REFLECTIONS TODAY

In many instances, the prophets acted as the conscience of God in the midst of the people; they called to mind that allegiance belongs to God alone, and all must abide according to the will of God. But the Lord is the God of all, so all are entitled to know about him. This is exactly the mission of Jesus: to let everyone know about the Father, and the Father is at work in Jesus’ teachings and miraculous deeds. In referring to the stories of Elijah, Elisha, and Naaman, Jesus shows to his hearers how the curative powers of God transcend territories, and breaks the Jewish concept of the monopoly as God’s only chosen people. If the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian can recognize the hand of God at work in the prophets, why can’t his own town folks “accept” Jesus as a messenger or prophet of God, much less than the Son of God?
Responsorial Psalm • Psalms 42 and 43
“Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?”
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.
Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected].