First Reading: 1Thes 4:13-18; Psalm: 96. R. v. 13b; Gospel: Lk 4:16-30

THE AWESOME ESCAPE

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP

“And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.” (Lk 4:29-30).

How on earth did Jesus escape this death threat? The angry mob clearly pulled him out of the synagogue all the way to the brow of the hill to throw him down headlong. And all of a sudden Jesus passed through the midst of them and walked away unhindered. Did Jesus cast a spell on them? Obviously not. Did Jesus use his divine power to his advantage? Jesus is not known for that. At least his temptation by the devil in the wilderness proves this. What then happened?

We cannot actually give a categorical answer to this question since the scripture gave no explicit explanation as to how Jesus escaped from the angry mob. But apparently, something must have happened to or among the crowd that gave Jesus the leeway to walk away unhindered. It could be that suddenly there was clash of opinions among the crowd on whether to go on with their initial plan or not. It could also be that the calmness of Jesus and his awesome personality overpowered them that they refrained from their evil plan. Whatever be the case, Jesus walked away unharmed.

At times, God has an awesome way of coming to our rescue in our moments of danger especially when we feel there is no hope due to the frightening present situations. There may be very many life threatening incidents we escaped without having any clear explanation as to how it happened. It could be car or fire accident, war, mob attack, sickness, and whatnot. Walking away alive from experiences like this is an opportunity to show gratitude to God through good living. Jesus went about doing the work of his Father when he left the presence of the crowd for his time has not yet come. Every opportunity gifted us to live again offers us the chance to love and serve God and neighbour. We must not waste it.     

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and mercy towards us. May we show gratitude for this favour through charity and good living. Amen.