July 31, 2015 Friday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Ignatius of Loyola 1st Reading: Lv 23: 1, 4-11,15-16,27,34b-37 Gospel: Mt 13:54–58
Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? How did he get all this?” And so they took offense at him.Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.” And he did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”, wrote Alexander Pope in his “An Essay on Criticism”. The same can be said of the little knowledge the Jews had about Jesus’ origins. They thought it big enough that they knew who his parents were. “Isn’t he the carpenter’s son?” they remarked. They found it too much that he should be the Messiah. It was thus that they ignored his mighty works. In the process they ended up rejecting a Savior. That’s how dangerous a little knowledge is!
Jesus’ healing activities and his exorcisms would have been enough indications that Jesus was no ordinary guy next door. In refusing to recognize this, they got drowned at the shallow pool of information they had of Jesus. This made it impossible for Jesus to perform miracles in their midst. In contrast, those who weren’t his neighbors were amazed at his teachings for he spoke with authority. Many of them believed in him.
How much do we know about God? This varies according to how much we know of ourselves. St. Augustine agrees with this proportionality. That’s why he adopted the slogan, “Noverim Me, Noverim Te” (That I may know myself so that I may know you). Knowing ourselves will lead us to the appreciation of the God who created us. It can work the other way around. We can also strive to know more about God so that we may know ourselves more. The important thing is that we have a deep knowledge of God.
Just as their skin-deep knowledge of Jesus’ background prevented the Jews from believing in him, so will our shallow knowledge of Jesus prevent us from appreciating God’s providential works! When Alexander Pope wrote about knowledge as a dangerous thing, he wanted people not to stop until they have drunk from a deeper fountain. “Drink deep,” Alexander Pope continued, “or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again”. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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