Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770

What would that experience of rejection have been like for Jesus?

 

 

Good morning, happy Monday, and many blessings.

 

Today’s Gospel (Luke 4:24-30) remind us that when Jesus first proclaimed the good news of God's kingdom to his own townspeople at Nazareth, he was met with angry incredulity. Their very familiarity with him blinded them to his colossal mission. Many of us have been familiar with the words of Jesus from childhood. We have heard the narratives, the sermons, the parables so often that it is difficult to imagine it the way Paul describes it, ‘The word of God is living and active’.

 

Once again, Jesus is teaching. However, today he is teaching in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. I wonder what this experience was like for Jesus? I have a feeling it was a difficult one since Jesus bluntly tells his listeners that typically no prophet is accepted in his hometown. He must not have felt welcomed or accepted.

The people in question here were jealous of their community of faith. Jesus was including all nationalities in the care and the saving love of God. They were jealous of their own relationship with God and used it in many ordinary ways to keep others out of favour, off land and denied human rights to anyone outside their circle. Jesus is the one of universal welcome, his heart open in prayer and life to all, no matter their creed, nation, gender, age or any of the categories with which we are divided from each other.

 

Perhaps Jesus was too familiar to them for him to be a prophet or even a teacher. They may have said to one another: “who does he think he is to be preaching to us? We have known him since the day he was born!” Perhaps though, there was something deeper going on in the hearts of the people in Nazareth. Was it simply easier to dismiss Jesus rather than being open to listening to Him? Or were they afraid of what they might find if they looked deeply into their hearts?

 

We are almost halfway through Lent. In these past weeks, have we taken time to look deeply into our hearts? Or have we been too busy to quiet down or perhaps even afraid to quiet down? For many of us Lent may not be a comfortable season of our Church year. And that is understandable! The season of Lent invites us and challenges us to quiet down and go deep into our minds and our hearts!

 

Lent calls us to examine our lives. Are we truly happy? Are we at peace? Or are we running? What are we running from? How would we describe our relationship with God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit? Is this relationship superficial or is it a deep and meaningful relationship? Lent is a time and a call to go deep within. Today may we deliberately take time to do just that. May we sit quietly with God or with Jesus and look into our hearts. What will we find there? Is Jesus there in our hearts? The reality is Jesus is there but the question may be: will we be open and fully present to Jesus? It is our choice!

 

Blessings,

 

Fr. Luis+

Date news: 
Monday, March 8, 2021 - 09:15

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

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