So I'm trying to figure out how I can say something like this, as I did last week:
We must avoid the trap of Nazareth. We're told in this week's readings that we are collectively the Body of Christ and individually parts of it. Then we hear that we have been anointed by the Spirit of God to bring glad tidings and healing, release and comfort, liberty and recovery of sight. Yes, Jesus is indicating that these things apply to him, but we are his Body, so they apply to us, too, both collectively and individually. The people of Nazareth would hear Jesus apply this ancient scripture, and they knew him, they thought. This was Joseph's son. They'd seen him grow up before their eyes. The thought they knew his story, so his history interfered with their ability to recognize him for who he really is.
The same thing happens to us. Well do we know our own history, and it has too often not the been story of Christ's presence in the world. Last week we heard the clouds open and the Father proclaim that He is well pleased, but we don't think either of these messages applies to us. Our familiarity with our own story as we have experienced it interferes with our ability to hear the applicability of these messages to our lives.
. . . and the next day and the next week, feel so hopeless. I mean, my team is in the Super Bowl, we're planning a short-notice party for Sunday, and mostly I'd really rather just curl up in a ball somewhere. I'm not sure if it's just physical weariness or a general ennui more deeply rooted in my life, but being the joyful, beloved presence of Christ in the world feels far from me right now.
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