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Reading from the book of Leviticus. The
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Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "These are
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the Lord's semies on which you shall
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proclaim holy assemblies at their
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appointed times. On the 14th day of the
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first month, at twilight is the Lord's
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Passover. On the 15th day of the same
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month is the feast of unleavened bread
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to the Lord. For seven days you shall
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eat unleavened bread. On the first day
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you shall have a holy assembly. You
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shall do no serval work. You shall offer
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sacrifices by fire to the Lord for 7
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days. On the seventh day there shall be
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a holy assembly. You shall do no servil
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work. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Speak to the Israelites and say to
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them, when you have entered the land I
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am giving you and reaped its harvest,
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you shall bring a sheath of grain to the
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priest as the first fruits of your
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harvest. The priest shall offer this
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sheath of grain before the Lord, that he
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may be gracious to you. He shall do this
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on the day after the Sabbath. From the
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day after the Sabbath, from the day you
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brought the sheath of grain to be
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presented, you shall count off seven
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full weeks. You shall count off 50 days
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to the day after the seventh Sabbath,
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and you shall present a new offering to
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the Lord. The 10th day of the seventh
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month is the day of atonement. On it,
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you shall have a holy assembly, fast,
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and offer a fire offering to the Lord.
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On the 15th day of the seventh month is
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the 7-day festival of tabernacles to the
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Lord. On the first day, there shall be a
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holy assembly, and you shall do no
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serval work. For seven days you shall
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offer fire offerings to the Lord. On the
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eighth day you shall have a holy
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assembly and you shall offer a sacrifice
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by fire to the Lord. It is a day of
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solemn assembly. You shall do no serval
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work. These are the Lord's feasts in
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which you shall proclaim holy assemblies
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to offer sacrifices by fire to the Lord.
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Burnt offerings and grain offerings,
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sacrifices and drink offerings, each on
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its own day. The word of the Lord.
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Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St. Matthew. Glory
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to you, Lord. At that time Jesus came to
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his own town and taught in their
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synagogue so that the people were
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astonished. And they said, "Where did
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this man get this wisdom and these
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mighty works? Isn't this the carpenter's
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son? Isn't his mother called Mary? And
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aren't his brothers James, Joseph,
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Simon, and Judas? And don't his sisters
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live with us? Then where did this man
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get all these things? And they were
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scandalized by him. But Jesus said, "A
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prophet is not without honor except in
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his own country and in his own house."
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And Jesus did not perform many mighty
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works there because they had no faith.
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Word of salvation. Glory to you, Lord.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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imagine for a moment that you are
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artists working on a masterpiece. Every
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brush stroke is carefully planned. Every
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color is chosen with purpose. Every
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detail contributes to the greater
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meaning of the work. But then the people
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who see his creation say it's nothing
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special. We've known this artist since
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he was a child. It can't be anything
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This frustrating situation helps us
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understand both the beauty of the sacred
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feasts described in Leviticus and the
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tragedy of Jesus rejection in his
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hometown. In the first reading, God
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speaks to Moses about the sacred feasts,
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the appointed times of the Lord. These
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are not just casual celebrations or
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empty traditions. They are sacred
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moments carefully orchestrated by God to
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teach his people about his nature, his
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plans, and his relationship with us.
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Consider Passover. In the first month,
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on the 14th day of the month at twilight
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shall be the Lord's Passover.
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How precise. God leaves nothing to
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chance. This feast commemorated Israel's
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deliverance from Egypt, but it also
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pointed to a greater liberation that
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would come through the lamb of God who
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takes away the sin of the world. Next
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comes the feast of unleavened bread. For
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7 days, you shall eat unleavened bread.
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In biblical tradition, leaven often
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symbolizes corruption and sin. For seven
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days, the number of perfection, the
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people were to live without levaven,
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symbolizing a purified life, free from
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the corrupting influence of evil. And
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then there is the offering of the first
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fruits. When you reap your harvest, you
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shall bring the first sheath of your
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harvest to the priest. What a beautiful
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image of gratitude and trust. Even
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before knowing whether the rest of the
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harvest would be abundant, they offered
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God the first and best of their fruits.
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It was an act of faith, recognizing that
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every blessing comes from God. The feast
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of Pentecost comes 50 days later. You
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shall count 50 days until the day after
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the seventh Sabbath, and then you shall
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offer a new offering to the Lord. This
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feast celebrated the complete harvest.
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But it also became the moment when the
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Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles,
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marking the birth of the church. And
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what about the day of atonement? On the
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10th day of the seventh month shall be
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the day of atonement. A solemn day of
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fasting and purification when the high
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priest entered the Holy of Holies to
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make atonement for the sins of the
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people, a prefigurement of Christ's
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perfect sacrifice. Finally, the feast of
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tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles
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shall last 7 days. During this feast,
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the people lived in temporary tents,
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remembering their journey through the
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wilderness and recognizing that
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ultimately we are all pilgrims on this
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earth. Each of these feasts was a brush
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in the hands of the divine artist,
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creating a masterpiece of spiritual
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significance. They taught about
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redemption, purification, gratitude,
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dependence on God, atonement, and our
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spiritual journey. Together, they formed
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a sacred calendar that kept God's people
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focused on eternal truths amidst the
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temporal concerns of life. But here's
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the paradox. When the ultimate reality
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these feasts prefigured finally arrived
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in the person of Jesus Christ, many
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failed to recognize it. In today's
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gospel, we see Jesus returning to his
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hometown of Nazareth. He teaches in the
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synagogue with the same wisdom that had
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amazed crowds elsewhere. But the
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reaction is completely different. Where
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did this man get this wisdom and these
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powers? His fellow villagers ask, "Isn't
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this the carpenter's son? Isn't his
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mother called Mary and his brothers
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James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And
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aren't his sisters all with us?" Where
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then did this man get all these things?
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Familiarity had bred not admiration, but
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skepticism. They knew Jesus as the
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carpenter's son, the boy who had grown
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up among them. How could he be someone
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special? How could he be the promised
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Messiah? Their limited expectations
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blinded them to the extraordinary
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reality before them. And the result was
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tragic. And he did not do many mighty
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works there because of their unbelief.
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Their lack of faith not only deprived
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them of the blessing of witnessing Jesus
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miracles, it limited God's own work
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among them. My dear brothers and
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sisters, what profound lessons these
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readings offer us for our lives today.
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First, we are called to recognize the
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sacred in the familiar. Just as the
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feasts of Leviticus transformed ordinary
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moments into sacred encounters with God,
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we must learn to see the divine presence
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in our daily lives. Family dinner can
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become a domestic eukarist. Daily work
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can be offered as an oblation to God.
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Moments of rest can be Sabbaths.
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transformed into opportunities for
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communion with the creator. Second, we
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must cultivate a sense of gratitude and
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dependence on God. Just as the
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Israelites offered the first fruits of
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their harvest, we are called to
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recognize that everything we have comes
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from God. Before enjoying our blessings,
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we must first recognize and honor the
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one who gives them. Third, we must guard
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against the blindness of familiarity.
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How often do we fail to recognize God's
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work because it comes through people or
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circumstances we consider common or
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How often does our unbelief limit what
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God can do in our lives and communities?
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The story of Jesus rejection in Nazareth
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is particularly relevant to us as a
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community of faith. It's easy for us who
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hear the same readings week after week,
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who participate in the same rituals, who
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sit in the same pews to develop a kind
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of familiarity that prevents us from
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truly experiencing the transformative
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power of the gospel. But God desires our
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faith to be always fresh, always
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vibrant. He wants each celebration of
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the Eucharist to be for us like those
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sacred feasts in Leviticus. Moments of
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genuine encounter with the divine,
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opportunities for spiritual renewal,
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occasions of wonder and worship. Imagine
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if we approached each mass as the
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Israelites approached the feast of
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Passover with careful preparation,
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reverent expectation, and hearts open to
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God's redemptive work. Imagine if we
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offered our lives to God like the first
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fruits of the harvest with generosity,
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faith, and recognition of his provision.
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And imagine if we saw each other not
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through the lens of familiarity that can
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blind us, but with the eyes of faith
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that recognize the presence and power of
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God working through seemingly ordinary
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people. The great theologian Carl Roner
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once said that the Christian of the
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future will either be a mystic or not a
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Christian at all. What he meant is that
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we need to cultivate a capacity to
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encounter God not only in extraordinary
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moments but in the ordinary, the
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familiar, the everyday. The feasts of
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Leviticus teach us that God wants to
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meet with us regularly in moments marked
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by the sacred amidst the secular. Jesus
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experience in Nazareth warns us of the
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danger of allowing familiarity to blind
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us to the miraculous. So my dear
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brothers and sisters, today we are
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called to renew our spiritual vision. We
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are challenged to see our daily lives as
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a series of sacred feasts. Each moment
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an opportunity to encounter God. We are
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invited to approach our faith not with
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the indifference of familiarity but with
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the wonder of those who constantly find
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new depths in God's infinite love. May
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we have eyes to see Jesus not just as
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the familiar carpenter but as the risen
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Christ who continues to work miracles in
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our lives. May we have ears to hear not
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just familiar words but the living word
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of God that has the power to transform
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our hearts. And may our faith always be
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like those first fruits offered in the
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temple. the first and best of who we
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are. Offered in gratitude and trust to
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the one who is the source of every
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blessing and the author of every
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transformation. May the grace of our
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Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the
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Father, and the fellowship of the Holy
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Spirit be with you all today and always.
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
