Today, this Scripture is fulfilled.

Today this Scripture is fulfilled before you. 

"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." 

(Luke 4: 16 - 30).

Monday September 4th 2023 in the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time.

Our Gospel for today is the rejection of Jesus in His hometown Nazareth. Jesus read the passage below from the Prophet Isaiah which previews the ministry of the Messiah.

"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."

The congregation was impressed by Jesus' delivery of the message and "all in the synagogue looked intently at him.. ... And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth."

Then they wondered “Is this not the son of Joseph?"

Why did the admiration of Jesus suddenly turn to envy?  Envy is listed as one of the 7 Deadly Sins and is defined as: "Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation." It is a sin that is surprisingly found in the Church: Bishops, priests, religious, monks, nuns, etc.

Envy is such a human sin. Wives envy their husbands and vice versa. Sibling envy can be deadly as we see from Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob.

What makes you feel envious? How do you handle the deadly sin of envy that spares none of us? How will you feel if you are the target of envy at school or in the workplace?

"The redemption is the work of love. I loved in the face of hatred. I loved in the face of death. I loved even in the netherworld, where the just of the ages awaited My coming among them. It is by love that I vanquished hell, by love that I triumphed over death, by love that I undid what Satan, in his envy, had plotted against the creatures whom I so love and whom My Father destined for the praise of His glory." (IN SINU JESU page 135).

In September, the Church honors the Sorrowful Heart of Mary. May the Blessed Virgin Mary obtain for us the grace to embrace all the crosses in our lives. 

For Prayers of Consecration to the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, Litany, Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, etc click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/06/immaculate-heart-of-mary-consecration.html?m=10

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com