Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 30, 2021
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.
This gospel has always spoken to my heart, its words rising up at significant times in my life. One of these times was while visiting the Holy Land. As I stood amidst the ruins of a synagogue in Capernaum, the scene came alive in that hot, rocky, barren place. I thought, “Jesus might have stood here, prayed here, taught here.” His presence was tangible, his challenges real.
Each time I hear this passage, it’s like I’m there again, listening to Jesus, feeling the expectation and tension. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…” These comforting words resonated with his listeners, and all was going well, until it wasn’t. In recalling God’s mighty deeds to those outside the covenant, Jesus challenged his listeners, inviting them to a broader understanding of God and themselves. Amazement turned to fury, and Jesus’ very life was threatened.
Would we have acted any differently? In making the comfortable uncomfortable, those in positions of power, prominence, and privilege often have the most to lose by an upending of the social norms and structure.
Jesus’ life and teachings consistently remind us that God is always more than that which we can conceive, that God will not be hemmed in by human limitations. It’s not our job to determine who is more or less worthy of God’s favor and who might be God’s messenger. Jesus’ radical, empowering ministry shows that God’s love is bounteous and unearned.
As we grapple the social, political, and religious divisiveness of our world, let us commit to Jesus’ vision of God who loves all, is for all, and unites all. God’s Kingdom is big enough for all of us. Now that is the good news!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we know that your rejection by your neighbors at Nazareth is the first whisper leading to the Cross. Help us to see you not just where we expect to, but to see you revealed in the most unlikely places and in the most unlikely people. We make this prayer in your name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pammachius was a prominent citizen in the ancient Christian empire of Rome, and his life is woven together with the lives of all of the prominent saints of his age. His devoted love for his wife led him to holiness, even after her death.
He was classmates with the great Scripture scholar, St. Jerome; they studied rhetoric together and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Pammachius was a member of a noble family and grew up to become a Roman senator.
In 385, he married Paulina (who was also friends with St. Jerome; her mother is also a saint). Twelve years later, Paulina died in childbirth. Pammachius must have been heartbroken, as he received letters of sympathy and encouragement from many friends. “Your wife is now a witness and an intercessor for you with Jesus Christ,” wrote a friend, St. Paulinus. “Make her a partner in your charities. She is honored by your virtues. She is fed by the bread you have given to the poor.”
Pammachius took the advice and dedicated the rest of his life to works of charity. With another friend, St. Fabiola, he built a hospice in Rome to offer shelter to pilgrims, especially those who were sick and poor. He cared for the forgotten people of Rome—poor and disabled people gathered around him whenever he went into the streets. He saw his care for the poor as a way of following in his wife’s footsteps.
Pammachius corresponded with the great St. Augustine, and was fearlessly honest in his letters to St. Jerome, who was known to be bitter and vitriolic at times in his pursuit of the cause of truth. Pammachius wrote several times to urge Jerome to tone down his language. Jerome often refused, but their correspondence encouraged him into new ways of thinking.
St. Pammachius, the Roman senator, your devotion to your deceased wife led you to give your life to the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Pammachius is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed March 27, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
