click here for full bulletin
A REFLECTION ON SUNDAY’S GOSPEL
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me” (Luke 4:18). Taken from the prophecy of Isaiah, these words were always understood by the Israelites as pointing to the Messiah, the promised one who would save Israel. Applying this passage to himself, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21), Jesus publicly identifies himself as the Christ, and that the messianic era of salvation has arrived.
The reaction of the crowd is mixed. Some note the eloquence – the “gracious words” – of Jesus’ commentary. Others find it hard to believe, knowing Jesus only as the son of Joseph, someone whom they had known for years and whom they had seen grow from a small child to manhood. The majority reacts violently, wrongly judging that God’s honor has been compromised by the supposed blasphemy of Jesus.Despite their attempts to kill him by throwing Jesus off a cliff, he remains in control of the situation and walks away unharmed.
The people of Nazareth who reject Jesus make a huge mistake, fueled by their ignorance. “Since they did not understand Christ who had been anointed and sent by God. they returned to their usual ways and said foolish and useless things about him” (St. Cyril of Alexandria; Commentary on Luke, Homily 12). Living in willful ignorance is the moral equivalent of closing our eyes and ears to the truth. Jesus is rejected because to accept him would have required a change of heart and habits.
The same is true for us. Following Christ will cost us. Sometimes it will cost us mightily. But the reward will always be great, because even when we have laid aside much that is good, we will have
received him who is the best – the origin, perfection, and fulfillment of all things. That is a bargain we should always be eager to make.
Excerpt from Fr. Stephen B. Reynolds’s Reflection on Jesus and the Synagogue, Catholic.org, 9/2/2013.