Readings:
As we've walked with the apostles in the
Gospels in recent weeks, we've witnessed Jesus command the wind and sea, and
order a little girl to arise from the dead. But He seems to meet His match in
His hometown of Nazareth. Today's Gospel is blunt: "He was not able to
perform any mighty deed there."
Why not? Because of the people's lack of
faith. They acknowledged the wisdom of His words, the power of His works. But
they refused to recognize Him as a prophet come among them, a messenger sent by
God.
All they could see was how much “this man”
was like them - a carpenter, the son of their neighbor, Mary, with brothers and
sisters.
Of course, Mary was ever-virgin, and had no
other children. The Gospel refers to Jesus' brothers as Paul refers to all
Israelites as his brothers, the children of Abraham (see Romans 9:3,7).
That's the point in today's Gospel, too.
Like the prophet Ezekiel in today's First Reading, Jesus was sent by God to the
rebellious house of Israel, where He found His own brothers and sisters
obstinate of heart and in revolt against God.
The servant is not above the Master
(see Matthew 10:24). As His disciples, we too face the mockery and contempt
we hear of in today's Psalm. And isn't it often hardest to live our faith among
those in our own families, those who think they really know us, who define us
by the people we used to be - before we chose to walk with Jesus?
As Paul confides in today's Epistle,
insults and hardships are God's way of teaching us to rely solely on His grace.
Jesus will work no mighty deeds in our
lives unless we abandon ourselves to Him in faith. Blessed then are those who
take no offense in Him (see Luke 7:23). Instead, we must look
upon Him with the eyes of servants - knowing that the son of Mary is also the
Lord enthroned in the heavens.
Yours in Christ,
Scott Hahn, Ph.D.
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