all spoke well of him

Thursday, January 10, 2013 Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: 1 John 4:19 -- 5:4 Psalm 72:2, 14-15, 17 Luke 4:14-22

Luke 4:22  And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

Interesting?  They spoke well of him, but then they questioned "Is not this Joseph's son?". So, in one breath they honor him, and then in the next they discredit him.  Remember, Joseph's son was born out of wedlock.  I see this all the time today, where the Christian religion is patronized by people, then in the next breath they totally discredit it.  We often find our selves in situations where we may be a minority, or our job or position or relationship could be jeopardized if we say some thing too extreme, so we, who are professing Christians, play down the faith a bit in order to not cause a scene.  Is this what Jesus did?  It seems to me that there were people who actually wanted to kill him!  I don't think that is because he was politically correct.  Jesus said that if we follow him they will want to kill us too. So, how many people want to kill us?  

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to treat others with love, but at the same time to not compromise the faith in order to save my reputation or job or whatever.
Amen