He was amazed at their lack of faith

He was amazed at their lack of faith

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Collect

O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ez 2:2-5

They are a rebellious house but shall know that a prophet has been among them.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel

As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me
   and set me on my feet,
   and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:
   Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
   rebels who have rebelled against me;
   they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart
   are they to whom I am sending you.
But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD God!
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
   they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

The word of the Lord.

Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

R. :

℟. (2cd) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

To you I lift up my eyes
   who are enthroned in heaven—
as the eyes of servants
   are on the hands of their masters.

℟. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

As the eyes of a maid
   are on the hands of her mistress,
so are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
   till he have pity on us.

℟. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
   for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
   with the mockery of the arrogant,
   with the contempt of the proud.

℟. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

2 Cor 12:7-10

I will boast in my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
   That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
   because of the abundance of the revelations,
   a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
   to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
   but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
   for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
   in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
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.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
cf. Lk 4:18

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
for he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mk 6:1-6

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

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.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

The liturgy of the Word for this Sunday is dominated by confrontations between the prophets and the people. In the First Reading from the Book of Ezekiel—which serves as a background to today’s Gospel—God calls Ezekiel, and tells him from the start that the message he was to deliver will not be welcomed because the hearts of the people were closed to what God wanted to tell them.

The scene in today’s Gospel begins in almost an idyllic manner: the prophet who returns home, meeting old friends, memories and a sense of familiarity that occasions like this evoke. Yet this changed into surprise when they saw that something has changed in him, whom they have known for years, and rapidly deteriorating due to their closed hearts and the obstacles they created. In reality, nothing in Jesus had changed: what was hidden was now revealed openly, although it was always there from the beginning. The only thing that might have changed was the fact that Jesus did not return as simply one of them, but as He who came to proclaim to them the Good News of God. Although they went to the synagogue, they were not prepared to listen to what God truly wanted to tell them through His Word made flesh.

God, who is so close to us can disturb us (scandalise us), because God challenges us through the realities of life. He challenges us regarding the lives we live, which He Himself lived and experienced.And, instead of opening our hearts and believing that Christ can and desires to touch our lives, we end up closing ourselves to Him. We close ourselves off to the voices of the ‘prophets’ through whom He speaks to us to show us the way out of our way of thinking and our limited ways. We close ourselves off from the Good News because, if we truly receive it, it will change us. We close ourselves off because we believe we know the prophets and we do not accept that God uses ordinary people who make space for Him in their everyday lives.

Prayer

Lord, sometimes I believe that I know you well, I feel I can calculate your every step, and, thus, I can control you. But you always draw close to me anew, to impart the words that I need and not those that I want to hear. Open my heart to listen and be attentive so that I can see past exterior appearances to enable me to arrive at the place where my encounter with you takes place, with the prophets you send me.

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew