A Reflection for Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Find today’s readings here.
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”
How do we treat people who tell us hard truths?
If today’s reading is any indication, it appears we don’t treat them well.
Jesus, at the start of his public ministry, speaks to a crowd. He reminds them that prophets in ages past called out the sinful ways in which their community treated outsiders and those on the margins, including widows and lepers. Jesus also points out God’s blessings for those of other nationalities.
The response of those in the crowd is predictable:
“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.”
Of course they were angry! Jesus was telling them hard truths. Rather than reflect on his message, they instead turned on the messenger.
Anticipating this reaction, Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”
Who are the prophets telling us uncomfortable truths today? And how do we react to their messages, especially when they arrive in places and spaces that we might wish were safe from critiques?
I remember I was attending a fundraiser several years ago for an organization that undertakes heroic work to serve the poor. Like many of these kinds of gatherings, the crowd was well-to-do, the food delicious and the bar well-stocked. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and it was clear that the evening would raise much needed funds to continue to carry out the organization’s work. That’s why it was so jarring to hear another attendee grumbling about the event, not because he wasn’t enjoying it, but because he found it all to be excessive. If the goal was to care for the poor, why all the opulence at the dinner? Sensing the discomfort, another attendee politely redirected the conversation. There wasn’t exactly fury, but the person’s words were not accepted at the banquet.
Looking at our society more broadly, who are the people giving prophetic messages today, about the ways we harm the planet, oppress the poor and exclude the marginalized? Are we open to listening to the prophets in our own land, individuals who point out the hypocrisies and injustices that persist even within our own communities? If we aren’t, why not? And how can we change our posture this Lent?
