On Sundays this year we are reading from the Gospel According to Luke. There are four Gospels because each Gospel writer has his own view of Jesus and his message. We find out what Luke's view is by noting what he adds that the others don't have and what they have that Luke leaves out. Luke 4:21-30 is an excellent example.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe Jesus' being rejected by the people of his hometown Nazareth. Only Luke has Jesus add that the great prophet Elijah helped a widow who was not Jewish while many Jewish widows were starving; and the prophet Elisha cured the leprosy of the Syrian Naaman while there were plenty of lepers in Israel. Luke wants us to see Jesus telling his townspeople that he has come for every human being, that the salvation he brings reaches beyond his own people. Luke will stress this theme of universal salvation throughout his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
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