At first,
his explanation of Isaiah’s prophecy delighted the ears of his townsmen,
gathered in synagogue on the Sabbath. “All
spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
mouth.” Things really started to go
sour, when his townsfolk demanded healing miracles, and Jesus put himself on
the level of the great prophets Elijah and Elisha and claimed that he was being
rejected just like they were.
Jesus was
basically calling his townsfolk a bunch of God-rejecting prophet
murderers. They wouldn’t recognize the
Messiah if he stood in their midst. And
the irony was, they didn’t.
The
Nazarenes wanted miracles without discipleship, they wanted glory without the
hard work, and they wanted resurrection without the cross.
Incited by this, Jesus’ townsfolk rose
up, drove him to the edge of a cliff to kill him, right there and then. Why?
Because Jesus didn’t give them what they want!
And isn’t that such a great temptation
for all of us, to give up on God when he doesn’t answer our prayers the way we
want Him to. I
come to Mass, I put money in the envelope, I say my daily prayers, and so,
Where’s my miracle? That attitude is of course disastrous for the Christian
life.
Rather, the entire Christian life is
the grateful response of already having received the miracle. The gift of new life through baptism, a
second chance at heaven. Allowing that
miracle to unfold in us, and change us, is what the Christian life is all
about.
For, our question to God, dear Christians,
must never be “what have you done for Me lately, Lord?”, but, “what can I do
for you, Lord? how can I serve you today? Who are the poor to whom I am called
to bring the glad tidings of the Gospel? Who are the captives to whom I am
called to help liberate? Who are the blind to whom I am called to bring sight?”
Pope Benedict said, “the path of each
single Christian, like that of the Church as a whole, leads to new life, to
eternal life, through the imitation of Christ and the experience of his cross.”
This day we are given
the absolute privilege of being called to imitate Christ. Perhaps we might be rejected, perhaps we
might find a soul open to God’s grace. Let
us abhor doing anything for selfish reasons, but strive today to labor first
and foremost for the glory of God and salvation.
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