Hero or zero?  As Jesus begins his public ministry, we find him in his hometown of Nazareth, reading from the scroll of Isaiah in sacred scripture on the Sabbath. Jesus proclaims the prophet’s words of “good news”, liberation, healing and grace.  Isaiah gives a beautiful vision of God’s intervention in the life of his people to restore them to a new glory.  In the time of Isaiah the people of God were in need of a hero.  They had faced destruction and exile and now they were poor, blind and captive due to the oppression of their enemies.  They couldn’t fight for themselves and so they looked to God for justice and to step in with his strength and be their champion.  Isaiah the prophet was prophesying of a time when God would redeem his people.  Jeremiah the prophet also receives the assurance of the Lord who promises him, “They will fight against you but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” (Jer 1,19)  Jesus sat down after reading the prophecy and proclaimed that “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  In a sense he was telling the people that he was willing to be the hero, the “good news”, the healer, the liberator and to carry out God’s plan of salvation.  After all, one of the titles that Isaiah proclaims for the Messiah is “God-Hero”.  The people’s first reaction is one of approval and amazement.  The people are quick to see the advantage for them of having a hometown hero.  He will be able to do heroic things for them and they will be able to share in his talents and treasures.

    However, Jesus quickly goes from being hero to being zero in the eyes of the people.  Soon they will be ready to throw him off the side of a cliff in anger.  What causes the change?  Jesus makes it clear from his examples from Scripture that he is not going to be a hometown hero.  His mission is a universal mission of salvation and will extend to even those who are perceived as being enemies of Israel.  Like Jonah when God informed him that he was going to offer salvation to the Assyrians, the people become indignant at the idea that God’s gifts will extend to others beyond their borders.  God’s justice is not the justice of a “homer” who only takes care of his own.  God’s love is real and extends to all of his creation and God is truly just and will pour his blessings out upon all those who call upon him in faith.  He comes to the earth to right the wrongs of sin and not just to stack the deck for his friends.  If the hometown people of Nazareth want to experience the power of God’s mighty work of salvation they are going to have to follow the same path of conversion and faith that leads to God’s kingdom.  No special privileges are going to be given.

    Recently there was a survey of movie fans to find out who was the greatest hero in movie history.  The results were surprising for given Superman, Iron Man, Indiana Jones and other strong characters who use their strength to help save their friends, the person chosen as the greatest hero was Atticus Finch, played by Gregory Peck in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”  To his hometown people, Atticus was anything but a hero because he defended Tom Robinson, a negro, against the accusations of a white woman.  Atticus stood up in the face of injustice, prejudice, hatred and bigotry to simply do what was right and seek true justice.  Atticus was real and a person of principles and honor.  Even in the face of opposition, Atticus did not back down but put his life on the line.  That was true courage, that was true love, and that is what makes a true hero.

    Jesus is a true hero.  He doesn’t just do marvelous feats to impress others, and to please his neighbors.  Rather, he lays down his life as a witness to the love of God the Father.  Even in the face of opposition, Jesus doesn’t just seek to do what is popular and accepted by his own but chooses instead to be a true hero and sign of God’s universal love for all people, a love that as St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians, “does not seek its own interests” (1Cor 13,5) but rather serves the interests of all in obedience to the Father.  To many in our world today, Jesus is more zero than hero.  He is rejected because he doesn’t serve their special interests or agendas.  They have no use for him in their self-centered lives.  Our world today has pretty much thrown Jesus off a cliff or perhaps we would say today, “under the bus”.  He is still passing through our midst today.  Will we allow him to simply go away or will we follow him in love even if it means opposition, persecution and rejection by others in the world?