August 03, 2018
Friday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Jr 26:1-9
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” (Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Criticism”). The little knowledge that the Jews had of Jesus made them expel Jesus from their neighborhood. His extraordinary works were enough to settle any doubt about his identity. But these they ignored on the basis of the little knowledge they had of him. “Isn’t he the carpenter’s son?” they remarked.
Compare the disposition of Jesus’ neighbors with how people living in other towns reacted. Those who weren’t his neighbors were amazed at his teachings for he spoke with authority. What a waste of opportunity for the neighbors of Jesus who ended up rejecting a Messiah just because they knew he was son of a carpenter. They didn’t even bother to verify this information. We know that Joseph the carpenter was not even the real father of Jesus. We know that although the Holy Family settled in Nazareth, Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem.
“Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers?” They asked themselves in utter amazement. Such amazement could have led them to true faith, for Jesus’ activities were the same Messianic activities foretold by the prophets. Jesus’ healing activities as well as the exorcisms he conducted were sufficient indications he was not an ordinary neighbor. But they preferred their little knowledge to prevail. Because of this Jesus could not perform miracles in their midst.
Just as their skin-deep knowledge of Jesus’ background prevented them from believing in him, our shallow knowledge of Jesus will also 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., D.M. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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