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A shoemaker through a dream was told that
he would see Jesus the next day. he waited in his store
all day. the only one who came in the morning was a
senior citizen. His shoes were worn out. The shoemaker
gave him a fresh pair at no charge. In the afternoon
came an old woman. She was hungry. The shoemaker
promptly gave her his own lunch. At evening approached,
a child came in crying bitterly. She was lost. The
shoemaker took her home to the other end of the town.
Returning, he was certain that he had missed his
rendezvous with the Christ. Then he heard a voice, “…I
kept my word. Three times today I came to your door. I
was the beggar with the bruised feet. I was the woman
you gave food to eat. I was the lost child you took
home.” (Edwin Markham)
Today’s gospel puts the Master back in
His hometown of Nazareth. He had come back for a long
weekend. He was anxious to spend quality time with His
mother. At this point, he was a celebrity. The news
about the miracle at Cana had preceded Him. After all,
Cana was only about four miles away. Politely he had
declined to appear on the cover of People Magazine. His
name was on everybody’s lips. A local boy had made good.
Every eye in town was on Mary’s door. The natives were
expecting some kind of fireworks to erupt from the
house. If he could do the hat trick in Cana, why not in
His own backyard? Imagine what it would do for the
town’s motel business. However, the Teacher to
everyone’s annoyance remained incommunicado. Probably He
did much-needed carpentry repairs on Mary's house. No
doubt she knocked herself out making Him His favorite
meals. She was appalled at the weight he had lost on the
road. She had heard much about those fast-food shops
down in Jerusalem. But on the Sabbath Mary’s door swung
outwards.
With her arm in her Son’s, they walked to
the synagogue. He would not miss Sabbath worship for all
the olive oil in Palestine. There must have been many
times when He was bored out of His skull by long, dull
homilies. Yet, every Sabbath found Him in a synagogue in
whatever town He was. If you have concluded that He was
telling us we should be at Mass each Sunday, you have
broken code. There was never anything subtle about the
Lord. You can bet your life the synagogue was packed to
the rafters that AM. Not even a shoehorn would get
another body in. if scalpers could have sold tickets,
they could have retired that day and moved to Florida. I
share your hunch that Jesus and his mother were given
two seats on the aisle way up front immediately.
Predictably the synagogue president
invited our Leader to read the Scriptures. He well knew
that if he had not, he might be lynched by his fellow
townspeople. The teacher deliberately chose the
particular passages from Isaiah that He wanted to share
with his neighbours that morning. These are the first
recorded adult words of Jesus the Christ. The sixty
first chapter of Isaiah is oftentimes called the Gospel
of the Old Testament. The words of Isaiah would
constitute the inaugural address of the Saviour. They
tell us what Jesus is all about and what He considers
His most important mission. He had come among his own to
bring happy news to the poor, to tell captives they were
free, to open the eyes of the blind, and to relieve the
burdens of the oppressed. Having finished the reading,
He rejoined his proud mother. She realized that every
eye in the synagogue was on her Son. Luke does not tell
us how His audience reacted to the message, for their
reaction is not really important. The one that is
crucial is mine and yours. The Christ allows each of us
to make up our own minds. As we make up our minds,
listen to the sixteenth century Spanish mystic, St
Teresa of Avila. “Christ has no body on earth now but
yours. Yours are the eyes through which he is to go
about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is
to bless people now.” The shoemaker took her advice. Why
don’t we? |
