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Monday in the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Psalm 119:97-102

L uke 4:16-30 And he came to Nazareth , where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; (17) and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, (18) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, (19) to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (20) And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. (21) And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (22) And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" (23) And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, `Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Caper'na-um, do here also in your own country.'" (24) And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. (25) But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli'jah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; (26) and Eli'jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar'ephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. (27) And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli'sha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Na'aman the Syrian." (28) When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. (29) 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. (30) But passing through the midst of them he went away.

Meditation by Don Schwager

H ow would you react if Jesus spoke this message from the pulpit of your church? It was customary for Jesus to go weekly to the synagogue to worship and on occasion to read the scriptures and comment on them to the people. His hometown folks listened with rapt attention on this occasion because they had heard about the miracles he had performed in other towns. What sign would he do in his hometown?

Jesus startled them with a seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among his own people. He then angered them when he complimented the gentiles who seemed to have shown more faith in God than the "chosen ones" of Israel. They regarded gentiles as "fuel for the fires of hell." Jesus' praise for "outsiders" caused them offence because they were blind-sighted to God's mercy and plan of redemption for all nations.

The word "gospel" literally means "good news". Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring freedom to those oppressed by sin and evil (see Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus came to set people free from the worst tyranny possible – the tyranny of slavery to sin and the fear of death, and the destruction of both body and soul. God's power alone can save us from emptiness and poverty of spirit, from confusion and error, and from the fear of death and hopelessness. The gospel of salvation is "good news" for us today. Do you know the joy and freedom of the gospel?

"Lord Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all our hopes and desires. Your Spirit brings us grace, truth, life, and freedom. Fill me with the joy of the gospel and inflame my heart with love and zeal for you and for your will".

Supplementary Reading

Persevere!

The Lord will work out His plans for my life - for Your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. -Psalm 138:8

A Sunday-school class was discussing the story of Jonah. The teacher explained how the Lord punished Jonah for running away from Him by arranging for a huge fish to swallow the frightened man. For three days, Jonah cried out to the Lord praising and thanking Him from the belly of that great fish. On the third day, God ordered the fish to spit Jonah onto the beach.

In closing, the teacher asked her students, "What does this story teach us?"

One little boy quickly answered, "Well, I think the story teaches us that you can't keep a good man down!"

He was right you know! And that's why perseverance is on my list of dynamic, life-changing values. But we all have experiences at times in our life when we are really down. Perhaps there is something happening to you this week that threatens to hold you back or knock you down.

Now, confidently commit this situation to God in prayer. When Jonah had lost all hope, he turned his thoughts once more to the Lord. His reason? "For my deliverance comes from the Lord alone."

Dear Lord, what has appeared to me to be an impossible situation is fast becoming a possibility! Thank You for showing me the way out of a tough situation. Thank You for encouraging me to have the perseverance needed to accomplish in this life all that You have for me to do! Amen.

Describe a situation that threatens to hold you back or knock you down. How will using the life-changing value of perseverance help you to move ahead with possibility-thinking faith?

GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.

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