Homily for Monday of the 3rd Week of Lent

In our Gospel passage, Jesus confronts a narrow view of God held by His fellow Nazoreans. They believed that God belonged only to the Israelites. When Jesus reminded them of a couple of instances in the Scriptures when God seemed to prefer the pagans over the Jewish people, they resented it and drove Him away. This rejection in Nazareth predicted His even more violent rejection to come in Jerusalem.

Jesus wanted to expand the people's understanding of God, which was too limited. He wanted them to see that, as St. Peter later said, "God has no favorites."

Jesus wanted people to know that God is generous and inclusive beyond what they could imagine. He always tried to show them there was so much more to God than they comprehended. Jesus' vision of God is still a challenge for us today, but it is still "Good News" for all who are open and willing to receive it.