus loves. We strive to serve those who Jesus serves. We strive to see what Jesus is doing and we desire to emulate that.
We strive to follow Jesus as he loves our neighbor…even when they do not deserve it…even when they are our enemy…even if they live in the darkness…and even if they are exactly like us and need God’s salvation. “Come and See, Come and Serve, Follow Christ,” is all about seeing Jesus for who he is, serving those Jesus serves, and following the life of love that Jesus lived.
After-all, Jesus is the one who has a love that is “patient;” and “kind;” that “rejoices in the truth;” and “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things;” and above all else, “never ends.” Jesus’ love never ends. Therefore, Christ is the only one who is worthy of being glorified and followed.
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