On the weekend of February 2-3, 2019, we hear the continuation of Luke's gospel account of Jesus' reception, then rejection, in His hometown of Nazareth. In the end, those who knew Him only as the carpenter's son were so infuriated by Him that they wanted to through him off a nearby cliff. (See the photo.)
In his homily from Saturday, Fr. Newton reminds us of two truths:
- That we too may be agitated or angered when someone shares a truth we do no wish to hear, and
- That we are called to show the courage of our convictions in our words and actions even in the face of rejection, persecution and hatred.
Fr. Newton goes on to say that Jesus warned us we would face opposition, but that we can also have confidence that God is with us, always.
Fr. Mark spoke about the second reading, and how the church in Corinth was beginning to put too much emphasis on the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that disciples were competing with each other. St. Paul reminds us that love is the greatest of God's gifts, without which the other gifts do no matter. Father then connected the idea that love endures all things with the gospel, reminding us that although we may wish to avoid conflict and difficulties in our relationships, love embraces the truth and requires us to meet challenges to God's will head-on. "We want to run from things—even from each other—but that's not what God calls us to," he says.
Check out the readings and homilies in English and Spanish at the links below:
- Readings in English (USCCB)
- Homily: Fr. Arockiya Newton (Audio)
- Homily: Fr. Mark Innocenti (Audio)
- Lecturas en Español (USCCB)
- Homilia: Padre Raymond Monsour (Español) (Audio)