Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

 

Gospel Reading: 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 Joseph 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.

 

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus returns home with his disciples to preach the Word in Nazareth. The towns people are astonished and amazed at his wisdom. One would think that the towns people would celebrate his wisdom. But instead they were very critical of Jesus’ abilities. They could not believe what they were hearing. They were offended by his abilities. Are we not the same to people that are closest to us. The people who judge us most severely are generally our closest friends and family. They are the ones who have a hard time believing in our success. They cannot believe that a carpenter, a simple man, a common laborer can be so profound in his wisdom. He is no longer just the son of Mary, but now a Rabi professing the Word of God with amazing wisdom.

 

How can Jesus from Nazareth perform such mighty deeds? In the end, the people of Nazareth could not accept his preaching because of who he was. They could only see him as this little boy who played in the streets. He was not from any special family and his father was just a carpenter, a person with no formal training. They immediately rejected Jesus because they knew him. They could not open their minds to accept the wisdom of his teaching. Because these people prejudged Jesus, they had hardened their hearts to his message. They would never accept what he had to say because they had already determined that he was inferior. We can do the same thing with people that we know, with our friends and our family. We need to be open to the gifts God gives us and to others. We need to be willing to accept the good news from God without exception no matter from who it comes.

 

It says that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. Is Jesus amazed at your faith or your lack of faith? Have you become so familiar with your faith that you are no longer amazed. Has your religion become boring? As we approach lent, it is time to renew our commitment to God and to our faith. No matter how familiar we have become with our faith, we need to renew it as if it were a brand new friend we have just met for the first time. We need to have that new found curiosity which helps us dig deeper and find out more. It needs to help lead us to a more solid foundation from which to grow. We need to find the wonder and awe that allows us to form a life-long bond with Christ.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord, open my eyes to a new found relationship with God.

Let me experience the Gospels like a new found friend.

Help me inspire my curiosity so that I may grow in faith to be your servant.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon