Word to the Wise
Monday, September 4, 2023 - Monday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Thess 4:13-18 and Luke 4:16-30]"Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." [Luke]
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2023 MONDAY IN THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [LABOR DAY, USA]
[1 Thessalonians and Luke 4:16-30 - These are the scriptures for Ordinary Time. In the USA, they may be taken from the Mass for the Blessing of Human Labor]
"Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." [Luke]
There was no "ticker tape," "Welcome home!" parade for Jesus when he started his public ministry by returning to Nazareth, where he was raised. Of course, he was invited to share a few thoughts in the synagogue, but nobody expected him to make the claim in the words quoted above. The reactions began with, "Now isn't that nice.." and then moved quickly to, "Wait a minute! What did he say? He's just one of us, or at least we thought he was. Who does he think HE is?" Jesus doesn't back down and confronts the hometown folks with their lack of faith, and they throw him out of town! Rejection is a major theme in the gospels and it includes those who knew Jesus personally from the time he was an infant!
No, it's not easy to preach to the hometown folks, but this passage is not just about Nazareth ("Can anything good come from there?" John 1:46). What do WE make of Jesus' claim to be the fulfillment of the law and the prophets? Has he become so familiar to us that we think: "Bless his heart! I love him to death, but he shouldn't upset people so much!" Have we domesticated him to the point where we love HIM but ignore those pesky challenges about loving our neighbor and all those people he thinks we should be helping. Do we spend hours in adoration and no time at all in caring for others? We can't look down our noses at the folks in Nazareth without looking in the mirror. AMEN