Observation:
The gospel passage happens right after Jesus’ entry in a synagogue in Nazareth, where he reads a passage from Isaiah. The question in our minds is why is there a sudden change in the mood and attitude of the Nazarenes towards Jesus. Verse 22 says, “they spoke highly of him.” But by verses 28-29, his town mates were “all filled with fury” and were about to hurl him down a hill. What happened in between?
Interpretation:
The keys to the answer to this question are in the following verses:
- Verse 22: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” – In asking this question, the people meant that since Jesus is a fellow Nazarene (remember that this scene happens in Nazareth), then Jesus should favor those who are his townmates and perform the same miracles for them as he did in other towns.
- Verse 25 – 27: In these verses, Jesus cites the examples of two great prophets of Israel – Elijah and Elisha – who did not favor his fellow Israelites, regarded as God’s chosen people, but instead took the side of a widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian. Both Sidon and Syria are Gentile (or pagan) territories!
Jesus statements meant: not only they not deserve his miracles, but that their own great prophets preferred Gentiles over them. Hence, they were infuriated.
Luke disagreed with the Jewish mentality that God’s favor rests with the Jews simply because they were Jews. The Kingdom of God is no longer limited to the Jews but to those who practiced the gospel values of love and forgiveness, whether Jew or Gentile. Universality is a key message of Luke’s gospel. God does not favor anyone on the basis of race, position, or religion, but “men and women of good will.” (However, if there is a group that Jesus favored, according to the gospel of Luke, it is the poor.)
Generalization:
Mere membership in the Catholic Church (or Singles Apostolate, or in the Renewal movement) is not a badge which earns special favor from God. We cannot have the mentality that because we are “active” members in the Apostolate, then we deserve that most, if not all, of our prayers be answered. That would be the “townmates mentality” that Jesus referred to in the Gospel. He did not agree with it because it is like putting God in a bottle. Rather, membership in the Apostolate recognizes that this is ALREADY a favor given to us by God, and that membership poses a demand to share this personal experience of God by serving others.
Application:
- Share some examples when you catch yourself with the “townmates mentality.” For example, a promotion you were hoping to get did not materialize. Someone with a “townmates mentality” would say, “after all the service I’ve done, I can’t accept that God would not grant me this favor.” Rather, the proper stance to take would be: “I accept this event as God’s way of continually forming me; I know he has something better in store for me.”
- The theme of the forthcoming Singles Apostolate Leaders Conference is “Offering our Best Fruits.” How can we use our membership in the Apostolate to offer our best fruits to God?
