Happy Sunday
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Ezekiel 2,2-5; 2 Cor 12,7-10; Mark 6,1-6: 14 Sunday of the Year B, 4th July, 2021)
Today the liturgy speaks to us of faith, difficulty in believing, and invites us to open ourselves to a deep and simple faith. In the first reading, taken from the book of Ezekiel, God announces to the prophet that he will neither be believed nor accepted by the Jews. The Gospel presents us with an episode that corresponds to this prophecy: Jesus comes to teach in the synagogue of his country, and his message was not accepted; the Nazarenes do not believe in him. Even the second reading, although not having an explicit connection with the other two, can be related to faith: Paul must have an attitude of faith to overcome the difficulties he encounters in the apostolate.
In the first reading, God seems to be harsh on the chosen people. In fact, he says to Ezekiel: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a people of rebels, who have turned against me. Many prophets had rebuked the Israelites for their hardness of heart, for their lack of faith in God; and now the Lord says, They and their fathers have sinned against me to this day. God says to Ezekiel: Those to whom I send you are stubborn children with hardened hearts. You will say this to them: The Lord God says .... The prophet must speak; even if his message is not received, he must utter the words inspired by God. Thus, there is hope, at least for the future, that his message can be received. This will happen when God gives man a new heart and a new spirit. Then faith will be possible.
In the Gospel, Jesus encounters resistance to his message especially in his country, Nazareth. He began to preach and perform miracles in Caparnaum. Then he returns to Nazareth, and on Saturday he starts teaching in the synagogue. The first reaction of the Nazarenes is of amazement; they say, Where do these things come from? And what a rare wisdom that is given to him? And these prodigies performed by his hands? Here the two aspects of Jesus' ministry are mentioned: that of preaching, which manifests superhuman wisdom; and that of healings, which manifests superhuman powers. The Nazarenes were amazed, because they knew Jesus as one of their country member, who was a carpenter before starting his ministry. Therefore, they say: Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, John, Judas and Simon? And aren't their sisters here among us? In these sentences the term brothers must be understood in a broad sense, and not in a strict sense, as is usually the case in the Bible. The ending of Mark’s gospel tells us that two men named here - James and John - were sons of another Mary (cf. Mark15,47), and the same goes for Judas and Simon. The Nazarenes make a comparison between the humble origin of Jesus (he is a carpenter, he is not a person who has done many studies, was not educated as a rabbi) and his current activity and ability, and they take offence at him. Instead of accepting the reality, instead of saying: Yes, we know him, but now he reveals himself to us as a different person from how we knew him, they want to remain firm in the knowledge they have of him: Jesus, for them, is the carpenter, he must not leave this his identity. Like the Nazarenes, we too often have prejudices that prevent us from grasping reality. We, nevertheless, must be careful, because God's grace can often present itself to us in surprising ways, which do not correspond to our expectations. God does not conform to our prejudices. We must open our hearts, and minds, to welcome the divine realm that comes to meet us. Jesus comments sadly: A prophet is despised only in his homeland, among his relatives and in his house. A prophet is despised by people who claim to know him well and they do not accept that he has a supernatural inspiration, a superhuman mission. Lack of faith is an obstacle to God's grace, in order for it to be communicated to us, it needs our acceptance. If we reject it, it respects our choice and cannot operate as it would like. The Gospel tells us that Jesus could not work any miracle in the synagogue of Nazareth. He limits himself to laying hands on a few sick people and healing them. And in the end, it was said that Jesus marvelled at their unbelief. Let us ask the Lord to help us be open to his grace, truth and mission, so that he does not marvel at our unbelief. Jesus marvelled at the attitude of his fellow citizens, because the proofs of his mission were so evident as to make unbelief impossible, so to speak. This became possible only because of their hardness of hearts and the narrowness of minds.
In the second reading, Paul speaks to us of a situation in which he had to accept a divine manifestation that did not correspond to his expectations. Paul received so many graces, he also performed miracles, he preached, he faced and overcome so many dangers, but he complained because a thorn was put in his flesh. We don't really know what it is. Some think of an illness, others of a difficulty in his ministry. In any case, the Apostle speaks of it in an obscure way, because he speaks of an envoy of Satan charged with slapping him. Seeing himself impeded in his ministry, he, insistently, prayed to the Lord to free him from this obstacle. But the Lord did not hear him; he said to him: My grace is enough for you; in fact, my power is fully manifested in weakness. For Paul these words are divine light: they are something to be accepted with faith. He believed that he absolutely needed the Lord's intervention to be freed from the obstacles to his ministry; but now the Lord tells him: My grace is enough for you. It is, really, true that the Lord does not need our skills, but needs our docility and humility. In fact, if we are not humble, his work cannot be done. The graces of the Lord cannot be communicated to the proud, who take advantage of them to be even more proud and overbearing. Faced with these words of the Lord, Paul has a magnificent reaction of faith and says: I will gladly boast of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. When Paul speaks of his weaknesses, it is never a question of moral weaknesses, but rather difficulties, infirmity, outrages, persecutions and contrary situations faced for the love of Christ. In many circumstances he felt weak; but now with full faith he says: I will boast of my weaknesses. Not only does it say: I accepted, resigned myself to my weaknesses, but: I will boast, that is, I loved my weaknesses, I consider them an advantageous reality for me. Weaknesses are really an advantage, because thanks to them the power of God can be fully manifested. It was not easy for Paul to boast of his weaknesses. He was very sensitive to his fame and worried about it. But he was able to overcome himself, he overcame these natural impulses that he had inside and, instead of seeking human reasons for boasting, he sought divine reasons, and boasted of his weaknesses, so that the power of God might dwell in him.We therefore, ask the Lord to give us attitudes similar to those of Paul; attitudes that can transform unfavourable and negative circumstances into opportunities for progress in the faith; attitudes of great docility to the action of God, who wants to use us as humble instruments to do a great work. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Chukwubike)
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