Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: September 4, 2023

Date in the Ordine: Monday of the 22nd 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 begins our journey through the Gospel of Luke in our weekday lectionary. We begin, not at the beginning of Luke, but rather with Jesus’ public ministry following His baptism by John the Baptist and his 40-day desert retreat.

Today’s text recounts Jesus’ reception by those of his own hometown after He read from the sacred scroll and commented. Jesus read a passage from the prophet Isaiah (61:1-2). While those present were struck with amazement at his proclamation of the Word, they also were taken aback when He proclaimed, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” While they had heard the Word proclaimed by the WORD Himself, they did not accept the WORD.

Those present began to question how it could be that one of their own, a carpenter’s son to boot, could be a prophet, a healer, a liberator? They were skeptical. Jesus recognized their lack of faith in Him. His response to them further riled them when He reminded them that the people of Israel had not trusted in the prophets Elijah and Elisha.

How does this pertain to us today?

First, we must accept Jesus as the one He is, the one anointed as Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. Next, we must be willing to open ourselves to Jesus’ words even though they come to us through scripture thousands of years old. Last, we must ask ourselves about our own acceptance of others of faith in our midst. Do we recognize the Spirit at work in them and through them?

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I accept Jesus? Do I accept His teaching? Do I accept him as savior sent by the Father?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, You sent your only begotten and beloved Son, Jesus, to save us when we failed to turn back to You. Send your Spirit to open our minds, our hearts our whole being to the salvation offered from You, through Christ, in the Spirit. Help us to recognize You in our ordinary moments of our ordinary lives. We ask this in the name of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.