ONEFAMILY Outreach

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ONEFamily Outreach exists to "Connect Kids to Community and Communities to Kids." Have you considered having a mission week for your church? This is one of my favorite "in-depth" ways of reaching out with the Great News of Jesus Christ. Activities can include:

Interactive and participative praise concerts for children, youth, and families;
Morning staff studies on "Authentic Leadership" and "Building a Culture of Intentional Courtesy"
Brown-Bag Luncheon Studies for your community focusing on our scriptural call to justice;
In-service for your volunteers or teachers on reaching today's youth and families with the vibrant, living, message of Jesus Christ;
Evening parent seminars based upon two of Jerry's recent books: "Significant Conversations: Helping Young People Live Meaningful Lives," and "The Deepest Longing of Young People; Loving Without Conditions."
Local networking with other area groups (secular or faith-based) regarding prevention and intervention strategies for high-risk and incarcerated youth;
Humorous and thought-provoking school assemblies (secular or religious, elementary through high school).

ONEFamily Outreach is primarily supported by your donations and by trainings, workshops, retreats and concerts.

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“No Prophet Is Welcome In His Hometown”

Luke 4:21-30

Epiphany 4c

Luke 4:21-30

[Lk 4:21] And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [22] And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” [23] And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. [25] “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; [26] and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” [28] And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; [29] and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, He went His way. (NAS)

Luke 4:21

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Of course the scripture Christ refers to is his very mission:

Luke 4:18-19

[Lk 4:18] “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, [19] TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (NAS)

This is the mission statement of Jesus Christ, the statement of values that would underpin his entire ministry on earth. It would be the basis of all his decisions and actions, his “motivo di vivere,” his reason for living. Is it ours?

This statement was great news to the poor, captive, blind, oppressed and everyone who works toward the fulfillment of that mission. However, it is not very good news to those who neglect Christ’s mission (see Mt 25:31-46) and seek their own ends from the sweat of others in this very short life on earth.

There is a subtle beauty in these words of Jesus that can thrill all of us who may be struggling with hope in the midst of the poor and captive. Instead of being like a politician who makes promises at the beginning of a term that will be fulfilled while he is in office; Jesus tells us that his promise is already fulfilled [GSN4137 pleroo, meaning “filled to fullness and overflowing”]. Jesus’ promise was complete the moment he began his ministry. This is great and mysterious news for all of us. It means:

· Salvation is based upon our decision, not our results;

Once we make our decision to serve the Lord our salvation is not based upon what we are going to do, but upon what God has already done! As Mother Theresa was fond of saying; “We are called to be faithful—not successful.”

· God’s plan is already complete. Death has lost its sting;

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

[1Co 15:54] But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. [55] “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; [57] but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NAS)

Not only has death lost its victory, but so has the Evil One. Satan is in full retreat (but still trying to take as many people as he can with him).

· Since the Good News is fulfilled; we can live fearlessly;

We can be confident, because of our Savior’s resurrection that all things will, “work to the good of those who love God [Romans 8:28].”

There can be no “fatal mistake” to the Christian who endeavors to love God and do His will. Even our failures will work towards His glory if we just make ourselves available to Him. Since God works all things toward our good, why act with trepidation? Why not fail grandly so God can work grandly? Why not love radically, preach boldly and abandon ourselves completely?

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

“Is this not Joseph’s son?”

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?

Here is where the words of Jesus must divide. Our Lord did not claim the title Jesus bar Joseph (Jesus, son of Joseph). He claimed to be Jesus bar YHWH; Jesus, Son of the one, true God! He claimed to be Messiah, the Way, the Truth, and the Light. If Jesus were just a “good man,” he would not have claimed any of these things. If he were not the Son of God, then he was the greatest deceiver in history. Anyone who calls him, a Good Man, has to reconcile these issues. A good man wouldn’t deceive others with delusions of grandeur. It means that Jesus had to be a pathological liar, a deluded psychotic, or the Son of God and this demands anything but a passive response.

If he was a liar, then we should not allow him to delude more people. The people of Nazareth were correct in doing all they could to stop him. However, if he is the Son of God, then our entire life should change and focus on bringing his message to all that may suffer the coming darkness.

Who is Jesus to us? Jesus bar Joseph or Jesus bar YHWH?

The question demands a response that is anything but passive. The question demands a response that is life altering.

Luke 4:23-27

[23] And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.[25] “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;[26] and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.[27] “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

“No prophet is welcome in his hometown.”

It is no surprise to Jesus when he is not accepted by his own village, in fact, it is obvious that he expected to be rejected. Yet, he still goes to his hometown and preaches the Gospel! The fact that he expects rejection does not prevent him from offering it.

To preach the Gospel is to expect rejection, Jesus was adamant about this to his own disciples:

Luke 9:23-24

[23] And He was saying to {them} all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. [24] “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” (NAS)

Luke 14:27-28

[27] “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. [28] “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?” (NAS)

Furthermore, we should not be surprised when rejection comes from the most familiar sources, as it did when Jesus went to his own hometown:

Matt 10:34-39

[34] “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; [36] and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

[37] “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. [38] “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. [39] “He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.” (NAS)

Yet, to be Christian is to not seek our own counsel or our own comfort from this world. We live in a world that is hostile to the claims of Jesus Christ. I would even go so far as to say that if we are in an environment that seems constantly affirming to us as Christians then we are not practicing the Gospel. In a world of oppression and injustice, the Gospel needs to be at the edge of the fray. Most Christians just hang out at the canteen and talk about the stale bread. Our role is to be light in the darkness and streams in the desert.

Perhaps the Gospel becomes most harsh when we deliver it as Jesus did; right in his own home church. Many churches do not want to hear that they have become little more than country clubs inundated by ritual and theology and starved of justice and mercy. In those environments, any follower of Christ should feel “out of sorts.” There is a natural hostility that arises when someone reminds us that following Christ means leaving behind our flat screen TV’s and picking up a splintered cross.

Jesus’ message is not Good News to the comfortable. It is the greatest news to the poor, the oppressed and the captives and to the extent that we are in relationship with and advocating for that latter group, it will be Good News for us too.

To the extent that we call ourselves “Christians” and don’t do what Christ demands, it will be horrible news. We need to keep in mind Jesus’ reprimand to the self-righteous religious of his own times:

Mark 2:17

[17] And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “{It is} not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NAS)

If the path of the Christian is the easy path, the comfortable path, or the popular path, then it is the wrong path. The way of Jesus becomes the “popular way” only when it is watered down to the wants of the culture that surrounds it.

Elijah was sent to none of them

Here is one of the saddest events in the whole bible. The Messiah comes to the world and goes to his own neighborhood, and his own people reject him. As a result, Jesus wipes the dust of Nazareth off of his feet and moves to Capernaum. From this point on, we do not read about Jesus ever again returning to the city where he was raised.

Nor does Jesus slink out of town. He tells these people very clearly that they have their own lack of faith to blame for the lack of the God’s touch in their mundane lives. He quotes two very important passages from Kings:

· 1 King 17:9-24: Zarephath in Sidon

God is disgusted with the lack of belief among His own people and sends his servant Elijah to a rival country (Sidon) where the prophet performs miracle after miracle.

· 2 Kings 5:1-27: Naaman the Leper of Syria

Though leprosy was a rampant disease throughout Israel, God allows Elijah to heal only a foreigner, and that foreigner, Naaman, was a great warrior from an opposing nation.

Jesus does not reject his own people, they reject him and he calls them on it. He is unwilling to be anything less than a Messiah to them and that is also how he will approach, nothing less than Messiah is acceptable. He is not there to be their friend, their carpenter, or their novelty (the magician who brightens up a party by turning water to wine). He is either their Messiah or he will not accept any other position in their lives. Similarly, he is either our Messiah or he will not accept any lesser position in our lives as well.

To know the full joy of the miraculous Jesus demands our full allegiance, we cannot have “Jesus on our terms.”

Luke 4:27-30

[28] And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; [29] and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, He went His way. (NAS)

All the people in the synagogue were filled with rage

These were not Romans, temple priests, or subversive Zealots; they were the church-going families of Jesus’ hometown. In the space of a few minutes they went from being regular families gathered for worship to an enflamed mob ready to kill one of their own. Something about church can call the best and the worst out in people. Congregations have arisen to battle slavery, stand for civil rights and even bring down oppressive regimes. Alternatively, congregations have divided into warring fiefdoms over carpet choices, interpretations over a sentence or two of scripture, or what version of the bible is correct. What makes the difference between a people propelled to greatness and a people who plummet into the oblivion of pettiness?

All of those questions are answered in this reading. Jesus was giving these people a shot at eternal greatness and a glimpse of incomparable glory. He was offering them a mission greater than themselves and larger than their own petty squabbles. He was giving them a chance to ascribe to the timeless and the momentous; to be anointed, set apart for a holy work. They had the opportunity to; “preach the Gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners, give sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and proclaim the year of Jubilee!”

But, they didn’t want to go there with Jesus. They wanted him to fit in with their agenda; they sure didn’t want to follow his. Instead of striving to attain God’s greatest commission they wanted God to dwell in their small-mindedness. They didn’t want to become “more like Jesus”; they wanted Jesus to become more like them.

So the question gets close to home. Are we ready to step up to Christ’s mission or are we trying to make him fit into ours? In most churches today the mission of Jesus isn’t even a tertiary objective. We just do not measure our faithfulness by what Jesus said is the very reason he was anointed. Many of us have heard this scripture preached at least once every three years and yet, we still left church without altering our lives one iota. We all love Jesus, but we don’t buy into his agenda.

Instead, preachers say; “Well, when Jesus says poor, captive, blind or oppressed, he actually means something else, it’s not literal, it’s metaphorical.”

Is it metaphorical? Does Jesus need an interpreter? Did Jesus have a hard time articulating his message and so he really needs someone from our culture to explain it? Why am I afraid to leave his words untouched and raw?

What if my “anointing” is attached to Christ’s mission? What if Jesus really meant; “You are anointed because:

· “The poor call you Good News!”

· “The incarcerated say; ‘He has helped release me from my bondage.’”

· “Those in darkness have received vision because we shared bread together.”

· “The oppressed feel hopeful because I am their advocate.”

· “And my life proclaims that the claims of Jesus are fulfilled; they are a “done deal.” So “rejoice and fear not!”

Let’s not become like the Nazarenes; the people who tried to pull Jesus down to their level. Instead, what must I do to reach up to his? Where all I am have or do is given to love “the least of these” in the name of Jesus.

But passing through their midst, He went His way.

We wonder at this event, as if Jesus’ movement through the crowd were miraculous or dramatic. Yet, the truth is that this happens every week in churches from every town. The words of Jesus are there, the potential for greatness is there, even the resources are there; but Jesus himself slips out the back door because people become too self-focused, too theologically-focused or our church has an “edifice-complex,” too building-focused. Jesus was right there but he slipped out when he saw that religious folk of Nazareth were going to spend the rest of their lives “debating” who he really was and what Jesus really meant.

Jesus didn’t have to sneak out, he could have yelled; “Here I am, get me!” all the way down the road to Capernaum. They still wouldn’t have noticed, they were too busy with their personal indignation. The indignant will never glimpse God. Yet, how horrible, how sorrowful; Jesus was right there and he walked away. With a ho-hum and an uncovered yawn, Jesus slipped right out the back of their church.

Let us strive not to make Jesus one of us. Let us not lose our Savior in the heat of our own petty indignation. Instead, let us risk losing it all for a God who has given it all. Let us abandon ourselves to a mission worthy of our greatest effort. The mission of Jesus Christ himself:

Luke 4:18-19

[18] “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, [19] TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (NAS)

About the Author

Jerry Goebel has worked with youth and young adults for over thirty years. Twenty of those years have been spent focusing primarily on reaching out to at-risk youth on the streets or in the juvenile court system. Jerry developed ONEFamily Outreach, which trains mentors to work with disconnected youth (incarcerated youth, youth in recovery, and youth who are expelled from school). Jerry travels extensively to teach adults how to become more effective in empowering young people to become a positive influence within their communities

To contact or book Jerry for a presentation in your area write or call:

Jerry Goebel

ONEFamily Outreach

jerry@onefamilyoutreach.com

http://onefamilyoutreach.com

(509) 525-0709

Other Works by Jerry Goebel

Weekly Gospel Study based upon the Lectionary Cycle (membership, by donation)
To subscribe, go to: http://onefamilyoutreach.com
Jerry began these studies when he was a missionary in the Yakima County Jails. The focus of these in-depth commentaries was to provide knowledge about Jesus Christ, his culture, and his language, but also to reveal the compassion of our Lord and our call to discipleship. A very important aspect of this study was to provide practical applications for the readers as well as challenge them to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

Youth Curriculum Accompaniment to the Weekly Gospel Study (membership, by donation)
To subscribe, contact: jerry@onefamilyoutreach.com
Every week, Jerry takes a group of adults into the local County Juvenile Detention Center to lead “Significant Conversations.” Though this outreach is part of the public education component of the detention center the material is based upon values found in each week’s reading. Each session has a brief overview of the topic followed by a series of strength-based, open-ended questions, that help the young person move the values from their hearts to their minds, and finally to practical application. Whether you work with young people or adults, in a secular or faith-based climate, the principles used and the topics chosen will have an impact on the people you see.

The Deepest Longing of Young People: Loving Without Conditions $14.95 (paperback)
To order, go to: http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3823
This book is a faith-based overview of the needs of young people in a culture that has a difficult time understanding the difference between performance-based approval and unconditional dignity. It is a scriptural framework for engaging a young person in a healthy adult relationship in today’s society.

Significant Conversations: Helping Young People Live Meaningful Lives $14.95 (8.5 x 11 inch spiral bound with printable worksheets)
http://www.lulu.com/content/486979
Significant Conversations is a workbook for adults who want to have a meaning-filled relationship with a young person. There are 14 conversations in this workbook and each section includes an adult overview, a youth overview, and an opportunity to “expand your emotional vocabulary.” Finally, each of the conversations ends with strength-based, open-ended questions that deepen the impact of the topic and a weekly calendar that identifies opportunities for applying the topic to one’s life.

Is There Hope For Me Now? $8.95 (paperback with writing space for journaling)
http://www.lulu.com/content/495682
This book is actually for young people who are going through a rough time. It helps them to work through some critical issues by journaling about such important matters as their emotions, forgiveness, choosing a healthy self-identity, and creating a positive vision for their life.

Musical Collections $12.95 (CD’s, each with 15 original works by Jerry Goebel)
To subscribe, go to: http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bookscds.html
Jerry’s career began in the late 1970’s when, as a teenager, he left home to begin a musical career that has lasted three decades and spanned the world. During that time, Jerry received five popular music awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers as well as being nominated for two Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association.

Copyright Notice

Scripture Quotations noted from NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION of the bible. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

The New Testament Greek Lexicon based on Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” These files are public domain.

The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, [DFF1] Gesenius Lexicon; this is keyed to the “Theological Word Book of the Old Testament.” These files are considered public domain.