Fourth Sunday of the Year January 30, 2022
One of the first indigenous bishops in Nigeria returned to his native town for a reception soon after he was made bishop. His townspeople, most of whom had only a faint idea of what the Christian faith or the office of bishop stands for, came together to give him a big reception. In the welcome speech, the people expressed how happy they were that one of their own sons had risen to the exalted position of those who had direct access to God. They promised him they would all embrace Christianity if he, as bishop, would use the power of his office to suppress one of the Ten Commandments for them. Before they could say which of the Commandments they had in mind, the young bishop shocked them by telling them that the Ten Commandments are of divine and not human making, and so are unchangeable. The celebratory mood turned into disappointment and the bishop had to make a hasty departure from his own people. Jesus, in today's gospel, went through a very similar experience.
Like the bishop, Jesus was coming
home soon after his baptism where the Holy Spirit descended on him and he was
publicly declared to be the Son of God. Like the bishop, Jesus’ townspeople
received him at first with amazement and praise: “All spoke well of him and
were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not
this Joseph’s son?’” (Luke 4:22). Like the bishop, Jesus was expected to use
his powers and do some special favour for his own people. After all, they were
his own people. And again like the bishop, when Jesus told them the truth that
God has no favourites but relates to all humankind by the same standards, they
turned against him in disappointment and ran him out of town.
Today’s first reading tells us
that Jeremiah’s service to God begins with his receiving the word of God.
Jeremiah hears God announce that he was chosen to be a prophet even before he
was formed in his mother’s womb. Here we
have the dialogue between Yahweh and Jeremiah, which is a perfect example of
Divine Love. Some of the Words that the Heavenly Father spoke are very
touching. God tells the prophet of his personal choice from eternity. He says
that even before he was born, God has consecrated him indicating his personal
choice. Here God takes the initiative and calls Jeremiah to be the prophet.
Today’s gospel follows what we
were reading last Sunday: Jesus was in Nazareth, his hometown, and he preached
in the synagogue. Jesus, at the
beginning of his public life, gave to the people, what today we would call his
'mission statement', using the words of the prophet Isaiah. When Jesus
proclaimed that the text from Isaiah he had read has been fulfilled in their
hearing, he was in fact applying it to himself. The Messiah they have been
waiting for was now present to them here in the person of Jesus and the words
of the prophet Isaiah were fulfilled in him.
At first, the crowd was
absolutely amazed at Jesus' eloquence, and the interpretation of the
scriptures. They were truly shocked and were not sure how to respond to his
words. His eloquence was beyond their
expectations. At the same time, they did discover that they were too familiar
with him. They knew him too well and
they know his parents too and the entire family history. Jesus told them that a
prophet normally was not accepted in his own place.
We are called to be prophetical
followers of Jesus and not popular followers. Just like the Bishop in the story
we have to stand for faith and never to compromise with the values of the
gospel.
Happy Sunday
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