Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: September 1, 2025

Date: Monday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture Text:  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.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel reading for today recounts Jesus’ visit to his own hometown and the beginning of his ministry following his 40 Spirit led days in the desert. The account shows us Jesus, Son of God, sent by the Father to free humanity, especially the most oppressed and vulnerable. But the account also shows us the human response of his life-long neighbors who were unable to recognize His role in the world because they couldn’t overcome their memory of his humble origin in their midst.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I dismiss the potential of others and their contributions based on where they come from or who they are related to?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, You sent your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as our brother, sharing with us our human nature in all ways except sin. You sent Him not to a palace birth but a birth in a stable. You raised Him up in humble surroundings and sent Him out into the world to proclaim your Word and to open our minds and hearts to your love. And many judged Him because He did not fit their idea of a Messiah. Yet we who call ourselves by His name, Christians, know with all our mind and heart that He is your Son, and that through His selfless sacrifice He did bring salvation, conquering sin and death for us. Send your Spirit to stir within us individually and collectively so that we might live as He calls us to live and bring the news of salvation from You, through Him, and in the Spirit to all. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.