14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B – 2018
FIRST READING Ezekiel 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.
SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 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.
GOSPEL Mark 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.
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
Are we able to see the presence of God in others? Are we able to recognize that God speaks through others? Do we see and acknowledge the prophets of our own time? Today’s readings call us to open our hearts, our minds and our whole being to the presence of God in others.
The first reading today is from the Prophet Ezekiel. God sends prophets to His people. We don’t always like to hear the words that a prophet speaks. On the other hand, not everyone who speaks is a prophet. The Old Testament and the New both understand clearly that a true prophet must speak according to the Word of God, and not according to the words of men.
Today many claim to be prophetic, but most lack any claims to speaking the Word of God. A true prophet in our Christian tradition must reflect both the Holy Scriptures and the Church. The Prophet Ezekiel clearly speaks the same message as the other prophets and that message is always the same: faithfulness to God’s word revealed in Holy Scripture, love for God, love for others, care for the needy and the oppressed.
This message of the Scriptures remains the same from the beginning to the end of the Scriptures. The message always demands that we give up our own concerns and be concerned only for God and God’s message for us. The moment we begin to seek our own good, our own enrichment, our own way of thinking—then we become unfaithful to the word of God.
The second reading today is from the Second Letter to the Corinthians. Here we also listen to God’s word: “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” We are invited to embrace the word of Jesus Christ with all our strength and all our being. When we do embrace this word of God, we shall surely suffer and know our own weaknesses. This also is a form of prophecy because the more we embrace Christ and follow His way, the more our lives speak about God and His incredible love for us. We prophesy simply by living.
The Gospel today is from Saint Mark and takes us back to the challenge of rejection. We should remember that Ezekiel told us that it does not matter if a prophet is recognized or not. What matters is that the prophet speaks the word of God. Today’s Gospel points out that we can reject a true prophet simply because we don’t believe that God acts in the ordinary events of our lives and in seemingly ordinary people.
God is always speaking to us: in others, in the events of our lives, in the Church, in our world. In order to understand God we must be attentive first of all to His revealed word. When that revealed Word is our whole way of living, then we begin to recognize His word in all the other realities of our lives. Today God invites us: listen to the prophets! Open your hearts and minds and beings! God loves you and wishes to speak with you. Harden not your hearts today!
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip