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.
Reflection
This quote stood out to me “Amen, I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own native place". This can be directly seen with what happens to Jesus. Jesus's own people, the ones who you could argue should have known Him best, completely reject Him and try to kill Him. Not because He has done anything wrong, but because their hearts are hardened by their preconceived notions. They cannot reconcile the Jesus they thought they knew with the authority and wisdom He speaks to them with now. Instead of receiving His message with open hearts, they respond with anger, seeking to silence Him rather than consider the truth He presents.
It makes me think of how this same pattern can be seen today. People become so ingrained in their perspectives that they refuse to listen to anything that might challenge them. Their minds are already made up, and no reasoning, no amount of evidence, can change it. This may seem hopeless but this Gospel reminds me how it is not always up to me to change someone's heart, as only God can do that, and in His own timing.
Comments