[Propertalk] Sermon tips for Luke 4:21-30 - January 31 - Part 6

[Joe Parrish]

v25-27. Only Luke records the Elijah and Elisha sayings, alluding to 1 Kings 17-18 and 2 Kings 5:1-14. During this time in history, Israel faced God's chastisement for their rebellion. What few blessings that did flow from God at this time, flowed to Gentiles rather than Jews. Jesus is making the point that God in the past has turned from rebellious Israel and has ended up blessing outsiders. The congregation's rejection of Jesus serves only to align them with that previous generation's foolishness.

http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/sunday4cg.html

Bryan Findlayson
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Expectations can be caused by frustration. We want something to happen. So we look to others for fulfillment. Faith can become confused. And prayer can dry up.
Why does prayer sometimes seem so hard? Prayer is sometimes difficult because we fight against ourselves and the temptations around us (including the devil). Prayer can become hard when we use prayer for selfish ends (praying only for a particular need or to reduce stress), or when we don't take the time to pray on a regular basis, or when we reject prayer as a "waste of time." Prayer can be extremely hard when we sense personal failure; we have the temptation to give up instead of persevering. As a result, we can feel dry and can be easily distracted in prayer; we can even lose faith and become depressed.  

What can we do when prayer becomes hard? We can take two strategies when prayer becomes hard. First, we can realize that our faith is being tested; we can change our prayer in order to seek God's will for us. Second, we can realize that prayer is never wasted; we are challenged to use prayer as a means to overcome frustration in prayer. As St. Paul said, "Pray constantly." (1 Thess. 5:17) 

http://www.word-sunday.com/Files/c/4-c/A-4-c.html

Larry Broding 
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These people were ready to acknowledge that Jesus was a wonderful teacher.  They were willing to admit he was a man of good character.  They would certainly let him carve a yoke for their most-prized oxen or construct a weight-bearing doorway to hold up their house.  However, that is where they drew the line, they were not going to allow Jesus to be the Messiah; he was Joseph's son to them.
As a result, there were no miracles in Nazareth.  Worst of all, there would be no savior in Nazareth.

Has my life been short on salvation and miracles lately?  Perhaps this is the cause.  Maybe I, too, am willing to admit Jesus has some good sayings and that he had an impact on many lives; but is he Lord and Savior to me?

http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Luke/lk_04_21-30.html

© 2005 Jerry Goebel: jerry at onefamilyoutreach.com
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...the rules for getting on that he had learned in business school but even more so from the University of Life - the rat race world.

     "First of all you make the impression that you are rich, famous and successful. You must dress snappy and look the part. Have all the paraphernalia of progress hanging out of you, a beeper in your top pocket, a cellular phone on your belt, and an electronic organizer in your clutch bag embossed with an impressive logo. Remember, nearly everybody is taken in by appearances; they always trust their first impressions. People do judge a book by its cover and they judge you in the same way. 


     "The second important rule is that you never start your campaign in your home area. Avoid your own family, neighborhood and friends. They know you and your weaknesses and the weaknesses of your family. If you have any success they will be the first to get jealous and pull you down. Your home place is like crabs in a pot. There is no need to put a lid on it. The crabs pull down anyone who wants to escape. No, it is far better to begin with total strangers...."

http://www.bible.claret.org/liturgy/daily/sundays_pierse/cycleC/C_4thSunOT.htm

Gerry Pierse, 1998
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As we visit with Jesus in Nazareth -- or maybe as Jesus visits us in our own settlement -- ought we perhaps to understand his impatience and perhaps even to feel it ourselves, this irritation with old suppositions and preoccupations? We inhabit a strange culture in which self-absorption and solipsism are mass-marketed, a culture in which our churches participate, compete and cater to please. Its assumptions may sit so deep and unspoken in us that it takes a voice of adolescent anger to put them into words. We shall perish if we cannot see a larger world and understand what we are doing to this globe and to strangers beyond the compass of our lives.

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=649
 
John Stendahl, 1998
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As soon as Jesus identified himself in a prophetic role, he would no longer be accepted with favor. He would not be the first prophet told to leave town because his message hit a little too close to home (Amos 7:12). He would not be the first prophet to risk death because he dared to tell the truth to people who did not want to hear the truth (Jer 37:12-38:6). He would not be the first prophet who had the integrity to refuse to cater to the whims of the people (Mic 3:5-8).

http://www.cresourcei.org/lectionary/YearC/Cepiphany4nt.html

Dennis Bratcher, 2009
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