St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37

Yahweh spoke to Moses, 

Then there are the appointed feasts of Yahweh at the times fixed for them, when you are to proclaim holy assemblies. At twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month is Yahweh’s Passover.  And on the fifteenth day of this month it is Yahweh’s feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven.

 On the first day there will be a sacred assembly and no work of a worker shall be done.  For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to Yahweh and on the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly and do no work of a worker.”

  Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,   “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I will give you and you reap its harvest, you will bring to the priest a sheaf, the firstfruits of your harvest   and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

From the day after the Sabbath, on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks.  The day after the seventh Sabbath will be the fiftieth day and then you are to offer Yahweh a new offering. “The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to Yah­weh. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:

The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tents for Yahweh, lasting seven days. The first day you shall hold an assembly; you must do no work of a worker. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. It is a day of solemn assembly in which you shall do no work of a worker.

 These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh in which you are to proclaim holy assemblies for the purpose of offering offerings by fire, burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings to Yahweh, according to the ritual of each day.

 

Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab

Sing with joy to God our help.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

Matthew 13:54-58

 He went to his hometown and taught the peo­ple in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers?  Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers?  Aren’t all his sisters living here? How did he get all this?”   And so they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.”  And he did not perform many mira­cles there because of their lack of faith.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Familiarity robs us with the capacity to wonder and be awed by the familiar things surrounding us. This is what Jesus experiences when He goes home to Nazareth. He has already achieved something in a short span of time. He is now the talk in Israel. People are following Him and His preaching attract large crowds.

He is by intent and purpose one of the most famous in the land. But all these come to naught when He goes home. People are too familiar with Him and His family. They could not simply accept that He is cut above the rest because His family is as ordinary as theirs. And so Jesus could barely do anything in His hometown. Their negativity affects His effectivity big time.