Gospel in Art: They rose up, and drove him out of the town

Under the Wave off Kanagawa, (the Great Wave) from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai 1830-32 © Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York

Gospel of 1 September 2025
Luke 4:16-30

At that time: Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll, and found the place where it was written,

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

And he rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'

And all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, 'Is not this Joseph's son?' And he said to them, 'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, " 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well." ' And he said, 'Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his home town. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.'

When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up, and drove him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Reflection on the Japanese Woodblock Print

In today's gospel we see a dramatic shift in how Jesus is received. At first, when He returns to His hometown of Nazareth and begins to speak, the crowd is full of admiration: "they marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth". They marvel at His eloquence and the beauty of His message. But that enthusiasm doesn't last long. Soon scepticism takes over: "Isn't this Joseph's son?". Then the scepticism turns to outright anger and murderous intention: "they brought him to the brow of the hill... so that they could throw him down the cliff". The crowd went quickly from amazement, into doubt, then anger.

Yet Luke tells us that Jesus, undeterred, walked straight through the mob and went on His way. It is a very striking image: rejection doesn't halt His mission, nor does hostility silence His voice. He carries on, proclaiming the good news of God's mercy and favour, not just for those who applauded Him, but even for those who turned against Him. His perseverance shows us that the love of God cannot be silenced or shut out, no matter the opposition. Like Jesus, we are called to carry that same resilience within us, to keep sharing the Gospel with courage and joy, even when we face obstacles or rejection.

Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa has become one of the most recognised images in the world, and for good reason. The enormous wave, curling like a claw above fragile fishing boats, conveys a sheer, unstoppable force of nature. It surges forward with a power that is unstoppable. The wave cannot be contained. For us as Christians, this print can maybe be a powerful image of the Gospel itself. God's word, like that great wave, is alive and active; moving, unstoppable, sweeping across the world. When we are called to share our faith, it should not be timid or hesitant, but like that wave: uncontainable, filled with energy, and able to reach shores far beyond what we imagine.

The print itself is a woodblock, created through a meticulous process. Each colour and line required a separate carved block, pressed carefully in succession onto the paper. Layer upon layer, colour upon colour, the image builds into its final form. Perhaps the reason The Great Wave has become so enduringly popular is that it speaks to something universal: the awe we feel before forces greater than ourselves, and the beauty that can emerge even in moments of danger and struggle. It is both terrifying and captivating, and in that tension, people across cultures find meaning.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-4-16-30-2025/