Homily for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C

Image: Jesus teaching in the synagogue by Maurycy Gottlieb

Click on the image above for a larger version. Spend a little time pondering the different reactions of folks as they listen to Jesus teach in the synagogue. Probably not unlike the assembly in an average Catholic parish!

"And they took offense at him..."
(Readings for this Sunday's liturgy)

So… what does it take to convince these folks from Nazareth?

Their “taking offense at Jesus,
their rejection of him is all the more remarkable
when you understand it follows four miracles Jesus worked
including healings and calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

And it’s not that the hometown folks didn’t know about these events.
This discussion takes place in the synagogue -
these folks are the Jewish equivalent of regulars at Sunday Mass.
They acknowledge the “mighty deeds are wrought by Jesus’ hands.”
But because he was only a carpenter’s son,
because they weren’t sure of the source of his knowledge and wisdom,
and because they weren’t altogether comfortable with his teachings --
they took offense at him.

There’s a kind of elitism at work here:
he’s just a tradesman’s son;
a snobbish attitude:
what school did he go to?;
a culture of suspicion:
I heard him preach
he’s teaching new and different things: don’t trust him!

Of course, Jesus’ hometown isn’t limited to Nazareth:
every town is Jesus’ hometown - including Concord.

And thank God we Concordians are not like the people of Nazareth!

Thank God we never look down on anyone
the way the Nazarenes disrespected Jesus’ brothers and sisters
- and even his mother, Mary!

Thank God our stubbornness and prejudices
never cloud our hunger for knowing the truth Jesus teaches!

Thank God our desire to welcome and accept Jesus
finds each of reading the scriptures daily in search of his wisdom,
and faithful to worship every Sunday
and to the healing he offers in the sacrament of reconciliation,
calming the turmoil of sin’s storms in our hearts and lives!

Well, ok… maybe we're not exactly like that...

Maybe Concord is closer to Nazareth than a map would indicate.

Maybe we’re a little jaded in how we look at Jesus,
how we invite him into our thinking, our hearts,
our families, our politics, decisions and choices.

Maybe we’re slow to explore or accept the wisdom of Jesus
and the truth of his teachings in our lives.

Do we look down on Jesus’ family?
Anytime we disrespect another human being
we disrespect a brother, a sister, the mother of Jesus...

What if Jesus came to visit Concord and left us, shaking his head,
“amazed at our lack of faith”?

One thing I’m sure of is this: many of us, beginning with me,
have a lot of work to do in welcoming Jesus more openly
into our hearts and lives.

We take so much for granted:
our faith;
and our freedom to grow in knowledge of it and practice it.

We take for granted the wisdom of the scriptures and church teaching.

We take for granted the service the church renders us,
sometimes with little thought of the service we might render the church.

We take for granted the opportunities our parish offers
to reach out to the poor.

We take for granted that every Sunday the Lord speaks to us here
in the scriptures and, I hope, in the homily.

We take for granted that at this table we are nourished
by the body and blood of Jesus himself.

We take many things for granted
and sometimes we may even take Jesus for granted,
as did the folks in his hometown.

Lest we become “hard of face and obstinate of heart”
as did God’s faithful in the time of Ezekiel;
lest we forget that a prophet, the greatest prophet of all, Jesus
has not only been among us
but is among us every time we gather here;
before all that let’s pray that we will open our eyes and ears and hearts
to the ways in which Jesus calls our parish, our town,
to be his “native place.”

Every week he comes among us and sits at table with us.
How can we think of missing the opportunity to share with him here
or skipping out early from the meal he shares with us?

How can we fail to be grateful for what he offers us:
his life, his body and blood in the sacrament of this altar?

Pray with me that we will not snub or ignore or take Jesus for granted,
but that we will grow to hunger and thirst for his presence and peace.

Pray with me that we, our parish and each of us,
might become a “native place,” a hometown for Jesus
where he finds faith, and is warmly welcomed.

-ConcordPastor