Eucharistic Readings for the 4th Sunday of Epiphany: Year C
Jeremiah 1:4 to 10; Psalm 71:1 to 6; 1st Corinthians 13:1 to 13; Luke 4:21 to 30:
“When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.” (Luke 4: 28 to 30)
This is the second time in chapter 4 of Luke that our Lord Jesus is threatened with death by being thrown down from a high place. Verses 9 through 12 of this chapter also have the devil trying to have him throw himself from the highest point of the temple. But Jesus refuses and moves on just as in this case with the people where he was raised.
You and I must also move on when threatened by evil, be it in our minds or in the minds of our peers. Sometimes in our lives all seems lost. It is in these times that we must not succumb to thoughts of defeat or hopelessness. I have found that just watching the minute hand on my grandfather clock and listening to the seconds tick by, telling me that yes, I have survived another second; another minute, and it shows me that this too will pass. There may come a time that it does not, but that is not my story to tell, I’m still here.
Our Lord Jesus lets his truth defeat the devil and I am sure that as he walked past those wanting to do him harm, his truth and love also overpowered their hatefulness. The same is true for us today. If we live in truth, speak the truth, and walk the truth in love, we too will avoid hateful intentions. However, even Jesus will be killed when both the devil and the hatred of people are combined to do him in. But God does not let that win. God brings him back. And God will bring us out of death as well. With truth and love leading us, God wins, every time.
As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
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