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He Was Not
Accepted by His Own
July 5, 2009
14th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
The voice format will be begin in a few seconds. God
bless.
Ez 2:2-5
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.
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.
R. 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.
R. 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.
R. Our eyes are
fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
2 Cor 12:7-10
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.
Mk 6:1-6
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.
Homily/Sermon:
The rumor arrived before he did. He is coming, He
is coming!
They had all heard about his miracles. They had all heard
about his powers. They had all heard about his parables.
They had all heard about his extraordinary ideas. And now,
finally, at last, he was coming home. He was coming home.
He did not come alone. What his family had told
them proved to be true. They could see it for themselves.
He was in the company of followers, young and old, rich and
poor, men and women, as if he were a Rabbi.
Sabbath came. They all went to the synagogue. And
just as all had expected, some had hoped, and others had
feared, he started to speak. He taught in a way that really
amazed them. That is why they did not ever let him finish.
Where did he, that man she knew so very well, get that
power? Where did he, that one they had been working,
praying, talking, dancing, quarreling, and walking with, get
those words from? Wasn’t he a carpenter? Wasn’t he the son
of Mary and Joseph? Didn’t they know his relatives?
There was something strange about it. Didn’t some
scribes say that he was bewitched, that he was possessed by
the evil one? Hadn’t his own family gone after him because
they thought that he was out of his mind?
How could a human being like him, an ordinary man,
like themselves, be like that? Confronted with his power,
listening to the marvel of his words, enjoying his stories,
seeing him there in the semi-darkness of their not-so-well
lit synagogue, full of majesty, dignity, divinity, humanity,
and Spirit, they did not accept him. They did not believe
their eyes. They did not believe their ears. He was just
like themselves, and they were not like that. They were
just ordinary, unimportant, insignificant, small provincial
townspeople. So was he, wasn’t he? He was just too much
for them. They did not accept him. But folks, by not
accepting him, they did not
accept themselves either – their own possibilities, their
own humanity, their own origin.
They were victims of an orchestration, an indoctrination
that had been going on and on, just as so many people in
this country today, in this world today are victimized by
the same. They were tied by chains they would never be able
to break, just as so many are tied by chains in this day and
age, that may never be broken. They had been too often
labeled as useless, mean, low, as nobodies by those who
ruled business, state, temple, and government, just as are
so many in this time and day. They could not believe that
they or he could be liberated like that. He had to be as
they saw themselves – practically useless, passive objects
in the history of humanity. He could not be what he said he
was. Why? Because if he could, shouldn’t they too? If he
could, if Jesus could, then certainly we can also, in this
time and day, in this country, in this world, right now.
Who could ask a thing like that of him? So they
threw him out, preferring the status quo. He was really too
much, much too much for them.
It must have saddened his heart. Only some let him
heal, having faith in him. And for the rest . . . He made
his tour in the villages nearby, preaching the
good news
of our liberation that was too much for
them in his own home!
Dear friends, he should never be too much, not for
us in this time and day in this country, in this world. In
fact, His is the hope for us all, and the only hope, despite
what is going on today in this country, in this world. He
is our liberator if we but choose to let him. We need not
fear anyone, any unjust law, or any ruler that defies him.
For with him, in him, and of him, we are set free. Accept
him, believe in him, come to know him. He is all that we
need on this journey of life, despite anyone who will say
different. Make the choice, make it daily.
"Never ask Jesus to guide our footsteps if we are not
willing to move our feet" God bless you always.”
©
Deacon Steve A. Politte
July
3, 2009
I hope
that this was meaningful to you. Wishing
each of you a grace filled week, yours in Christ –
Me, the
least of His servants.
6/25/09
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