Scripture:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Luke 4:16-30
Reflection:
Do you find it difficult to separate your needs from your wants? It’s a lesson we try to teach children, but even as adults, we often blur the line. We think we know what will make us happy, safe, or fulfilled, and we pray for those things. But our wants are not always the same as our true needs.
This was the dilemma the Nazarenes faced when Jesus returned to his hometown synagogue. The Jewish people had waited generations for the promised Messiah. They had endured exile, foreign occupation, and Roman rule. Naturally, they longed for a powerful king—a deliverer who would restore Israel’s strength and dignity. That was the Messiah they wanted.
But when Jesus stood to read from the prophet Isaiah, he offered a different vision: good news for the poor, freedom for captives, sight for the blind, liberty for the oppressed. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he reminded them of two familiar stories—God’s mercy shown not only to Israel, but also to outsiders: a widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian.
This was not the triumphant, nationalistic Messiah they had envisioned. Instead, Jesus revealed a Savior whose mission was broader and deeper: to heal bodies and souls, to break chains of sin and oppression, and to extend God’s grace to all people, even beyond the boundaries of Israel. His message was radical. It unsettled them, because it challenged their desires with God’s greater purposes.
And so we are left with the same question: Do we form the Messiah in our image, or do we allow ourselves to be formed in his? Do we pray only for the wants of our own comfort, security, and success? Or do we dare to pray for what we truly need—the healing, freedom, and transformation that only Christ can give?
May we have the courage to receive the Messiah as he is, not as we want him to be.
Mike Owens is coordinator of the Passionist Alumni Association and a member of the Migration Commission of Holy Cross Province. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.