Word to the Wise
Monday, September 1, 2025 - Monday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Thess 4:13-18 and Luke 4:16-30]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." [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 1, 2025 [LABOR DAY, U.S.A.]
The hometown crowd is a tough audience under any circumstances. The folks in Nazareth had already heard that Jesus was doing big things in Capernaum and they were "primed" for big stuff when he got home to Nazareth. What they were NOT primed for is the claim that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah about the messiah! No way! They had known him as the son of the local carpenter, running and playing with the other kids. Maybe he had learned the skills of healing (as if he had gone off to medical school), and could do amazing healings, but that didn't make him a messiah! Jesus confronted them with their lack of faith and they drove him out of town.
It can be a helpful thing to consider how our faith is tied up with our expectations. Are they co-extensive? It was difficult for the townsfolk in Nazareth to get beyond their expectations of healings to see what was at the root of those healings: Jesus as the "suffering servant" and messiah prophesied by Isaiah. Are we uncomfortable with a "bigger" God than the one of our personal needs? We sometimes see this in our own Catholic Church with those who emphasize the liturgical aspect of our faith and downplay the social teachings, or vice versa. When our particular "emphasis" is challenged, do we react defensively?
Coming to terms with the "big picture" of faith may be uncomfortable, but it can open our hearts and minds to much more than our limited expectations, so that our knowledge and love for God and neighbor can grow in ways we might never have expected. AMEN