Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The more universal perspective is the more divine, for God looks upon the whole world with a single gaze and desires for all to be saved. But often we humans are too stuck in our limited perspectives to be open to God’s accurate vision of reality.
In a memorable moment recounted by the Gospel today, Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah and claims that the passage has been fulfilled in himself. By these words, Jesus shockingly declares that he is the Lord’s anointed and the long-awaited Messiah. And surprisingly the people seem at first to accept him because “all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”
But quite quickly their limited perspective gets in the way and prevents them from accepting Jesus. They start to question his humble origin and become hesitant to accept this man raised by a carpenter. In response, Jesus attempts to break open their limited viewpoint. Appealing to the Scriptures, Jesus highlights moments where the prophets were sent not to the Jewish people but to Gentiles. In other words, Jesus is revealing that his messianic mission is not just intended for the oppressed people of Israel. Rather, he has come for the oppressed of all nations, as he has come to loosen the burden of sin that held all people captive. Jesus’ vision is more universal as it is more divine: His mission is good news for all people. But, because the people from Jesus’ hometown cannot widen their vision beyond the confines of their own nation, they become enraged and attempt to throw him off the cliff.
As we apply this Gospel passage to our own lives, we might take some time to reflect: How might the Lord be inviting me to consider others beyond myself and those closest to me? How can I better expand the limited perspective from my own needs to see things from God’s universal and divine perspective? How can I help spread the good news of Christ’s messianic mission to all people?