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Gospel: Luke 4:24-30
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel passage takes place in the synagogue of Christ’s hometown, where he has just begun his public ministry. In the preceding verses, Jesus opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and proclaimed, “Today this prophecy is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Filled with awe and excitement, Saint Luke tells us, “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”
Yet, within a matter of sentences, the same crowd that wondered at Christ’s words are now trying to push him off a cliff!
What a tragic, confusing turn of events.
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In many ways, this quickened experience of praise and rejection bookends Christ’s public life.
The Lord will experience the same turn of tide from the people who lay branches at his feet on Palm Sunday, only to shout, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday.
Such is the fragility of public opinion – and by extension, the feebleness of human nature.
The crowds remind us how quick human beings can be to judge; to draw false conclusions without having all of the facts; to turn on people we once loved, even God in the flesh.
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Have you ever felt like Christ in this moment, experiencing both praise and rejection from the same group of people?
Or, have you ever been part of the crowd – critical, quick to judge?
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As we continue our journey through Lent, perhaps we can slow things down. Listen before we speak. Think before we act. Pray before we judge.
As the Lord himself says, “From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
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Image credits: (1) Brian Zahnd (2) Simply Catholic (3) Amazon.com