“HE CLOSED THE BOOK… AND SAT DOWN; AND THE EYES OF ALL IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FIXED ON HIM” (Luke 4:20)

⏰Monday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 1 (02 September 2019)

📖1 Thess 4:13-18; Ps 96:1 & 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13 (R.v.13b); Luke 4:16-30

My dear, it is a new working week, and the Lord himself will will close the book of your less productive past and open a better and more productive page in your life. Just as he closed the book of the prophet Isaiah (Luke 4:20), signifying its fulfilment in him, so shall God’s promises in your life begin to be fulfilled in this week and beyond, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For our daily reflection, we shall be focusing now mostly on the gospel of St. Luke except for some days we might have special celebrations. The gospel of Luke incorporates everyone – the Jews and the gentiles, rich and poor, old and young, you and me. It shows us that we all have a place in Christ. So I encourage you to find out time to read and pay attention to the details of the gospel.

We begin today with Luke 4:16-30. It presents Jesus as the prophetic messiah.

Beyond that, notice that after Jesus had finished declaring his mission manifesto (cf. Luke 4:18-19), he closed the scroll which indicates its fulfillment and sat down to teach the people. That is a sign of authority. Hence, all eyes left the book of the prophet and gazed attentively at him.

That is also an invitation to us; Jesus has the authority to make all things well for us. Fix your gaze on him. No matter what your condition might be, he is not ready to abandon you to suffer pain and isolation (see 1 Thess 4:13-18).

Make sure that you do not allow over-familiarity to make you remove that gaze from him. And may your lips be filled henceforth with testimonies of the Lord’s goodness through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a smooth running new working week. Peace be with you.