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Gospel: Luke 4: 16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
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, “Is this not 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel passage takes place in the synagogue of Christ’s hometown, where Jesus just began his public ministry. He begins by opening the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming, “Today this prophecy is fulfilled in your hearing.”
God has visited his people!
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 who marveled at Christ’s words were ready to push him off a cliff!
What a tragic, confusing turn of events.
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In many ways, this experience of praise and near simultaneous rejection bookend Christ’s life. When he’s born in Bethlehem, the magi lay gifts at his feet in adoration, then King Herod tries killing him.
Thirty-three years later on Palm Sunday, crowds lay branches at the feet of Jesus in praise, only to shout out on Good Friday, “Crucify him!”
Such is the fragile nature of public opinion – and by extension, the fickleness of humanity.
These Gospel characters remind us how quickly people can be to judge; to draw false conclusions without having all of the facts; or to turn on others, even on God in the flesh.
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Perhaps you’ve experienced the same phenomenon of worldly praise then rejection. Or maybe you’ve found yourself in the position of the crowds, critical and quick to judge.
But the Lord reminds us today that our mission is not to seek the praise of others, or to be overly concerned by the change in tide of public opinion.
We have one mission: to bring glory to God.
How might we do that today?
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Image credits: (1) Vecteezy (2) FreePik (3) Mother Teresa, Society6