Our insatiable ego

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 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. But he passed through the midst of them and went away. (Luke 4: 24-30)

Causing him great pain, the Nazarenes do not acknowledge the announcement of Jesus as their Messiah, probably because they believed him to be their equal as fellow citizens and because the truth is often painful to hear, as it for all us sinners. Indeed, a prophet is someone who proclaims the Truth in the name of and on behalf of God. Very often proclaiming the Truth is unpleasant because it seems to restrict our freedom. If we place our trust in God, we will be the architects of our own peace and that of others. Conversely, if we place our trust in creatures, beginning with ourselves and our insatiable ego, we will always be dissatisfied. Let us, therefore, strive to trust Jesus in every moment of our life.