Upon Me
Monday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 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.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“They also asked, ‘Is this not the son of Joseph?’”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Though Jesus greatly impresses those in His hometown, they refuse to believe in Him—in part because He is too common. They know Him so well, and He isn’t what they expect in a Messiah. So, they reject Him. Jesus makes a reference in this passage to Naaman the Syrian. Naaman is a figure from the Second Book of Kings who, having leprosy, travels far to see Elisha, the Jewish prophet, to seek a cure. After his travels, Naaman is disappointed that Elisha does not come out to perform an astonishing cure, but instead instructs Naaman to go wash repeatedly in the Jordan River. Naaman was expecting the extraordinary, but it was in the common that he would be cured of his disease.
Often times we search and search for divine guidance. We want and expect God to work in miraculous, extraordinary ways. Sometimes He does. But more often God works in very ordinary ways. God’s will for us is usually found in our simple daily life, not in extraordinary situations. Don’t be disappointed by the common life. Many husbands have done God’s will simply by listening to their wives’ struggles; many mothers have done God’s will by picking up toys without complaining; many students have pleased God by simply studying hard; many workers give God glory by completing their work well and not wasting time. Most of Jesus’ holy life was commonplace. So He asks the same holiness of us. How can we do “little things” better?
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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