THE WORD
1 Thes 4: 13–18 / Lk 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, “Isn’t this 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
After Jesus entered his public ministry, it was his custom to use the synagogue as his place of teaching on a sabbath day. Anointing was the method by which prophets, priests, and kings were consecrated or set apart in their several offices. The prophecy, which set forth in physical terms what Jesus should perform, closed with a reference to the jubilee year, which, being a time of liberation, forgiveness, and fresh starts, was a reference to Christ’s ministry and kingdom.
The speech of Jesus flowed easily, and gracefully. Although the people admitted his marvelous teaching and miraculous works, they were at a loss to account for these words and deeds. Their extreme familiarity with his humanity made it hard for them to believe in his divinity, by which alone his actions would be rightly explained.
Jesus did not recall the evidences which were so many that they could not deny them. His claims were too high for them to admit, and too well accredited for them to despise, so they sought refuge from their perplexity by getting angry at him. Jesus quoted a familiar proverb, the meaning of which is this: he was a part of Nazareth, and hence the claims of Nazareth upon him were superior to those of Capernaum, and therefore Nazareth should have been blessed by his healing. But the expression was evidently used contemptuously, as if to say, “You can do big things at Capernaum, but you cannot do them here. You cannot deceive us; we know you.”
Jealousy forbade the country folks from honouring Jesus. In Nazareth he was no more than the son of a carpenter and the brother of certain very common young men and girls, while abroad he was hailed as the prophet of Galilee, mighty in word and deed. The Nazarenes were jealous of the claims of Jesus who placed himself alongside Elijah and Elisha. When he likened his hearers to widows for their want, and to lepers for their uncleanness, they (the Nazarenes) were ready to dash him to pieces.
In fact, they got hold of him. Near the eastern end of Nazareth there was a cavern in the rock below forming a precipice which would kill any man hurled at it. At the western end there was a perpendicular cliff about forty feet high, with a naked floor of rock at the bottom. To which place they led Jesus we do not know, but we find here a simple statement of a marvelous fact.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Anointed One who inaugurated the time of liberation, forgiveness and fresh starts. Help us to accept you and not to reject you. Amen.
- Felix Ferrer, SVD (DWST, Tagaytay City)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
