Readings:
Malachi 3: 1-5;
Psalm 24: (1-6), 7-end;
Hebrews 2: 14-end;
Luke 2: 22-40

Collect:
Amighty and ever living God, clothed in majesty,
whose beloved Son was this day presented in the temple,
in substance of our flesh:
grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts,
by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Reflection - Whose Approval Counts? Text: Luke 4:21-22 

“Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

In the main discourse of the above text (Luke 4:14-30), Jesus was in a sense announcing the inauguration of his ministry by reading from the scroll of prophet Isaiah as he stood in the temple, He pointed to himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy and as the one able to offer salvation to all who hear him. Notice how the people that were present responded? They were amazed on one hand, but on the other hand they mocked him by declaring – is not this Joseph’s son?

Now, they might have been amazed that Jesus was claiming such an authority from the prophesy of the prophet or because of the realization that what they have been waiting for all these years was right under their noses. And perhaps a few of the more perceptive listeners might have noticed a particular nuance to Jesus’ reading from Isaiah. They might have caught the uncomfortable idea that Isaiah’s words had not been fulfilled until now because Israel hadn’t been ready to accept them. 

We must remember that this was Jesus in his home town, speaking to the people he would likely have related with on a personal level, including those who may have been part of his extended family. Yet, Jesus will go on to strongly challenge their mentality of sense of entitlement to God’s blessing by pointing out what God had done previously through Prophets Elijah and Elisha to non-Jewish people like the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. This got the people of Nazareth so angry that they got up and drove him out of town. 

The key lesson from Jesus’ attitude that we need to pay attention to is his ability to speak uncomfortable truth even to the point of his own people rejecting him. This should be a challenge to Christians as we model ourselves after the person of Jesus Christ, because we live in an age where speaking uncomfortable truth is fast becoming a dying art and where we are supposed to allow people to “live their lives” as long as they are not hurting anybody – even where “living their lives” is a clear contradiction of the word of God. I’m in no way advocating for condemnation of other people (as that would be unchrist like), but we must be able to speak the truth in love (like Jesus did). 

Another lesson is that Jesus was not looking for the approval or acceptance of his own people, rather, he was focused on the work that had been committed to his charge by his father. Hence Jesus was content with acceptance that comes from his father only instead of the acceptance of people. 

Therefore, as we live our lives here on earth, whose approval do we crave or seek? Do we withhold the truth for human’s approval? Or do we look to God for his approval?

Adedayo Adebiyi