Our Sacred Roots: The Priesthood of All Believers

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T he S eason after E piphany

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany January 30 - February 5, 2022

WEEK 10

Epiphany affirms Jesus’s presence in the world as hope for all peoples. In him alone, God provides the light of his salvation, making known God’s grace to all peoples, even to the farthest corners of the earth.

THIS WEEK’S THEME Jesus Rejected at Nazareth, Luke 4.21-30

During his inaugural homily, and on declaring the messianic text of Isaiah fulfilled in the hearing of his fellow Nazareth worshipers, Jesus made himself known as the Messiah. All spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. They did, however, acknowledge his familiarity: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Recognizing their growing skepticism, Jesus alluded to the widow in the land of Sidon to whom Elijah was sent, and the leper of Syria who was cleansed. These allusions filled those in the synagogue with wrath, who then rose up to drive Jesus out of town to throw him down the cliff. Jesus, however, passed through their midst and went away. The people of Nazareth could not bear Jesus’s revelation of himself as the Messiah. Jesus declared plainly that no prophet is acceptable in his own hometown; the thought that they already knew him, their overfamiliarity with him, eclipsed their ability to see him as he truly was.

Daily Devotional Guide Preparing Our Hearts

Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation Lord, protect us from overfamiliarity with you and your Word, and save us from the tendency to think we understand