MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 4:16-30 -THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"No prophet is accepted in his own native place." (Lk 4:24)

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians

1 COR 2:1-5

When I came to you, brothers and sisters,

proclaiming the mystery of God,

I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you

except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,

and my message and my proclamation

were not with persuasive words of wisdom,

but with a demonstration of spirit and power,

so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom

but on the power of God.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 4:16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,

and went according to his custom

into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

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.

Rolling up the scroll,

he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,

and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.

He said to them,

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

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.’”

And he said,

“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you,

there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah

when the sky was closed for three and a half years

and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

during the time of Elisha the prophet;

yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

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.

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 4:16-30

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

The Word of God for Everyone

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God the Father recounts the journey of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and how His return back to His hometown went.

It is so that His children today when we encounter persecution and condemnation from our loved ones in our villages, we may also firmly believe in the work of God.

For when we follow God's work and live according to His teachings: by practicing charity, love, meekness, and humility, we will also be condemned and persecuted.

Today's Word of God warns His children that: when we follow God the Father and obey His will, we should live according to what God the Father teaches: to love all our brothers and sisters all over the world, for wherever God the Father is present, there are also our brothers and sisters.

Today's Word of God also reminds the prophets and priests of God the Father in this new era that:

- When they are born in a homeland, a family, they are also part of God the Father's plan. That place will be the place of growth and nurturing that God the Father places in His plan. Yet afterward, when the time comes for God the Father to call them out to be prophets and priests of God the Father, then they should give up all their previous personal human feelings, and completely go out, obey God the Father's will, and love all of God the Father's children in this world.

To have a universal love without feeling special affection for any individual or any circumstances.

- God the Father also calls the prophets and priests of God the Father that when the time comes, God the Father calls them to go out and do the mission that God has given them, they should also pay attention to the people in their family and homeland through their sacrifices, prayers, and gratitude, so that God the Father can save the souls where they were born and raised, and placed by God the Father, but God the Father does not call them to be ungrateful to those who have raised them.

- Following the call of God the Father to the prophets and priests of God: to be faithful, courageous, and obedient to the will of God the Father above all things; do not follow their personal feelings of human nature. God the Father will be more pleased if they live like that.

- Look at the image of Jesus Christ, the supreme Prophet, who did everything that God the Father wanted, but was still despised, being insulted, condemned, and expelled, let alone the small, ordinary, sinful people who were placed by God the Father in a prophetic and priestly position by God the Supreme Father. Be awake to that and carry out what God the Father teaches: to be faithful and obedient to His will in all things.

Thanks be to God. Amen.