Luke 4:24-30

“When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.” vss. 28-29

We might not understand the rage felt by the people of Nazareth when they turned against Jesus after his teaching moment in the synagogue–it seems so abrupt and out of proportion to what he actually said. Nor do we understand the rage that builds up in our own congregations from time to time–but it does happen! For some the COVID years were particularly traumatic, and the internal strife broke the hearts of many believers. Some congregations didn’t survive those years, and many are still struggling to recover. When decisions were made to discontinue in-person worship based on recommendations from national or synodical leaders some believed their religious freedoms were being threatened. And when they saw that other congregations didn’t curtail public worship at all, a few became incensed. The rage was palpable, pastors were driven to resign, and many people moved on to less restrictive faith communities. Some say that the only blessing of those years was the enhancement of livestream worship, but technology proved ineffective in healing the ruptures, and in-person participation has been slow to recover. We don’t know if rage continued to plague the synagogue in Nazareth, but it’s really not likely that Jesus was ever welcomed back with open arms.

Thought for the Day: How does my congregation deal with rage?