Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4, 24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“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.

Rejected by those close to him

1. Arrived at Nazareth. In life, it’s important that you try to go back to your place and your people, to your essence and to the place where you can be you. And it’s good that you may connect with that person and in that space where you’re simply you. It does me good to get together with my lifelong friends, those who know me as Luis, not as Father Luis, or as a graduate or as a university professor. It’s important to go back to the Luis that I am, because that reminds me of where I come from and also where I’m going.

2. Prophet.  No one has it easy in life. When one announces and denounces, there will always be someone who attacks you. Even nowadays we’re experiencing a situation in which whoever thinks differently from you is your enemy. There was a time when people used to come together to think and discuss, and even in their differences, they were able to come up with great theories for humanity, but it’s not so nowadays. That’s why I remind you not to argue with someone who is absolutely closed-minded. When someone doesn’t seem quite open to your ideas, you might be able to get to the person and make him reflect, but if someone rejects you and is not willing to listen to your ideas and thoughts, don’t waste your time. Don’t even make an effort, because as Albert Einstein said, “it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice”.

3. To hurl him down. There will always be people watching for your failures in order to destroy you, just as those close to Jesus, his fellow countrymen were the ones who tried to get rid of him. They weren’t outsiders; they were close to him. That’s why you must open your eyes wide and pay attention to who you listen to and who you trust. Lest your close ones hurt you with betrayal and those who don’t know you look at you with compassion. 

Remember that something good is on the way! 

God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.