Let Prophets Speak; Listen to Them

July 4, Sunday

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

What do you think when you see around you people being trodden down and exploited? Most people do nothing. They think: “Who am I to speak up? What can I do to correct such situations? No one is going to listen to me. After all, no one is a prophet in his or her own town or country.” Too many people leave too much good undone because of this self-doubt and lack of courage. Let us ask the Lord Jesus for the boldness to speak out with him and to go about doing good.

 

First Reading: Ezekiel 2:2-7

The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.

He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.

 

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

 

Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

Just a Carpenter

He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?”

But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “He’s just a carpenter—Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

Jesus told them, “A prophet has little honour in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child.” Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.

 

Prayer
God, our Father without equal,
your Son, your Word, came among us
as one of our own, our own flesh and blood.
Dispose us to welcome him always
and to listen to what he tells us,
even when his word upsets and disturbs us,
for it is a Word of life and grace.
And give us the courage
to pass on his word to one another,
that it may liberate us all
and lead us to you as your one people.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Too familiar to appreciate

This Sunday’s Gospel presents to us the return of Jesus to Nazareth, his hometown where he is rejected by his own people. The crowds admire him, they flock to him. But his success begins to worry the religious authorities.

Mark the evangelist reports the incident with a question raised by the people who were listening to Jesus in the Synagogue. “They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?’

The Jews were a patriarchal community, where a son was always identified as son of the father, and never as the son of the mother. The name of the mother was seldom used to identify the children. Even where the father is deceased, it is always with the father. When they mention the mother, it is a way of saying that the paternity of the person is doubtful, uncertain; “The son of Mary,” therefore, is an offense. Evangelist Matthew reported the incident by saying, “Is he not the carpenter’s son”, but doesn’t mention his name.

Why do they reject him? The simple answer was jealousy. The leaders of the people knew Jesus was right in his teachings and performing mighty deeds. They indeed admired him. But he was too familiar for them to appreciate. So, they looked for reasons to trap him. Thus they realised that Jesus often contradicted the traditions of the ancestors and violated the Sabbath when people were in need. And he frequents the houses of the tax collectors and sinners; he caresses the lepers, he announces a face of God who loves all, regards no one as unclean, rejects no one, forgives sinners without first questioning if they are repentant.

Jesus came to Nazareth with high hopes, and expectations. But he had a bitter conclusion to his journey. Quoting a proverb, he says: “A prophet is not without honour except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” There is also a similar reference at the beginning of the Gospel according to John: “He came to his own, and yet his own people did not receive him.”

Today there is no lack of prophets, but we refuse to accept them as such. Simply because we know them. We use the same argument that Jesus’ countrymen used. And we close ourselves off to the new possibilities, ways and hopes that God opens up to us through them. Certainly, they have their weaknesses as we all do, but through them the Spirit speaks. If we don’t listen to them, too bad for us!

Who are the prophets for you today? To what extent do you listen to them? Do you feel that, if you listened to them, you could live differently?

 

Video available on Youtube : Too familiar to appreciate