Luke 4:24-28 -- On Jealousy, Pride, and Love for Others

"And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath"
Luke 4:24-28


The idea that "no prophet is accepted in his own country" is sort of depressing I think. It means that we can't let go of our pride and jealousy enough to see the divinity and potential within the people around us. Sure, someone far away that we don't know could be a prophet, but someone in our own family? No... we know their flaws and weaknesses. Impossible.

Except of course it isn't impossible. The old adage "familiarity breeds contempt" is only true if we allow comtempt to grow. Familiarity... knowledge and understanding of someone we know, can also produce deeper friendship and love, if we respect and honor the other person and don't try to see them as less so that we can see ourselves as more.

Here, Christ tries to explain to people that know him that he wasn't sent to show them miracles, and they get angry. It's almost the exact opposite of how Christ acts in some other circumstances where he heals everyone that is brought to him, and blesses every child... and perhaps the difference here is faith and acceptance. Perhaps these people weren't willing to believe in his divinity because they are jealous that someone they know has been elevated and celebrated so much more than they are.

Today, let's take a good hard look at pride and jealousy in our lives. If someone around us was suddenly elevated to some super cool and important position, would we be able to be happy for them, or would we be resentful and jealous that it wasn't us? Are we able to truly love and be happy for others, without trying to figure out what is in it for ourselves? Let's ponder that a while, and learn to do better, praying for the pure love of Christ that doesn't carry any taint of pride and selfishness.