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The Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
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PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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1In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
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Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. You shall go to all to whom I send you.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Alleluia. (Jer. 1:7, 8)
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Luke 4: 21Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" 24And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown. 25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
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MUSINGS
I just finished reading yet another news item related to the presidential primary campaigns. We're months deep into a news cycle that won't end until the second Tuesday in November. And don't look then for any relief-the 2020 presidential election news cycle is sure to begin the second Wednesday of November.
We've had more than our fill of stump speeches, positioning and posturing. Candidates preach to their respective choirs, tailoring their messages to appease one so-called "friendly audience" or another. Where's the news in that? The choirs come to hear exactly the message they want to hear. This election season it seems more than ever that some candidates are seemingly gaining ground by speaking to people's basest self-interests and fears.
Pundits caution that winning primary elections by appealing to one extreme or another challenges the ultimate candidates in the general election. Their primary messages, targeted at this constituency or that special-interest group, may not play so well across the wider electorate. The presidential candidates will again need to tailor their messages to appeal to a broader base without alienating the constituencies that handed them the primary vote in the first place.
It makes it difficult to find the truth in the candidates' messages.
Jesus, the favorite son from Nazareth, makes good abroad, returns home to a presumably friendly audience, and yet surprisingly is rejected by his own people to the point they practically push him over a cliff. Why the unexpected rejection?
Perhaps it was Jesus' campaign speech, proclaiming that he was sent for the benefit of those rejected by society, which led society to reject Jesus himself. What was in it for them, anyway?
Jesus sticks to his message of truth, a message he has been preaching all along regarding present realities and God's promise of hope. He gives voice to the lowly, the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the rejected and the captive. That apparently was not the message the hometown crowd came to hear. What they failed to hear, however, was Jesus' message that God's favor is upon all. The lowly are lifted up and the affluent are blessed to show compassion. The playing field is leveled.
The simple truth is that God's love is for all. As people of God, and as a church, we need to be purveyors of that truth. We are called to open our eyes to injustice and work to break down the barriers created by society that keep some from receiving God's love.
We are called to know and do the truth.
Thanks be to God!
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