Monday of the Third Week of Lent ‘c’

Luke 4:24-30

When we read today’s gospel passage, we can’t believe that Jesus’ friends, the people from His own native place, rejected Him. They even wanted to kill Him, only because He was speaking the truth to them. Jesus was telling them that if they would not change, would not convert, they may not enter the Kingdom of God. Even non-believers might get there before them. “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.” I must admit that when I read this story, I became judgmental of those people who wanted to get rid of the Lord. But then I think about all those moments in my life, when Jesus tells me clearly that I must change, I must convert and get rid of my sinful attachments, and when that happens, I too push Jesus away. I don’t want to listen; I don’t want to hear Him. We all have our own agenda for our lives, for our religion, for our behavior. So when the Lord tells us that we are on the wrong path, quite often we don’t want to listen to Him. We are too stubborn.