Monday 18 January 2021

Psalm 56

Background

It was an ordinary day, like many others. Jesus was famous and developing a reputation as a teacher, healer and preacher. He returned home and attended synagogue, as on any other ordinary day. He was invited to preach as you would expect. He chose his passage, read it out and sat down. It was customary to preach sitting down.

 All eyes were on him waiting to hear what he had to say. Then things went pear-shaped. Jesus was expected to do the same wonderful things in Nazareth as he had done in Capernaum. Only he didn’t.

 Instead, Jesus accused the people of Nazareth of a lack of faith and said they did not deserve to see the same things as the people of Capernaum. He said no prophet was accepted in their home town.

 From an ordinary day, it changed to become an extraordinary one. People's respect turned to resentment and their pleasure to anger. The mood changed from welcome to mob rule. Jesus was driven out of town and his life was threatened.

 How often do we see things like this happen? It can start when people say "I want the same as you", or "I want what you have." Before we know where we are, our desires can escalate to robbery, assault and hatred. If there is envy between nations, it is a short step to the threat of war, or even the waging of war.

To Ponder:

• Let's consider the politics of envy. In what ways do we put envy into fine clothing to justify taking the things we want?
• What can break the cycle of envy and acquisition? Can we afford to leave it unbroken, as we live in a world of limited resources?
•  Even if I am relatively poor by UK standards, on a global scale I am wealthy. How can we stop being bystanders when inequality drives anger and resentment?