Gospel in Art: When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged

Mood swings,by Jennifer Connoly, 2011 © Jennifer Connolly, all right reserved

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 30th January 2022 - Luke 4:21-30

Jesus began to speak in the synagogue: 'This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.' And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. They said, 'This is Joseph's son, surely?'

But he replied, 'No doubt you will quote me the saying, "Physician, heal yourself" and tell me, "We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside."'

And he went on, 'I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

'There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah's day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.'

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

Reflection on the Painting

Today's Gospel reading shows how a change of mood can suddenly occur and affect things. At the beginning of our reading we hear how Jesus 'won the approval of all'. But a few verses later, these same people were outraged and angry with Jesus, to the point where they 'intended to throw Jesus down the cliff'. So what brought this sudden change of mood? Jesus painted a picture for them of who God really is. It didn't fit in with the image the crowds had of God. So they became enraged. The God Jesus unveiled to them is a God who loves the marginalised, the poor, the sick, the widows, the lonely… This was news to the townspeople of Nazareth and they became enraged. Their mood changed in an instant.

Our own moods can sometimes be unpredictable, and small things can throw us and change our behaviour. We can be slaves to our moods, and trying to snap out of them isn't always easy. Unlike the townspeople in our reading, who want to take it out on Jesus, we should embrace Christ in exactly those moments. He is there to help us set free from everything that holds us captive… even our emotions.

Our painting by Massachusetts-based Jen Connolly is a simple yet effective illustration of how we may experience mood swings. A young girl is swinging between the bright, colourful left half of the painting, and the dark, somber right half...

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1069
Christian Art - www.christian.art