4 September, 2023 | Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

 Gospel Lk 4:16-30



Gospel Text:

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.


Reflections:

Upon hearing the words of Jesus in the Synagogue, the people were surged with anger. They went to the extent of drawing him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill to throw him down the cliff. Anger is a normal and natural human emotion experienced by all of us at some point of our lives. What matters is how we express it. Anger has the potential to be quite damaging and destructive. It is essential to manage anger effectively, as uncontrolled or prolonged anger can have negative consequences on one's physical and mental well-being, as well as on relationships with others. People of Nazareth reacted to Jesus even when he had good news to offer them. Let’s strive to discipline ourselves to live a peaceful life. 

Activity: 

Try to express your anger effectively without causing harm to others.



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