During this season of Lent, I will be working through Bishop Robert Barron’s Lenten Gospel Reflections (available through Word on Fire). Each day, I will share the readings and the reflection question, followed by my own thoughts.
March 21, 2022
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth,
24b “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. 30 But passing through the midst of them he went away.
The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition, Lk 4:24–30). (2006). Ignatius Press.
What is necessary for you to become a “speaker of God’s truth”? What is holding you back?
Those of us who are in Christ through baptism have been given the gift of serving as Priests, Prophets, and Kings. Prophets are those who speak God’s truth. What is necessary for us to act in our role of Prophet? Well, for someone to speak God’s truth, he or she must first know God’s truth; it must be in our hearts, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We must hide God’s word in our heart (Psalm 119:11) by delighting to meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2). But there is a deeper mystery to be considered here: Christ is the Word (John 1:1); we are called to abide in Him, that he may abide in us (John 15:4), and that we may abide in His love (John 15:9). The way that we abide in Christ’s love is by keeping His commandments: for Christ says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (John 15:10, see also 1 John 3:24). Finally, once we are filled with the truth, we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), not hiding the hope within us (Luke 8:16), for once we have been filled with the truth, our light cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14); we must be always ready to share the light within us (1 Peter 3:15), even if it means being reviled or persecuted. For Christ was not accepted when He spoke the truth; how much more will we be maligned (Matthew 10:25); we should not expect better treatment than our Lord received, since Christ tells us that “a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him” (John 13:16).
Lord, fill us with Your truth. Let us speak this truth in gentleness and kindness, that You might through our words and Your mercy draw the hearts of the lost back to Your love! Let us be free from pride and fear that would hinder us from speaking Your truth; fill us with humility and love that we may share Your love with all those we meet.
Steven Mills 
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