Owning Jesus

Greetings on this the Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: 1 Thes 4:13-18; Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13; Lk 4:16-30
Notes: The Rejection at Nazareth is a pivotal story in the gospel story of the life of Jesus Christ.

• The gospel of Mark places this confrontation near the end of his Galilean mission.
• The gospel of Luke places this confrontation at the beginning of his Galilean mission.
• The gospel of Matthew places this confrontation at the height of the Galilean mission.

It is just an interesting observation and subject to review.

It is fair to say that we have a problem of ‘owning Jesus’ in the early, middle or later stages of our spiritual life. In this gospel portion, owning Jesus to the point of killing him out of jealousy – Eek!

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.'”

‘What have you done for me lately?’ This could be our question.
Or perhaps, ‘Have you forgotten me?’
‘Why them and not me?’ is another version.

What exactly are we rejecting at Nazareth?

Some placement hints help.
The Temptation of Jesus has just completed.
The Cure of a Demoniac is about to occur.

• Jesus rejected the easy path and the less than path regarding his mission as offered by the Devil (shortcuts).
• Jesus rejected the easy path and the less than path desired by the people of Nazareth (staying home).

Jesus instead embraces the critical needs of each of us.

• Mission – we need to know, see, feel and touch the LORD as we read in the gospel portion today.
• Resurrection – those who have fallen asleep are not forgotten as we see in our first reading today.
• Cure from the worst of imprisonments – None are allowed to possess us but the love Divine.

We don’t need to own Jesus.
We need to share Jesus.

We could apply this text to ourselves and the people of Nazareth (Jesus knocking on the door):

Obviously, the text refers to his knocking from the outside in order to enter but I think about the times in which Jesus knocks from within so that we will let him come out. The self-referential Church keeps Jesus Christ within herself and does not let him out.

Source: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-4-minute-speech-that-got-pope-francis-elected

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.

First Reading
For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Responsorial
The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Gospel Acclamation
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

Gospel
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.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry