First Reading (1 Cor 2:1-5).
Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians.
Brothers, when I came to you to proclaim the mystery of God, I did not use lofty words or human wisdom. For I did not claim to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. But I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not in the persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might rest on the power of God and not on the wisdom of men.
– The word of the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
Gospel (Luke 4:16-30).
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke.
— Glory to you, O Lord.
At that time Jesus came to the town of Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. They gave him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the scroll and found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he closed the scroll, gave it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” They all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the beautiful words that came from his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” But Jesus said to them, “You will surely repeat to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ Do here in your own country what we have heard you did in Capernaum.” And he said to them, “Truly, I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. In fact, I tell you, in the days of the prophet Elijah, when there was no rain for three years and six months and there was a severe famine throughout the land, there were many widows in Israel. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them except to a widow in Zarephath in Sidon. And in the days of the prophet Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel. Yet none of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these words of Jesus, the people in the synagogue were furious. They got up and threw him out of the city. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, intending to throw him off the cliff. But Jesus passed through their midst and went on his way.
— The Word of the Savior.
— Glory to you, O Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Imagine yourself sitting in an ancient synagogue, the air heavy with the smell of ancient parchments and lamp oil. The murmur of conversation subsides when a young carpenter, known to many since childhood, stands up to read from the Scriptures. This is the scene that Luke paints for us in today’s Gospel, a moment that would change the course of human history forever.
Returning to his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus enters the synagogue “as was his custom.” In this simple phrase, we see something profound: the Son of God, incarnate, faithfully participating in the religious practices of his people. He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
When Jesus unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and begins to read, the air in the synagogue must have been electric. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
These words, so familiar to his listeners, suddenly take on new urgency, new life. And then Jesus makes a statement that leaves everyone astonished: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
What a bold statement! Jesus is essentially saying, “I am the One the prophet spoke of. The promise you have waited for centuries is now being fulfilled before your eyes.”
At first, the response is positive. The people are amazed at his “gracious words.” But quickly, their admiration turns to doubt and then to open hostility. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” They question, unable to reconcile the Jesus they knew as a boy with the fulfillment of messianic prophecies.
This scene reminds us of how easy it is to let our familiarity with Jesus blind us to His true nature and mission. How often do we, who have grown up in the Church, who have heard the stories of the Gospel since childhood, risk losing our awe and wonder at the mystery of the incarnation and redemption?
Jesus, sensing their thoughts, challenges them further. He reminds his listeners that the prophets Elijah and Elisha often performed miracles for foreigners, not for their own people. It is a piercing reminder that God’s grace cannot be confined by national or ethnic boundaries, that God’s love extends to all.
This message of radical inclusion enrages the crowd. They go from admiration to violence in a matter of minutes, dragging Jesus out of the city with the intention of throwing him off a cliff. What a dramatic turn of events! It is a disturbing glimpse into human resistance to the gospel message, especially when it challenges our preconceived notions and prejudices.
But Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went his way.” This was not the moment of His passion. His mission was just beginning, and nothing could stop Him from fulfilling it.
Now let us turn our attention to the first reading, where Paul writes to the Corinthians about his own approach to preaching the gospel. His words offer a fascinating contrast to the scene in Nazareth.
Paul says, “I did not come with honorable speech or wisdom.” He did not come with flowery eloquence or complex philosophical arguments. Instead, he came in simplicity and weakness, “with much fear and trembling.”
Why? Because Paul understood that the power of the gospel lies not in the skill of the preacher, but in the message itself and the power of the Holy Spirit. He did not want the Corinthians’ faith to be based “on human wisdom, but on the power of God.”
What a contrast to the people of Nazareth, who were so caught up in their familiarity with Jesus that they failed to recognize the power of God working through him!
So what do these readings tell us today? What lessons can we draw for our own journey of faith?
First, we are reminded of the radical and inclusive nature of the gospel. Jesus came for everyone—poor and rich, captive and free, Jew and Gentile. His love and grace transcend all the barriers we have erected. We are challenged to examine our own hearts: Is there someone we consider beyond the reach of God’s love? Are there prejudices that prevent us from seeing Christ in others?
Second, we are warned against the danger of familiarity. It is easy to become so accustomed to the stories and teachings of Jesus that we lose sight of their radical and transformative nature. How can we keep alive the wonder and amazement at the mystery of the incarnation and redemption? How can we hear God’s Word with fresh ears, allowing it to continually challenge and transform us?
Third, we are reminded that the power of the gospel does not depend on our eloquence or human wisdom. Like Paul, we are called to rely not on our own abilities but on the power of God. This does not mean that we should not prepare or study, but rather that we should always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who convicts and transforms hearts.
Finally, we see in Jesus a model of faithfulness to mission, even in the face of rejection and hostility. He did not allow the negative reaction of his hometown to divert him from his purpose. In the same way, we are called to remain faithful to God’s call on our lives, even when we face opposition or misunderstanding.
My dear brothers and sisters, may we, like Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit. May we, like Paul, rely not on our own wisdom but on God’s power. May we proclaim good news to the poor, freedom to the captives, sight to the blind, and deliverance to the oppressed—not just with our words, but with our lives.
And may we, as we do so, experience the truth of Jesus’ words: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” For the Kingdom of God is not just a future promise, but a present reality that we are called to live and share here and now.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
