Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-15; Mark 6:1-6)

In a book of prayers Mother Teresa asks for what appears to be strange things.  “Jesus, deliver me from the desire to be approved,” she says.  Then she goes on, “Deliver me from the fear of being ridiculed.”  “Why would she not want to be approved?” we might ask.  And, “Who would ridicule Mother Teresa?”  But Mother Teresa was a prophet.  She frequently said things of God that people did not want to hear.  She was like Jesus in today’s gospel reading. 

At first, all the people praise Jesus.  They think of him as “’Joseph’s son,’” a local lad who has done well.  They turn on him when Jesus makes them realize that he is God’s prophet.  If he is to do in Nazareth what he has done in Capernaum, the people will have to repent and believe in God’s love.  They will have to recognize that God is not a local deity but the Lord of the universe.  Jesus cannot do marvelous works for them just because they think they know him.  With that the people become so furious that they are ready to stone Jesus to death.  Because his hour has not come, he is able to escape from their clutches.

We too must realize that Jesus has come not just to help us because we are familiar with him.  No, we have to believe in him as the God of salvation who comes to help us, sure, but also to call us to repentance and to love of God and neighbor.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-15; Mark 6:1-6)

One of the leading preaching theorists in the United States advised not using personal anecdotes in homilies.  His reason for the counter-intuitive message was that listeners will key into what the preacher says about himself or herself and bypass what he or she is saying about the Lord.  It is a controversial stand, but Jesus’ experience in today’s gospel offers some confirmation.

The people of Nazareth are amazed with what Jesus is saying.  Knowing he shares their background, they cannot believe that God has called him to speak in His name.  Rather than heed his call to repent, they dismiss him as a local yokel with no more insight into truth than they have.

After listening to the gospel for years, we too may become unmoved by its promises and dismissive of its demands.  We may come to church more out of habit than of conviction that here we meet our salvation.   It’s time to be shaken from this encrustation.  It’s a welcoming thought that Lent is just two weeks away.

Homilette for Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-12; Mark 6:1-6)

A famous caricature has often appeared on the cover of The New Yorker magazine. It shows a divinely sophisticated man wearing a top hat and overcoat. Through a monocle the dandy is inspecting a common butterfly apparently marveling, “What a curious little creature!”

The people of Nazareth look at Jesus with the same incredulity in the gospel today. They treat him as a curiosity -- an insect of various stripes. For these people Jesus is only the son of Mary and the brother of Jimmy and Joe. They marvel at how he ever learned all that he teaches and betray no sense that he may be a prophet from God.

Even today many people view Jesus as if he were a butterfly. They say that he was a good man, but stop there. They either dismiss his marvelous deeds or bracket them as having no significance for their lives. Similarly they may admire but are reluctant to follow his wisdom. Those with such an attitude will have difficulty realizing the eternal life that Jesus promises.