A Homily on Luke 4: 16-30 – Letting Go to Hold On…

 A homily on Luke 4:16 – 30: The beauty of Leaving Behind the Earthly Home to   Possess the Heavenly Home(1-9-25)

Praise be to Jesus Christ 

In a small town called Skopje a young girl named Agnes was brought up in a close-knit family. From her childhood she dreamt of offering herself to God and His people. At the age of 18 years she decided to join the Sisters of Loretto in Ireland hoping to go to India for the mission. With a heavy heart her family members gathered in the train station to sent her in God’s path. Agnes also teared with heavy heart and waved the last good bye to them. Once she left home she never met them again. And Agnes is none other than St. Mother Teresa of Culcutta. She let her desires to go to hold on to God. 

Today’s Gospel opens with a beautiful clause, “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up”(Lk 4: 16). A child, an adult, poor or rich, genius or average, the place where one have been brought up is something that cannot be set apart from one’s life. Home is not merely a place, it is a feeling and a being. And home also always feel proud of the achievements of her daughter. Today’s Gospel outlines the visit of her child, a great Rabbi and His rejection. But let us hale our attention to the attitude of the Rabbi to his belongings.

Jesus was brought up in Nazareth. “He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene” (Mt.2:23). ‘Nazareth’ means shoot or sprout. And it became the home-town of Son of God. Being the home-town Jesus never had a clinging attitude towards Nazareth. He left the home for his public ministry. “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah” (Mt.4: 13-14).

If Jesus has sticked to his home, how the prophesy of Isiah would have been accomplished : “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Mt.4:15-16). He never stood stagnant at a place. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Mt.9:35). Gaining always has some losing. He gave up the attachment to be free enough to move and do will of His Father. 

His detachment has a previous story too. Without considering the equality with God , He made Himself  nothing by taking the very nature  of a servant (cf Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus left his ‘Home’ and came to earth. He is God equal to Father and Spirit. But he came to earth leaving that Trinitarian Home, but mystically he was part of it too. Without taking a human form how the redemption could have been possible? Leaving Heaven and living in earth was not  a comfortable process. He was not even given a minimum concern of a normal human being. But he could persevere in all trial as he detached from everything and was only attached to His Abba father. 

It is difficult to pull out something that is sticked or rooted. We are just travellers or pilgrims in this earth who are journeying to earth. Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”. Live is a composition of landings and take offs. A family is formed when two individuals leave their homes and unite to form a new home…Each consecrated men and woman leave their home to be part of a congregation. But grabbing something even after leaving is dangerous. A boat cannot be moved forward unless it is untied from the position. A person cannot enjoy swing unless one moves from the stagnant position. A jar is to be emptied before refilling. Each consecrated is to be called to be part of every family without being part of any one family. Vows offers this inner freedom when lived fully. A sickness reminds us nothing is in your control…Failure alarms us you are too weak…Death reminds us nothing can be taken from this earth…St Paul asks: “Or who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” So let us keep this in mind that everything is a gift of God and I should not value gift than the giver. So our attachments have to be filtered.

This is not only bound in physical sense of home. A physical attachment sprouts from a  psychological attachment. We can be  clingy to our self, name and fame, home, possessions and so on. Blind attachments create unexpected problems in community, family an din personal life. If I am not able to sense the family I joined as my own and if I am attached to what I left behind…Then we will be physically present but mentally absent wherever I reach.  But “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Mt.16:26). Let us fly high like a little bird who move freely with it’s light weight. “Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.” — Victor Hugo .

Prayer: Oh Jesus , Detach me from world and attach me to you…

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God Bless…