An old adage says: “There is no more vicious enemy than the false piety of the sincere.” This is illustrated to perfection in the Gospel for this Sunday, as it narrates the terrifying revenge of mediocrity against Grandeur.

 

Gospel of the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying: 21 “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke highly of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

23 He said to them, “Surely you will quote Me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” 24 And He said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. 25 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. 26 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl Him down headlong. 30 But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away (Lk 4:21-30).

I – The Prophet Rejected

The Gospel of the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time presents the Nazarenes’ virulent rejection of Our Lord, which St. Luke situates after the temptations in the desert, when Jesus “returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee” (Lk 4:14a). It seems that He wanted first to overcome the devil and, almost immediately afterwards, the old social and family circles hostile to His divine mission. The Evangelist stresses that even before Our Lord’s journey to Nazareth, His fame had spread “through all the surrounding country” (Lk 4:14b), while He “taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all” (Lk 4:15). It was, therefore, in glory, and manifesting the power of the Paraclete that the Messiah went up to His city to meet His former neighbours. St. Luke, after recounting the atrocious sin of the Nazarenes, once again emphasizes that Jesus “went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority” (Lk 4:31-32). Thus, the animosity in Nazareth which transpires in this Sunday’s verses constitutes, at the beginning of the Saviour’s public life, a kind of sinister parenthesis in the warm and enthusiastic welcome of the people of Israel for the powerful Thaumaturgist and most wise Teacher. The Evangelist thus highlights, with a special mark of execration, the irrational and criminal attitude of the inhabitants of Nazareth, within a context of triumph and glory.

In the synagogue of Nazareth

With these presuppositions, it is easier to understand the initial amazement of the audience present in the synagogue of Nazareth, reported in the Gospel of the previous Sunday, because the glorious echoes of our Lord’s apostleship had reached their ears. The scene described by St. Luke is of an almost palpable supernatural density. Jesus rose to do the reading and, with divine audacity, chose a passage in which Isaiah foretells the future Saviour: “And there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him” (Lk 4:17-20). In an atmosphere of stupor, the Nazarenes wait for Jesus to speak. Perhaps they supposed that He would extol the city for the benefits He had reaped from the period of childhood and youth spent there, which had contributed to the formation of His character, and to His attaining the success that He now enjoyed. Instead, Our Lord proposes to them the true, entirely supernatural vision of His mission; egoistic and self-interested parochialism is light years away from the perfection of the Incarnate Word. He presents Himself through the lips of Isaiah as the One foretold by the prophets, the Anointed One of the Lord, the Son of God. Faced with such a declaration, we will see sentiments of comparison, of antipathy and of coldness appear. This is mediocrity, offended by the power of grandeur, and its vengeance will be felt in a terrible way.

II – Violently Scorned by His Own

The curse of banality

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying: 21  “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke highly of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

An unmistakable characteristic of the mediocre is to live caged, of their own volition, behind the bars of narrow, earthly expectations. They are prey to what could be called the curse of banality, by which supernatural horizons overwhelm them, causing aversion and torpor. For this reason the Nazarenes, on hearing Jesus’ “gracious words”, were not able to raise the question of His divine origin. Faced with the extraordinary effect before their eyes, they could only refer to the supposed human cause: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” They were unable to believe in the divinity of Our Lord, although it shone forth with dazzling splendour in His presence, in His gestures, in His thaumaturgical power, and in His wisdom.
Our Lady meets her cousin St. Elizabeth, by Fra Angelico - Prado Museum, Madrid
What a contrast between these Nazarenes and so many blessed souls who sensed the divine grandeur in Jesus. St. Elizabeth believed in Him even without having seen Him, hidden as He was in the most pure womb of Mary: “And why is this granted me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43). Nathanael acclaimed Him Son of the Most High because of the revelation that He had seen him under the fig tree (cf. Jn 1:49). And even the demons themselves proclaimed Him as the Holy One of God (cf. Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34). The “hot” and the “cold” manage to perceive what the “lukewarm”, blunted by mediocrity, do not want to see. It is not without reason that the Book of Revelation condemns with special repugnance this state of mind, which prepares for the worst abominations: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth” (3:15-16). Clearly, the attribution to St. Joseph of the wonder they were contemplating was not due to a sincere admiration for the Glorious Patriarch, founded on his unique sanctity. For the Nazarenes, the chaste spouse of Our Lady was simply a good carpenter. They had perceived nothing of his exceptional virtue, either by the perfection of his work or by his honest, devout and virile conduct. Mediocrity thus numbers among the main causes of incredulity. The virtue of faith opens man’s intelligence to the infinite and grandiose horizons of Revelation, like a bridge connecting earth to Heaven. In contrast, for those who live, like chickens, with their sights on the ground in search of food to fill their bellies, such supernatural perspectives cause annoyance, irritation and finally rejection.
Pilgrims praying at the grotto of Massabielle - Lourdes Shrine (France)
In the face of such blindness, Jesus, instead of shining before to the Nazarenes by means of thunderous signs, will try to apply the remedy of rebuke. Where faith is lacking, miracles do not make up for its absence, as we see in our society. Who does not know about the inexplicable cures that occur in Lourdes? The hopelessly ill come back healthy after having remained in confident prayer in the shadow of the grotto of Massabielle. So many know of these miracles, but how few believe and are sincerely converted!

“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”

23 He said to them, “Surely you will quote Me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” 24 And He said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. 25 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. 26 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Harsh words from Our Lord to the Nazarenes! With the red-hot iron of truth He was seeking to cauterise the wound of mediocrity. Nevertheless, the sick would not accept the cure. It was necessary for his listeners to clearly perceive the lukewarmness of their hearts, closed to divine grace that insistently knocked at their door. On hearing the Divine Master’s affirmation that “no prophet is accepted in his own native place,” they should have humbly acknowledged their fault and asked for forgiveness. But nothing moved them, not even the examples of Elijah and Elisha, who, rejected among their own people, favoured foreigners with miracles. Scripture says, “Reprove a wise man, and he will love you” (Prv 9:8). But if he is unjust, the rebuke will move him to hatred. And this was the reaction of Our Lord’s former neighbours. Mediocrity is based on an exaggerated idea of oneself, a narrow and complacent pride that leads the human heart to be self-satisfied with a trivial life of pleasure. That is why the mediocre person has an aversion to any kind of criticism, and reacts like a ferocious animal against anyone who dares to censure him. Why then did Our Lord try to open the eyes of his countrymen? Did he not know what their reaction would be?
The Holy Family - Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Sérent (France)
Jesus came to save and, therefore, He had to offer men the possibility of recognizing their faults and obtaining indulgence. However, on the other hand, He is a rock of scandal, as Simeon prophesied (cf. Lk 2:34-35), and those who do not accept His warnings throw themselves into open and insolent rebellion against the will of God.

Nazareth’s assassination attempt

28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl Him down headlong. 30 But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

The inhabitants of Nazareth turned a deaf ear to the supernatural appeals and closed in on themselves with resentment and sadness. Their reaction of lethal hatred well reflects the attitude of the mediocre wounded in their self-love. To want to kill the Anointed of the Lord for having admonished them with elevation and wisdom concerning the spiritual blindness that oppressed them, shows how dangerous is the leprosy of mediocrity. It is striking that at first Our Lord let Himself be carried towards the abyss by that torrent of animosity. This He did, no doubt, in order to characterize the murderous nature of the crime. But when He was near the precipice, He passed through their midst without their being able to stop Him. Could He have assumed His glorious body to escape those murderous hands? What we know is that, with unalterable dignity and peace, the Divine Victim miraculously escaped from the mortal snare, because His hour had not yet come. The Evangelist closes his account by simply stating that Jesus “went away”. The fury of the mediocre cannot stop the course of truth, which is always victorious against its adversaries.

III – A Lesson for Catholics of the 21st Century

In the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Our Lord presents Himself to us as the Prophet par excellence, rejected by His own because of their impoverished faith. The mortal hatred of the Nazarenes at seeing themselves invited ad maiora by the Divine Master and, at the same time, rebuked by Him, seems to us, at first sight, an ex abrupto reaction with no apparent motivation. However, such an impression does not correspond to reality. Mediocrity is a serious spiritual illness, whose devastating effects are revealed in the episode narrated by St. Luke. Among them is that the mediocre passes from acedia to hatred against God. Mediocrity is the great enemy of magnanimity, a virtue linked to fortitude that manifests with special radiance the immensity of God’s power and love. In His public life, Our Lord presented Himself as Grandeur Incarnate, brilliantly showing the supernatural nature of His mission and His divine origin: He was the Word begotten by the Father from all eternity and made Man in the virginal womb of Mary Most Holy. And the Cross was the price paid by the Son of God for having dared to shine in that way before the eyes of men sunken in the hideous and degrading swamp of mediocrity.

A preparation for the fight

Taken in this light, this Sunday’s Gospel is a preparation for battle. The confrontation between the sword of truth and the bestial fury of mediocrity clearly shows that apostolate is carried out on a battlefield, where the fiercest enemies can be those who outwardly present themselves as calm and peaceful. In this sense, the Catholic apostle must keep his interior eyes open, vigilant and keen, ready to recognize those who listen to the shining truths of the Holy Gospel with authentic delight, as well as those who, on the contrary, prefer to remain asleep in the night of their sins. The latter will be their most terrible adversaries. Full of courage, as an imitator of Incarnate Wisdom, he must encourage the good and rebuke the evil, aware of the consequences that will follow: hatred, struggle, risk and sometimes martyrdom.

The “Nazareths” of our days

The world today lies, in good measure, under the tyranny of mediocrity. The “bread and circuses” of the decadent Romans continues to be, in a modernized version, the currency with which the world buys the voluntary blindness of the multitudes. Money, entertainment, pleasure, comfort, technological advances and other vanities fill the narrow-minded expectations of millions of people who, like Esau, renounce soaring towards the noble and arduous horizons of the Faith in exchange for a banal dish of lentils. Of them, St. Paul comments that they “live as enemies of the Cross of Christ. […] their god is the belly” (Phil 3:18-19). The result of such prevarication is before our eyes: when in the history of humanity has there been a more dramatic and devastating moral crisis than that of our days? The Divine Commandments, without exception, are violated in the most ignoble way by the apathetic masses, slaves of mediocrity.
Dr. Plinio in 1933
However, we cannot be discouraged, because the truth will triumph!

Let us embrace the way of heroism!

In allowing Himself to be immolated on the Cross and to rise again in glory, Our Lord dealt a mortal blow to mediocrity and brought forth in His Church a host of heroes capable of the holiest audacity in order to implant obedience to Divine Law in the world. Yes, a multitude of men and women have, with contempt for petty worldly comforts, given their lives to make this earth an image of Heaven and to conquer eternity. That is why we can affirm, paraphrasing a thought of Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, that “the sceptical and resentful smile of the mediocre will never be able to stop the victorious march of those who have faith.” In an attitude diametrically opposed to the murderous madness of the Nazarenes, we are today invited by the Divine Master to be part of that radiant and magnificent cohort of those who follow Him along the bloody path of Calvary, with the firm certainty of final victory. Our Lady promised in Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Let us make these words our battle standard and let us fight for Her in the battles of the apostolate, knowing how to discern the action of grace which, in the midst of the modern quagmire, is bringing forth a pure white and uncontaminated lily. With its irresistible radiance, this lily will be able to overcome the darkness of night and to subdue the furore of the storm with its militant purity. From it will be born the sacral, hierarchical and supremely perfect order of the Reign of Mary. ◊  
In the featured photo: The Nazarenes rise up against Our Lord - Library of Yuso Monastery, San Millán de la Cogolla (Spain)