HOMILY FOR THE 3RD MONDAY IN LENT — YEAR A
HOMILY FOR THE 3RD MONDAY IN LENT — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “How can that be? We know him as just the son of a carpenter!”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: ʺTruly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country…there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.ʺ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.
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The Gospel account today is very sad. It is understandable for Jesus to be rejected by his enemies. But to be rejected by his own friends and townmates in Nazareth is just bewildering.
When Jesus did His public ministry, He was known all over Galilee as the Prophet and Wonder-worker. After some time, He goes back to visit His hometown of Nazareth. As was His personal custom, He goes to the synagogue. And there, He officially announces His mission as Messiah and Savior. The initial reaction of His townmates was surprising. “Where did he get it all these?” They were truly amazed at Jesus’ power and fame, but put no faith in Him. “How can that be? We know him as just the son of a carpenter!” They were too familiar with Him that they basically rejected His mission as Messiah and Savior.
In response to this reaction, Jesus declared, “No prophet is ever accepted in his own country.” He cited two examples of two well-known Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha. They are the prophets who did wonders in the name of God to help outsiders – people who do not belong to the Chosen People of God: the widow of Sidon and Naaman, the Syrian.
His listeners felt insulted by his words, and in anger, they tried to push Him down the cliff. But Jesus simply passed through their midst.
There are two main reasons why the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus.
The first reason is the culture of entitlement. The Jews take so much pride in being members of the Chosen People of God. They believe they are the best and must always the first on the list of those who will receive God’s favors, the ones who have the exclusive right be saved. In rejecting Jesus, they are basically saying, “If there is a prophet coming from Nazareth, we must be the first to know about it!” It is like telling God, “If you are going to choose a prophet from our place, you must inform us and ask permission from us first!” Their belief is that Jesus cannot be a prophet because they know Him to be just the son of a carpenter. They decide who can be and cannot be the prophet! Their problem is lack of faith due to excessive pride.
The second reason is their superficial knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, especially the teachings of the prophets. They were not well-informed and were ill-informed as well. They lacked knowledge and so were prone to erroneous teachings and beliefs. Otherwise, they would have known that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, and will be called a Nazorean.
As members of the New People of God, we must be aware that these two mistakes of the people of Nazareth could also be our own. How many times we feel and think we are better than others? How often have we judged and looked down on other people who are not as ‘religious’ as we are? Instead of judging and rejecting people, we need to spend more time and effort to know and love Jesus through more intense prayer and diligent study of Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition.
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