4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jan. 31, 2010 (Lk 4:21-30)
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?"
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
"Familiarity breads contempt," a saying goes. True enough, we easily lose interest in things we are too familiar with. We conclude that we know everything about something or someone, to the point that we don't care to know them anymore. This was the attitude of Jesus' fellow Nazoreans. They only knew Jesus as the son of a carpenter and, thus, wondered where He got wisdom and eloquence. Their close-mindedness and lack of faith were the reasons why Jesus didn't perform miracles in their town.
Often, we are like the Nazoreans who rejected Jesus. We, too, reject God. Yes, we have faith in Him, but our faith is limited and immature. We see God as an All-powerful Being who, being our Father, will care for us and provide for everything we need. We expect Him to readily say yes to all our prayers. Because of this immaturity, our faith cannot grow and will easily be upset when we don't have things our way.
Our Gospel for today doesn't only call for accepting Jesus, it calls for a total faith in Jesus, including accepting and living His examples and preachings. The message of Jesus is not as simple as, "I love you. I saved you. End of story." His message is a complete turning away from sin and returning to God, rejecting the senseless pleasures and accepting the cross as He did. If the purpose of Jesus' Incarnation is just to save us, then He should have been crucified immediately after He was born. But as it is, He came to dwell among us to set an example of how to live as children of God. He showed us that suffering does not mean the absence of God; it could be the will of God at work in our lives to bring a greater good. His last and best example of accepting God's will is His death on the cross.
Our relationship with God calls for true faith in Him, a mature faith that sees how God works in our lives even in the midst of many problems. We must accept Jesus' preachings and follow His example of obedience to God. We must imitate the great selfless love that He showed us.
Of course, it is also our mission to share our faith, hope and love to others. As baptized Christians, we share in Jesus' prophetic mission. Therefore, we must proclaim Him in word and in deed, even when nobody shall listen to us. A prophet always faces rejection. What's important is that we have faith and we share this to others, so we can all grow and learn from Jesus.
Often, we are like the Nazoreans who rejected Jesus. We, too, reject God. Yes, we have faith in Him, but our faith is limited and immature. We see God as an All-powerful Being who, being our Father, will care for us and provide for everything we need. We expect Him to readily say yes to all our prayers. Because of this immaturity, our faith cannot grow and will easily be upset when we don't have things our way.
Our Gospel for today doesn't only call for accepting Jesus, it calls for a total faith in Jesus, including accepting and living His examples and preachings. The message of Jesus is not as simple as, "I love you. I saved you. End of story." His message is a complete turning away from sin and returning to God, rejecting the senseless pleasures and accepting the cross as He did. If the purpose of Jesus' Incarnation is just to save us, then He should have been crucified immediately after He was born. But as it is, He came to dwell among us to set an example of how to live as children of God. He showed us that suffering does not mean the absence of God; it could be the will of God at work in our lives to bring a greater good. His last and best example of accepting God's will is His death on the cross.
Our relationship with God calls for true faith in Him, a mature faith that sees how God works in our lives even in the midst of many problems. We must accept Jesus' preachings and follow His example of obedience to God. We must imitate the great selfless love that He showed us.
Of course, it is also our mission to share our faith, hope and love to others. As baptized Christians, we share in Jesus' prophetic mission. Therefore, we must proclaim Him in word and in deed, even when nobody shall listen to us. A prophet always faces rejection. What's important is that we have faith and we share this to others, so we can all grow and learn from Jesus.
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