Khi Chúa Giêsu trở về quê nhà Nazareth, Ngài công bố một thông điệp hy vọng dành cho những người nghèo khổ, đói khát, đang bị bỏ rơi và những người đau khổ. Đức Giêsu đã cho chúg ta thấy phúc lành của Thiên Chúa không phải chỉ dành riêng cho người Do Thái, nhưng còn ban cho những người không phải Do Thái nữa. Những người cùng quê cùng làng với Đức Giêsu không thích những lời tuyên bố này và ho đã trở thành những người thù nghịch với Ngài.
Mỗi ngày, chúng ta nghe Tin Mừng, chúng ta phải có thể nói như Đức Trinh Nữ Maria: «xin Chúa cứ làm cho tôi như lời sứ thần truyền". (Lc 1:38); và Thiên Chúa sẽ trả lời: «"Hôm nay đã ứng nghiệm lời Kinh Thánh quý vị vừa nghe" . Tuy thế, để cho Lời Chúa có hiệu quả trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, chúng ta phải loại bỏ tất cả những định kiến, những sự ghen tương, thù hận trong lòng của chúng ta. Những người đương thời của Chúa Giêsu không hiểu được ý nghĩa lời của Chúa, bởi vì họ đã nhìn Ngài với đôi mắt với lòng ghen tỵ của con người «anh này là ai, chẳng phải anh là con bác thợ mộc Giuse thấp kém ?» (Lc 4:22). Họ có thể thấy bản tính con người của Chúa Giêsu Kitô, nhưng họ không thể nhận ra và đánh giá được cái thiên tính của Ngái. Mỗi khi nào chúng ta lắng nghe Lời Chúa, ngoài phong cách văn học của nó, vẻ đẹp của biểu thức của nó hoặc các điểm kỳ dị của tình hình, chúng ta phải nhớ đó là Thiên Chúa, Đấng đang nói với chúng ta.
REFLECTION 2019
Jesus' words have never been meant to be taken lightly and today's Gospel reading makes this abundantly clear. When at the synagogue in his hometown Nazareth, he quotes from Isaiah to declare his mission and work, his own towns-people could not believe him, "Who is this but Joseph's son?". The people of Nazareth got more indignant when Jesus showed them they were acting as their ancestors did, "No prophet is honored in his own country." Jesus reminded them of God's actions for other people when the Prophet Elijah fed the widow and her son in Sidon, beyond Israel, and when the Prophet Elisha healed the Syrian Naaman of his leprosy.
The mission of Jesus continues as the mission of the Church. Each member of the Church is tasked to help out in some way, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce the Lord's year of mercy." Am I ready to help out?
It’s hard to believe that those people who knew Jesus, those from the town in which He had been raised, reacted in such a severe way to our Lord. Jesus had just entered the Synagogue and read from the Prophet Isaiah who stated that “the Spirit of the Lord” was upon him and that he had come to “proclaim liberty to captives.” Jesus’ mission was clear. He was the Messiah, sent from the Father, in fulfillment of the teachings of the prophets, and yet Jesus was rejected to the point that the people drove Him out of the town and tried to throw Him off a cliff near the town to kill Him. Again, it’s hard to comprehend the extreme emotions that people experienced in regard to Jesus. Some came to love Jesus with the deepest passion, others were outraged at Him and sought His life.
One thing that these extreme emotions experienced by many should tell us is that we cannot remain indifferent to Jesus when we truly listen to His words. Indifference comes when Jesus is ignored. But when He is heard and understood, it is clear that His message demands a response. If we do not fully accept Him as we listen to His message, then we will be tempted to reject Him and all that He speaks.
Jesus wants to do the same with us. He wants a response from us. First, He wants us to hear Him, to understand the radical nature of His message, and then to make a choice. He wants us to follow Him with passion and zeal, to believe in everything He teaches, and to radically change our lives as a result. And if we will not change, then Jesus’ words will challenge us and evoke a response.
One example of this that is common today is the strong response that sometimes comes from a teenager or young adult when a loving parent confronts them when they begin to go astray. When confronted in love and with the truth, emotion is often evoked and stirred up. But that is not always bad. The temptation on the part of the parent is to back off and compromise. But that’s not what Jesus did with the townspeople. He spoke the truth in love and accepted their response. So it is with those in our lives. At times we must speak the hard but loving truth others need to hear even if we know they will lash out. In the end, challenging them with compassion and truth may ultimately win them over. We do not know what ultimately happened to those townspeople who tried to kill Jesus that day out of anger, but it is entirely possible that the extreme emotion they experienced eventually led them to the truth.
Reflect, today, upon the courage and love Jesus had as He directly confronted and challenged His own townspeople for their lack of faith. Try to understand that Jesus’ challenge of them was a mercy He offered them to move them from indifference. In your life, are there ways in which you need to be challenged? Are there things you have reacted strongly to and even with a form of rage? Try to see yourself as one of those townspeople who became enraged by our Lord. Be open to any way that you have reacted negatively to that which Jesus has spoken to you. Consider, also, any ways that Jesus may want to use you to speak His clear message of love to another, even if you know it may not immediately be received. Pray for courage, compassion, clarity and love so that you will be able to imitate Jesus as He sought to move those of His own hometown out of the indifference they were experiencing.
My challenging Lord, You desire that all Your children turn to You with their whole heart. Your chastisements are acts of mercy meant to move us out of indifference. Please speak to me the truths that I need to hear this day and use me to share Your holy word with others, especially those of my own family. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, send and pour forth your Spirit upon me. Anoint me with the oil of gladness so that I may proclaim the Gospel of your Kingdom and your salvation to all those I meet through my words and actions today.
1. The Gospel of Salvation: Today, we begin to read from the Gospel according to Luke at daily mass. This Gospel will bring us to the season of Advent. Each of the four Gospels presents a unique, but complementary portrait of the mystery of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus as the New Moses and as the one who fulfills the Old Testament prophecies, especially those about the Kingdom of God. Mark identifies Jesus as the suffering Messiah and Son of God, who calls his disciples to follow him on the way to Jerusalem. Luke emphasizes Jesus as the Universal Savior and his concern for the poor, the humble, the outcast, and the lowly. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ message of mercy and salvation. We are privileged today to hear how Jesus preached in the synagogues of Galilee and the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth. We can sit with the crowd and hear Jesus proclaim God’s word from the prophet Isaiah. We have a similar experience at every Mass. We sometimes hear a passage from the Old Testament and then from the Gospel, and we can hear, “Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
1. Jesus Proclaims the Fulfillment of Isaiah in Nazareth: During the weekdays of the next thirteen weeks that lead up to the season of Advent, we will read from the Gospel of Luke. We begin with the story of Jesus’ return to Nazareth, an event that takes place after his Baptism in the Jordan, his forty days in the wilderness, and his first weeks of ministry in Galilee. Jesus, Luke tells us, returned to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit” and taught in the local synagogues. The welcome that Jesus received throughout the villages of Galilee is in stark contrast to the rejection he faced in his hometown of Nazareth. At first, the people of Jesus’ hometown spoke well of him and were amazed at his words in the synagogue. When Jesus spoke about the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in his person, the people were happy and pleased. Jesus’ message seemed to be a message of hope and glad tidings. It was a message about the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, and the inauguration of the Great Jubilee Year. Those held captive and those who were oppressed would be freed; those who were blind would see. How have I welcomed Jesus’ message in my life?
2. Why the Nazoreans opposed Jesus: Things seemed to be going well in Nazareth, but when Jesus turned his attention to the people’s desire for a miracle to prove that he was God’s Anointed One, the people of Nazareth began to doubt. They didn’t understand how it was that the humble son of a local carpenter could now preach and teach with authority and wisdom. They couldn’t see how the “son of Joseph” could now claim to be the Lord’s Messiah. Jesus read the thoughts of their hearts and quoted a popular proverb to them: “Physician, heal yourself.” A physician normally heals others but is told in the proverb to heal himself. In this context, the proverb means “Do for yourself – and, more importantly, for us your kinsmen – the miracles you have done for others.” Throughout his public ministry, Jesus did mighty deeds and signs and worked many miracles. Many of these mighty deeds followed upon people professing faith in him as the Messiah and Son of God. The people of Nazareth, however, did not respond to Jesus’ message with faith, but with doubt and skepticism. What is more, they rejected him, just as Israel rejected Elijah and Elisha. The two prophets were not accepted in their native places and the two miracles they accomplished, referenced by Jesus, were done not for Israelites but for two non-Israelite Gentiles. Elijah provided food for the widow of Sidon during the famine and Elisha cured Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy. How can I respond in faith to Jesus today?
3. Human Wisdom and Divine Power: Jesus announced that mighty works would not be done for Nazareth, just as mighty works were not done for Israel in the time of Elijah and Elisha. This announcement filled the people with fury and they drove Jesus to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth was built. But Jesus passed through the crowd without difficulty and left his hometown to continue his ministry in Capernaum, which became his home base in Galilee. Like the Gospel, the First Reading proclaims the mystery of God. Jesus is the Son of God whose entire life is a revelation of the Triune God. Paul is an Apostle, a servant of Jesus Christ, who proclaims the mystery of God to the Gentiles. Paul proclaims divine wisdom and not merely human wisdom. He proclaims Christ crucified. The faith that Jesus asked for from the people of Nazareth and the faith that Paul asked for from the Church in Corinth do not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God. Paul demonstrated his message of salvation, not by convincing them with eloquent words of human wisdom, but with the Spirit and power of God. Am I convincing in my proclamation of the Gospel?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I do not reject you or your message. You are everything I need and desire. Help me to understand your word more deeply and live according to your word each day.
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