Father, as I come before You this evening, I think of a favorite hymn that has come to mind so many times over the years.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;

Luke 4:20-30 (<<click to read the passage)

Have you ever heard the idiom “to stir the pot”? I read a little Q&A thing online that asked what it meant and part of the original question was, “…does it mean to be in some way deliberately provocative or irritating?” I really liked the answer that was given.

Deliberately provocative, yes, but not necessarily maliciously. Picture a pot of soup. A lot of ingredients have settled to the bottom, out of sight, until stirred. Metaphorically, a lot of issues/resentments/obligations can drop out of sight when nobody mentions them. One can “stir the pot” to bring issues to the surface, sometimes with malice, but sometimes merely to create awareness and effect change.

I think that Jesus, here in these verses, is “stirring the pot”. After he read the passage from Isaiah from the scroll, can’t you see all the men gathered there shaking their heads and smiling benignly at the young man who grew up amongst them? I can’t imagine Jesus not being well-liked. I’m sure He was respected as any other hard-working craftsman in the community would have been

Now they may not have totally understood what He meant when He told them, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

But they weren’t berating or criticizing Him. Overall, they were just amazed that the gracious words came from the lips of a simple carpenter.

Then Jesus stirred the pot!

All of the sudden things that may have been thought but not spoken were brought to light! Jesus very clearly shared two Old Testament examples where miracles had been performed on Gentiles – those outside the Jewish faith – because the faith of the Jews was so lacking!

And in all those years since Elijah and Elisha had lived and prophesized, things – actually people – hadn’t changed one bit. And truly, are things any different today? If a local guy or gal began truly living the lives that Jesus calls us to, how would their local churches respond? What if those individuals had been a tad rebellious earlier in life? What if they had sown their share of wild oats, as it were? What would their church’s responses be? Would they be able to see past their past? Or would they, at the very least, hold back and at the worst, reject and ridicule who they had become?

Lord Jesus, may our hearts be open to what You want to do in our – and with – our lives. May we diligently seek to live out Your calling in our lives, regardless of how others may interpret our actions. Fill us with You – Your love, Your wisdom, Your strength, and Your compassion. Amen.

Dec 16th, 2019, Mon, 8:16 pm