February 04, 2015
Wednesday, 4th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15
Gospel: Mk 6:1–6
Jesus returned to his own country, and his disciples followed him. When the Sabbath came, he began teaching in the synagogue, and most of those who heard him were astonished. They commented, “How did this come to him? What kind of wisdom has been given to him that he also performs such miracles? Who is he but the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at him.
And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives and in their own family.” And he could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people by laying his hands on them. Jesus himself was astounded at their unbelief. Jesus then went around the villages teaching.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Subjecting God to human categories has led many to regrettable decisions. Look at how the Jews of Nazareth ended up throwing out a Messiah. They had categorized the Messiah to be extraordinary, and Jesus was far from being one because he was just the boy next door. They were expecting the Messiah to come down from heaven escorted by angels, and, with the swiftness of lighting and the roaring might of thunder, wipe out the enemies of his chosen people. Jesus did not fit this category because He came as a carpenter’s son living in their neighborhood. For this “they took offense at him” (Mk.6:3). As a result “Jesus was not able to perform any miracle in their midst” (Mark 6:5).
Nothing has changed of the way we categorize God today. We declare him absent, if not remiss, whenever there are sufferings. According to human categories, God’s presence is irreconcilable with tribulations. Since we labor under various forms of sufferings we conclude that God must either be absent or remiss. The truth, however is that God’s intervention in our lives will always include the possibility of sufferings because he is a father who also “punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons” (Heb. 12:6ff). Moreover, to those who wish to follow him, he requires no less than self denial and the taking up of one’s cross. To those who want to be perfect, he demands no less than love for enemies.
For these demands many of us take offense at him and decide to throw him out. What a regrettable decision indeed! A God who is no trespasser of human heart will have to leave us alone until we find ourselves without a God. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org
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