Cycle B - Year II:  

8 July 20180: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Ezekiel 2:2-5

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 6:1-6

Listen and believe!

Have you ever experienced getting rejected? We all have this kind of experience, in way or another. Rejections are the most common emotional wound we sustain in daily life. But sometimes, rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success. We must not get discouraged for all the rejections. And because rejection is a part of life, we must learn to deal with it and keep moving.

The Gospel narrative this Sunday tells us that even our Lord Jesus Christ was rejected too. The Gospel speaks of the visit of Jesus to Nazareth and describes the obstinacy of the people of Nazareth who do not want to accept Him. He came to to His hometown with His disciples. When the Sabbath came He began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard Him were astonished, but they did not accept His preaching because they knew Him to be just a working man, a carpenter,a mere layman.

Although the people of Nazareth have heard about the wondrous deeds performed by our Lord in other and neighboring places, Jesus faced a severe testing when He returned to His native land not simply as a carpenter's son but now as a rabbi with disciples. The people could not see the Messiah standing right beside them, because our Lord looked too much like one of them. As a result of the obstinacy of His own people in Nazareth, Jesus was not able to perform mighty deeds there because faith is lacking. And where there is no acceptance or faith, people can do nothing.

There is a modern term to describe the Gospel incident; it may be called "crab mentality", when people would pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or rejoicing at their achievement.

Even today, our Lord Jesus Christ continues to face rejection even by those who called themselves Christians or His own followers, by openly questioning and disobeying His teaching, for example, the Church's teaching on marriage, human life, and sexuality. And during Holy Mass, how many listen and reflect on the priest's homily, perhaps thinking that they have herd it already many times. It is a rejection of our Lord Jesus when we do not want to listen to His word or the preaching of the Church.

So then, the Gospel warns us to be on guard against certain attitudes that are incompatible with the example of Jesus. Are we also critical towards others, especially those close to us? It is said that the most severe critics are often people very familiar to us, like a member of our family, relative, or neighbors we rub shoulders with on regular basis.

In the Eucharist at Mass, do we take notice of the Messiah standing right beside us, and dwelling in us as we receive Him in communion, all the while healing us silently of our spiritual and bodily ailments through the sacraments? Or we want always to see our Lord in the spectacular events, like the dancing sun perhaps? 

We fail to notice that the sun rises and sets every single day, attesting to God's providential care for all His creation. Let us listen and believe, and keep faith in our Lord Jesus Christ even in these trying times. Because to reject Jesus our Lord is really to reject humanity itself.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!