PROPHET TO YOUR OWN


 First Reading: Ezek 2:2-5
Second Reading: 2 Cor 12:7-10
Gospel: Mk 6:1-6

Dear friends we are in the Fourteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time. In the first and second readings of today, we are given a warning about rejection we would face in being a prophet. As baptised Christians, all of us are called to be prophets. In the first reading, God calls Ezekiel for a prophetic ministry. God sends him to his own people; Ezekiel is sent to his own people. God warns him that he would face rejection and rebellion from his own people for prophesying. He had to face their contempt with courage. His prophetic ministry among them would be like sitting on scorpions (Ezek 2:6), yet the prophet should be fearless. In the Gospel too we see Jesus facing contempt in His hometown; Nazareth. “Familiarity breeds contempt” is the proverb fittingly used over the years to interpret this particular passage of the Gospel. At the beginning of the passage, people show astonishment for the great wisdom that Jesus is endowed with. They are happy that one among them has become great and knowledgeable person in that region. To have a Galilean who exhibits extraordinary powers and wisdom is a great assert for the Nazarenes to remove the prejudice that is held by the Jews of the time for years – that Galileans are unruly people. They are rejoicing that they could remove that historical stigma with the person of Jesus. Yet, they want to tell Jesus that among them He should remain in His place; a carpenter. This is very relevant in today’s culture. People of particular land or nation come together to fight against colonizers or oppressors. Once that is achieved, they get preoccupied with having division among themselves based on race, language, creed, caste and so forth. Not much has changed from the time of Jesus, we want people of our own clan and nation to rise up against the common enemy but when it comes to us we always try to belittle that person.

The hostility that Jesus and Ezekiel face is much more than social problem. Jesus and Ezekiel are rejected by their own people not for their social outstanding but for exhibiting religious and spiritual supremacy over them. In our life too, whenever we face the need for counselling or spiritual direction we seek for people who are not in our family and friends circle. We feel more comfortable with outsiders to open up and share, than with people who are familiar to us and with whom we share our everyday living. We may be more receptive to the directions of people who are ignorant and distant from our everyday living than with our near and dear ones. This is what we see in the readings of today. They fail to take direction from the man of their own. They feel ashamed to humble themselves to a person with whom they are very familiar with. Apart from submitting oneself to the help of one’s own, we are also called to be prophets to our own people – family, friends and relatives. Even though they may rebel against our counsels, we are ought to carry out this wonderful ministry as Christians.  

In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of a thorn in his flesh (2 Cor 12:7). He refers to some kind of chronic disease he has been suffering with for a long time. He had appealed to the Lord thrice for the removal of that illness as he was sure that it had been the snare of the devil. The response of the Lord to his appeal is not a healing but a grace to live with that illness. St. Paul considers that illness as good weakness to prevent him from becoming prideful of his missionary activity. This is the attitude we should cultivate in facing setbacks in our life. Most of the time we look at our inability and limitations and pray for its removal. The world tells us that our limitations, sickness, constant struggle and repeated temptation toward particular sin are negative which needs to be ruled out if one wants to excel in this world. When we pray for the removal of those weaknesses we are approving the standard of the world. As Christians we should pray for the grace to live with those weaknesses. God who is omniscient – all knowing – is aware of our struggles. If those struggles are a lacuna in us, He could have very well removed it. The presence of those limitations are a strength is us to have constant recourse to His grace. Thus, when we are weak, then we are strong (2 Cor 12:10). Let us be happy and boastful of our weakness to exhibit prophetic courage and vigour in our life especially to our own people.

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