" không một ngôn sứ nào được chấp nhận tại quê hương mình”
Hôm nay, trong Tin Mừng, Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta rằng “không một ngôn sứ nào được chấp nhận tại quê hương mình” (Lc 4:24). Chúa Giêsu đã dùng câu tục ngữ này để giới thiệu cho chúng ta biết chính Ngài là một tiên tri. Chúa Giêsu là một vị tiên tri xuất sắc, là Đấng Cứu Rỗi mà dân Israel hằng mong đợi từ lâu; Và nơi Ngài mà tất cả những lời tiên tri đã được ứng nghiệm. Nhưng, cũng giốn
g như sự việc đã xảy ra vào thời của tiên tri Êlia và Êlisha, Chúa Giêsu cũng không được "đón và tiếp nhận" trong đám người của bà con cùng xóm cùng làng, vì ở đó có những người đã tỏ ra đầy giận dữ “đứng dậy, và lôi Ngài ra khỏi thành” (Lc 04:29 ).
Mỗi người trong chúng ta, sau khi đã nhận được phép Rửa, chúng ta được gọi là con Chúa và cũng được gọi là tiên tri. Do đó: Chúng ta cần phải loan báo Tin Mừng. Để làm được như vậy, như Đức Thánh Cha Phanxicô đã nói, chúng ta phải lắng nghe Lời Chúa một cách tiếp cận chân thành, để cho nó chạm vào cuộc sống của chúng ta, để khôi phục chúng ta, để khuyên nhủ, và động viên chúng ta, bởi vì nếu chúng ta không dành thời gian để cầu nguyện với Lời Chúa, thì sau này, chúng ta sẽ thực sự là một "tiên tri giả", một "kẻ lừa đảo" hay một "lang băm rỗng tếch"
Để sống theo Tin Mừng. Một lần nữa Đức Thánh Cha Phanxicô có nói: “Chúng ta không bắt buộc đòi hỏi phải là hoàn hảo, nhưng phải tiếp tục phát triển và cùng mạnh dạn tiến bước theo con đường Phúc Âm; cánh tay của chúng ta không bao giờ phải mỏi mệt”. Đó là điều cần thiết để chắc chắn rằng Thiên Chúa yêu thương chúng ta, Chúa Giêsu Kitô đã cứu chúng ta, và tình yêu của Ngài là mãi mãi.
Là môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải biết nhận thức được rằng cũng giống như Chúa Giêsu đã gặp sự chối bỏ, tức giận và bị ném bỏ, điều này cũng sẽ xảy đến trong cuộc sống mới hàng ngày của chúng ta. Hãy đến với Đức Maria, Nữ Vương các tiên tri, Xin hướng dẫn chúng ta trên con đường của chúng ta đang và sẽ đi tới.
A "Prophet" is someone who speaks on behalf of another, he who carries someone else’s message. Among the Hebrews, the prophets were men sent by God to announce, whether with words, whether with signs, the presence of God, the coming of the Messiah, the message of salvation, peace and hope.
Jesus is the Prophet par excellence, the long awaited Savior; in Him all prophecies are fulfilled. But, just as it did happen at the time of Elijah and Elisha, Jesus is not "well accepted" among their own, for those who are filled with anger «got up, and drow Him out of the town» (Lk 4:29). Each one of us, because of our baptism, is also called to be a prophet. Therefore:
1st. We should announce the Good News. To do so, as Pope Francis said, we have to listen to the Word with a sincere approach, to let it touch our own lives, to let it retrieve us, exhort us, mobilize us, because if we do not dedicate time to pray with that Word, then we shall indeed be a "false prophet", a "swindler" or an "empty charlatan"
2nd. To live by the Gospel. Again Pope Francis says: «We are not asked to be flawless, but to keep growing and wanting to grow as we advance along the path of the Gospel; our arms must never grow slack». It is essential to be sure that God loves us, that Jesus Christ has saved us, that His love is forever.
3rd. As disciples of Jesus, we must be aware that just as Jesus experienced rejection, anger and being thrown out, this will also be present on the horizon of our daily lives. Let Mary, Queen of the prophets, guide us on our way.
Do you recognize Christ’s presence in others? Do you sense His divine presence all around you? In today’s Gospel, the people of Nazareth did not. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, stood in their midst, yet they failed to see Him for who He truly was. Many of them had watched Jesus grow up, knew His family, and were familiar with His work as a carpenter. However, they could not look beyond the surface to perceive the divine reality in their midst.
Though our Lord is not present to us today in the same way He was to the people of Nazareth, He is still with us in countless other ways—through grace, within the Sacraments, in the Scriptures, and in the lives of those around us. Yet how often do we fail to notice His presence in these familiar places?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus recognizes the hardness of heart among many in His hometown. He responds by recalling two stories about Elijah and Elisha—prophets who performed miracles for Gentiles rather than Israelites, because the Israelites lacked faith. Jesus’ message was clear: The people of Nazareth also lacked faith, and as a result, He would perform no miracles for them. This message enraged the people so much that they attempted to throw Him off a cliff. However, Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went away.” Imagine how dramatic that scene must have been!
Sometimes, we all need what could be called a “provocative holy drama” in our lives. Just as Jesus challenged the people of Nazareth for their spiritual blindness, we need to be shaken from our complacency. God uses these moments to awaken us to His presence—whether in the Scriptures, the Sacraments, or the people around us. These “holy dramas” are not meant to condemn but to invite us into a deeper awareness of His love and presence.
Try to imagine yourself as a member of Jesus’ hometown. Those of us raised in the Catholic faith, attending Mass regularly, and striving to live as faithful Catholics can sometimes fall into a spiritual routine. The more familiar we become with God’s Church, the easier it can be to overlook His presence in the most ordinary of places. When that happens, God may use moments of “holy drama” to awaken us from our spiritual slumber. These moments are invitations to recognize His presence where we might have taken it for granted.
Reflect today on what it would mean to be in the crowd at Nazareth. Approach this reflection humbly and sincerely. Allow Jesus’ loving challenge to the people of His hometown to resonate in your own heart. Rather than defend yourself, welcome His gentle rebuke, letting it awaken you to His presence in the familiar. Seek Him with renewed attentiveness, and allow Him to lead you more deeply into His love.
My provoking Lord, Your love for the people of Your hometown led You to challenge their lack of faith. When I fall into spiritual blindness and fail to recognize Your presence, please awaken me. With Your love, shake me from any complacency so that I may grow in faith and become more attentive to You, especially in the familiar and the ordinary. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Proclamation of the End-Times Jubilee: When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth and taught on the Sabbath, he inaugurated the end-times jubilee. During a normal jubilee year, celebrated every 49 years, all debts were forgiven, all ancestral land that was sold to pay debt was returned, and anyone sold into slavery was set free. The end times jubilee was foretold by the prophet Daniel, who learned from the angel Gabriel that the time of Judah’s tribulation would be prolonged and last 490 years. Since the jubilee was to be celebrated every 49 years, the 10th jubilee held special significance. In Nazareth, when Jesus proclaimed “a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:19), he was proclaiming the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and Daniel’s prophecy about the end-times jubilee. The people of Nazareth were pleased at the proclamation of the jubilee year, but reacted negatively when Jesus announced that jubilee mercy would be given to the Gentiles. The people of Nazareth wanted freedom from the Gentiles, not for the Gentiles themselves to receive divine mercy.
One of the first places Jesus went to begin His public ministry was His own home town. After entering the Synagogue and reading from the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed that the prophecy of Isaiah was now fulfilled in His very person. This caused His townspeople to be outraged at Him, thinking He was blaspheming. So they shockingly sought to immediately kill Jesus by driving Him out of their town to the brow of a hill off which they meant to throw Him. But then something fascinating happened. Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went away.”
The Father eventually permitted the grave evil of the death of His Son to take place, but only in His time. It’s unclear from this passage how Jesus was able to avoid being killed right then at the beginning of His ministry, but what’s important to know is that He was able to avoid this because it was not His time. The Father had more for Jesus to do before He would permit Him to offer His life freely for the salvation of the world.
This same reality is true for our own lives. God does permit evil to happen, at times, because of the irrevocable gift of free will. When people choose evil, God will allow them to proceed—but always with a caveat. The caveat is that God only permits evil to be inflicted upon others when that evil is able to be ultimately used for God’s glory and for some form of good. And it is only permitted in God’s time. If we do evil ourselves, choosing sin rather than the will of God, then the evil that we do will end in our own loss of grace. But when we are faithful to God and some external evil is imposed upon us by another, God permits this only when that evil can be redeemed and used for His glory.
The best example of this is, of course, the passion and death of Jesus. A far greater good came forth from that event than the evil itself. But it was only permitted by God when the time was right, in accord with God’s will.
Reflect, today, upon the glorious fact that any evil or any suffering inflicted upon you unjustly can end in the glory of God and the greater salvation of souls. No matter what you may suffer in life, if God permits it, then it is always possible for that suffering to share in the redeeming power of the Cross. Consider any suffering you have endured and embrace it freely, knowing that if God permitted it, then He certainly has some greater purpose in mind. Surrender that suffering over with the utmost confidence and trust and allow God to do glorious things through it.
God of all wisdom, I know that You know all things and that all things can be used for Your glory and for the salvation of my soul. Help me to trust You, especially when I endure suffering in life. May I never despair when treated unjustly and may my hope always be in You and in Your power to redeem all things. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are able to cleanse me and wash me clean. You are all-powerful and offer me the wondrous gift of forgiveness. Bestow your merciful love upon me and teach me to be merciful towards my brothers and sisters.
1. Proclamation of the End-Times Jubilee: When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth and taught on the Sabbath, he inaugurated the end-times Jubilee. During a normal jubilee year, all debts were forgiven, all ancestral land that was sold to pay debt was returned, and anyone sold into slavery was set free. The end times jubilee was foretold by the prophet Daniel, who learned from the angel Gabriel that the time of Judah’s tribulation would be prolonged and last 490 years. Since the jubilee was to be celebrated every 49 years, the 10th jubilee held special significance. In Nazareth, when Jesus proclaimed “a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:19), he was proclaiming the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and Daniel’s prophecy about the end times jubilee. The people of Nazareth were pleased at the proclamation of the jubilee year but reacted negatively when Jesus announced that jubilee mercy would be given to the Gentiles. The people of Nazareth wanted freedom from the Gentiles, not for the Gentiles themselves to receive divine mercy.
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