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Gospel Reading for January 08, 2026 – Luke 4: 14-22
INDIFFERENCE
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He 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.
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After becoming very popular in Galilee, Jesus went to Nazareth, his hometown and went to the synagogue as he used to do, and on a sabbath, he revealed to them that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Why did Jesus reveal this at Nazareth and not at Galilee? Perhaps it was because he was known to be an ordinary carpenter in Nazareth. His family and the townfolks needed to know more deeply about his true identity. In the succeeding verses, we will see how Jesus was rejected by them, even after being amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They stuck to his being the son of Joseph the carpenter, hence, he was unable to perform many miracles in Nazareth as he did in Carpernaum, Galilee.
Their loss is our gain!
All persons have gifts and have a story to tell. When we reject them, we are the ones to lose because we do not experience the unique gift that we may receive from them, and do not benefit from the story they can share with us.
Lord, teach us not to waste any opportunity we may have in life because of INDIFFERENCE!
