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.
Dr.
Marcellino tells us: Over the last two Sundays, the
gospel of Mark has been making it abundantly clear that Jesus is indeed God
Almighty, ruler of the world and lord over life and death. But this week we
come to a story that leaves us scratching our heads. Jesus goes to his own
native place, and receives less than a jubilant reception. “They found him too
much for them.” That may not be so surprising to those of us accustomed to
family life. But what does come as a shock are these words: “He could work no miracle
there . . . so much did their lack of faith distress him.”Wait a minute. I
thought that Jesus was God and therefore omnipotent. Wouldn’t it be admitting
that he is not God to say that he was unable to work miracles in a given place?
Hardly. God’s exercises his power only in a way befitting his nature. …He seeks
to give his love to those who freely accept it and open their hearts to him. He
refuses to violate the wishes of those whom he has created in his image and likeness,
who possess intellect and free will. He directly controls the wind and the
waves through a word of simple command, for wind and waves are inanimate
forces. But with regards to human beings, he makes himself available and waits
for an invitation. That invitation whereby we ask him to come into our lives
and calm our interior storms is called faith. Faith is not, therefore, an
emotion. It is not about an inner assurance, a feeling of confidence that is
free of all shadow of doubt or fear. It is rather a decision, sometimes made
with knees knocking. It is a yes that gives God permission to work in our lives
and rearrange the furniture if he so chooses. That means blessing, healing,
salvation and miracles. But it also means yielding to his will, his plan, his
timetable. And of course, that is the part we don’t like. What will others
think of me...Sometimes we are not really happy with the way things are, but at
least they are familiar. We know what to expect. We are in control, or at least
we think we are. Faith means handing over control, and that scares us. We are
free to say no, and quite frankly we often do. Sometimes we say no in small
ways–we only let God take us so far. Sometimes it’s a very firm “no”, that
shuts God completely out of our lives. This is the sort of “no” that Jesus encountered
during his visit to Nazareth, and which the prophets before him often
encountered from the people of Israel. So if Jesus was divine and therefore
all-knowing, why did he bother to go to Nazareth at all? For the same reason
that God sent Ezekiel to the Israelites and told him in advance that they’d
resist. The Lord wanted to take away all excuses. God loved his people enough
to offer them every opportunity for the healing and deliverance that they
prayed for. He called their bluff, so to speak. Jerusalem pleaded for
deliverance from the Babylonians and the people of Nazareth probably prayed for
healing for Uncle Jacob or food for the town orphans. But in both cases when
God showed up, ready to pour out his gifts, they didn’t like the packaging and
rejected the terms. At the last judgment, when our lives flash before our eyes,
we’ll be reminded of the times that God made a house call and we slammed the
door in his face. I say it’s time to apologize, unbolt the door, and roll out
the red carpet. www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/952/Jesus__Homecoming.html)
Prayer: O sweet
Jesus! Pierce my heart so that my tears of penitence and love will be my bread
day and night; may I be converted entirely to You, may my heart be Your
perpetual habitation; may my conversation be pleasing to You, and may the end
of my life be so praiseworthy that I may merit heaven and there with Your Saints
praise You forever. Amen (Conclusion to the Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget of
Sweden).
My
thoughts: Does any of this sound familiar to you? How many of us
have family situations that resemble Christ’s “family” in His home town. “Just
who does he think he is, coming in here and, well, performing miracles and all
that?” Yup, just like our families. The problem, this was no ordinary family
member; this was God, revealing Himself with love and affection to His favorite
people, and they rejected Him. Dr. Marcellino makes it so clear that we stand
in peril of doing the same thing when we resent God’s will for our lives and
think we know better, or know more than He does. That seems to be common today,
so we must be careful not to fall into that trap. By giving our lives to God,
we surrender control. Is this frightening? Maybe it is. But who knows better
what we need for our salvation than God? Remember, God stands at the door and
knocks. He doesn’t shove it open, and we shouldn’t slam it shut.
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