Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Why was Jesus so rejected in his hometown of Nazareth?  One reason is that he preached a Gospel which included the Gentiles.  The Jews were so sure that they were God’s people that they utterly despised all others.  Many genuinely believed that God had only created Gentiles to be fuel for the fires of hell.  In the Bible reading this week, Jesus points out that no prophet is accepted in his own hometown and then he draws the link with the Jews not accepting God.  He points out that God therefore had blessings for the Gentiles as well.  This incensed the Jewish people.  Indeed, in Jesus’ day there were many divisions between Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles and even Jews in Jerusalem and Jews in Nazareth.  Before we judge their behaviour, we need to reflect that we too have many divisions: young; old; north; south; remain; leave and others as well.  In proclaiming that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, Jesus is preaching about the need for unity.  Diversity is good but dis-unity is not.  Disunity can tear nations apart.  God’s love spans all people and our love for others should do the same.