Gospel 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 Joses 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.
Homily
As a young priest I always noted the difference in treatment that young local priest received in contrast to the respect that foreign priests received. I puzzled over that situation for a long time until it suddenly struck me that the majority of Catholics in Trinidad and Tobago only knew the foreign priests in their sacral role.
We knew them on the altar. They were not accustomed to visit our homes. We were not their friends. We saw them therefore as sacred persons and by and large they received the respect due to sacred persons. Local priests however were our friends; they were brothers and cousins. We grew up with them and knew them intimately. We knew their strengths and their failings. We knew them as normal persons and we treated them as such. In fact to some extent it was harder for us to accept their admonitions and teachings because we knew them too intimately. Local priests would never be treated in the same way as the foreign priests were treated. I thought of this situation as I read the gospel given to us by the church for our meditation this weekend. In this passage we see the same dynamic being played out between Jesus and the people of his native place. The people of his native place 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 Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” and they took offense at him.” Jesus’ response to the situation is: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”
This saying is important for us to internalize because we may be inclined to think that because we are natives of a country, people will automatically receive us and accept the message which we give. This is never so. There comes a time in fact in which we ask ourselves whether or not we are wasting our time; whether it would not be better to go somewhere else or simply to keep quiet and go about our own affairs and leave the work of bringing the message to others. The first reading however disabuses us of that inclination.
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We are being told that we must not run away from the difficulties. Difficulties according to St Paul remind us that our strength is in Jesus Christ. It is from Him that we get the courage and strength to persevere in spite of the difficulties that we face. St Paul tells us “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”.
St Paul recognizes that Christ sustains him in his weakness and he can therefore give witness to the power of Christ in his life. This after all is said and done is the important element in our Christian life. It is not about the respect or lack of respect that we receive; it is about giving witness to the power of Christ in our lives so that Christ may be proclaimed as Lord.
A look at the lives of the saints will show us that this is how they lived. They were very often vilified and abused but they continued in spite of hardship and difficulties to give witness to the power of Christ in their lives. We are called to do the same in our offices, places of work, and places of recreation, in our families so that Christ may be proclaimed throughout the land as Lord.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, Your son Jesus was not received well in his own town but He continued in spite of it to do what He could. He only worked a few miracles because of their lack of faith. Help us to realize that what they did to the master, they will do to us. Help us to continue in spite of the difficulties, putting our trust in your strength, so that Your Name may be glorified. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and the same Jesus your Son. Amen
