Thursday 8 January 2026
1 John 4:19-5:4. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you – Ps 71(72):1-2, 14-15, 17. Luke 4:14-22.
Forgotten people and forgotten places
This reads almost like a parable of beginnings. A man returns to his hometown, walks into the synagogue where he grew up, among neighbours who know his family, his trade, his history. There’s a kind of hometown pride in the moment, with the carpenter’s son becoming a celebrated religious teacher who reads scripture with real authority. But then comes a twist. Instead of merely reading Isaiah’s vision of liberation, he claims it as his own mission. ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ It’s a breathtaking announcement, claiming that God’s work of renewal starts here and now. In this obscure rural village, did these people struggle to reconcile the local boy with the enormity of his words? It only says that the locals are ‘amazed’, and they speak well of him. But why Nazareth? By starting here, Jesus makes clear that God’s renewing work does not emerge from prestige but from among the forgotten people and the forgotten places along the margins, where we least expect transformation.
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