3rd Week of Lent (B) : Monday 4th March 2024

Jesus’ unfortunate rejection by the people of His own hometown raises a few questions: why did they reject Him? Would Jesus have been rejected if He were not a prophet? What is it about a prophet that triggers rejection by his own?

The answer lies not so much in who the prophet is but what he proclaims. The prophet proclaims God’s Truth which is hard to accept. Jesus spoke the truth about how God’s favour was shown to foreigners instead of God’s own chosen people. He cited the healing of Naaman, the Syrian leper and the saving of the Sidonian widow. They manifested God’s providence and generosity to all humankind, while hinting that God is not pleased with the Israelites on account of their sinfulness.

This truth did not go down well with the people. And coming from Jesus’ as of one of their own, they felt betrayed and disrespected. The Truth of God is this: being God’s chosen people means nothing if the Israelites did not do right by God; if they continued in their idolatry and lack of communal care for each other, especially the poor and the marginalized, they neglected God’s favour.

What about us? Do we think that God should favour us more than non-believers? We are invited to see that all people of goodwill are the children of God and are called to love all and serve all.

Dear Lord, may we humbly accept the truth that confronts our slumbering faith.