HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

Jul 7, 2024

561

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (2:2-5)

As the Lord spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking say to me: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day. Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: "Thus says the Lord God!" And whether they heed or resist - for they are a rebellious house - they shall know that a prophet has been among them."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (123:1-2, 2, 3-4)

(R) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for His mercy.

To you I lift up my eyes who are enthroned in heaven - as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters. (R)

As the eyes of maid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, till He has pity on us. (R)

Have pity on us, O Lord, have pity on us, for we are more than sated with contempt; our souls are more than sated with the mockery of the arrogant, with the contempt of the proud. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (12:7-10)

Brothers and sisters: That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (6:1-6)

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Jones and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel recounts Jesus' return to his village Nazareth. During his stay over there on a Sabbath day, he went to the synagogue in the community he grew up in. At the time of Jesus, a synagogue served as place of worship and study for the Jewish community and on a Sabbath day a visiting rabbi or an elder from the community used to read and interpret a portion of the Law or messages from the prophets. This was what Jesus probably did on the day he went to the synagogue as he was considered a rabbi by then. Mark does not tell us what exactly Jesus spoke about. However, the parallel account of Luke's gospel (4:18-21), tells us that Jesus read a prophecy of Isaiah (61) which said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord's year of mercy", Luke (18-19). But then Jesus added saying, "Today, these prophetic words come true as you listen", Luke (21). In other words, Jesus was saying that the prophecy was about Him and that He was the promised Messiah. This was a startling statement for Jesus to make and it upset the people.

Now, by the time of his return to Nazareth, Jesus had already gained a reputation for teaching and healing in the region of Galilee and large crowds followed him wherever he went. So, the reports of his ministry might have already reached the people in Nazareth. With such a reputation, we would expect his own people to give him a hero's welcome when he visited their synagogue. Instead, they greeted him with skepticism and outrage. As much as they were astonished by the wisdom, authority, and power with which he communicated God's word, they were also full of unbelief. They had seen Jesus being raised as the local carpenter's son and attending Sabbath day services with his father, his mother, and perhaps other relatives, neighbours, and friends. Now here he was, a fully grown man taking his rightful turn at reading the Scriptures and even commenting on what he read by saying, the prophecy is being fulfilled in him. But they could not accept that. And that was a "stumbling block." They could not reconcile the work of God in someone they thought they knew simply as the carpenter's son and of the family of Joseph, Mary, James, Joses, Judas and Simon. They couldn't believe because they knew him so well. Their familiarity led them to dismiss Him as the Messiah.

Jesus, fully realizing that they were not open to the testimony of the scriptures, responded to them by comparing Himself to the Old Testament prophets. He said, "A prophet is not without honour except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house," Mark (6:4). Prophet Ezekiel was one of the prophets who did not receive the honour befitting the message that he had brought. Today's first reading describes Ezekiel's calling and his job description. The Lord sent him to a rebellious people, to a people who did not listen to what he said. They were a people who ought to have listened to the word of the Lord, after all the Lord had done for them in their history. And yet, they did not listen. So, Ezekiel was a prophet without honour. Nevertheless, regardless of the reception he received, Ezekiel was faithful in speaking the message the Lord gave him. Because that is what a true prophet does. In the same way Jesus too was a prophet without honour in his home town. As a result of their rejection, Jesus was not able to perform any mighty miracles among them except to heal a few sick people by placing his hands on them. Their unbelief kept Jesus from doing all that He could and so, Jesus was "amazed at their lack of faith."

What is the message for us?

"There are no prophets today similar to the Old and New Testament times. There are, nevertheless, prophets in today's church and their voices need to be heard. God has called all of us, by virtue of baptism, to be prophets. He desires that we would proclaim His Word without compromise, and guide and help one another to live according to His Word. No doubt, we do strive to understand God's plans and align our lives with them. However, even as believers, we still fail to live up to God's standards. That's why God continues to raise up people among us as prophets to call us to repentance, to return to the foundational truths of the Scriptures, and to get our focus back to Jesus Christ.
These prophets may be our church leaders such as, the pope, bishops, priests, deacons, and lay preachers or our parents, siblings and friends who urge us to live according to God's way. They repeatedly remind us of the need to love God and others, to speak the truth, to seek justice, to pursue peace, to embrace forgiveness, to acknowledge God's blessings and express gratitude. For their love and concern for us, these prophets are worthy of respect and honour. But oftentimes we too reject such prophets outright just as the people of the Old Testament rejected the prophet Ezekiel and other prophets; or even as in Nazareth, Jesus' own family, friends and people did. Sometimes our hearts are as hard as those present in the time of Jesus toward God's Word and God's ways. Sometimes because of the imperfect character, weaknesses and flaws of such messengers we tend to reject the message as coming from God and thus having authority. Some other times we also do the rejecting because of our familiarity with the messengers. In spite of the message of truth, love, compassion and justice that they bring, we refuse to listen to their voice because we think we know well who they are. Our pride prevents us from hearing from them and seeing their goodness and the presence of God in their lives. We are like the people of Nazareth: lacking faith.
God not only calls on us Christians to be prophets, but to receive them as well. Therefore, let us welcome one another as such, as bearers of God's message, each according to our status and vocation, and do so in our families, in our parish communities, and in our society. Let us also pray that we may not be counted among those who lack faith but rather be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation to recognize Christ in our midst and to welcome His saving word.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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