Jesus came to Nazareth where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"

During this session of the movie “Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith,” Anakin Skywalker begins a battle in his mind, a battle between what is good and what is evil. Eventually, as the Sith General, Chancellor Palpatine, names him “Darth Vader,” Anakin chooses the “dark side.” He chose it because he wanted the power. Palpatine promised Anakin that he could do anything he wanted if he just chose the dark side. Even though Yoda counsels Anakin to “let go” of that feeling, Anakin listened to what he wanted to hear, the sound of power, rather than the sound of reason and good.

One of the truths about our human living is that we like to listen to things that do not disturb us. There is nothing wrong with that. Like Anakin Skywalker, and the citizens of Nazareth, it is easy to listen to someone who says things that we like to hear. The problem comes when we should be listening to something difficult.

The citizens of Nazareth did not want to change their ways, especially when someone familiar challenged them. Eventually, they even wanted to kill Jesus because of what he said to them. Anakin Skywalker did not want to change his behavior, and so he listened to the counsel that allowed what he wanted.
 
We must hear the words of praise and thanks that are legitimately given to us, but likewise we must hear the difficult words that are spoken--the words of challenge from a teacher or parent or friend. Listening to them might mean that we have to change, but it is change for the better.                   

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America