June was a truly blessed month. I am so privileged to have been present to the National Life Teen staff a couple times this month. They are such solid people, seeking the way of holiness. I was delighted to be in their midst with some of our Core Team in Phoenix, AZ and their National Conference; and again last week to be present with some of our Teens at the Leadership Conference on the campus of Notre Dame. It is a refreshment to my soul to witness this great movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church which is called Life Teen. It is a real blessing in my life...
Blessed 4th of July!
frbs
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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Cycle B
5 July 2009
The Cathedral
Fr. Bob Schreiner
There is a line in today’s gospel that is especially startling, it seems to me. It says: “And Jesus was not able to perform any mighty deed there…” What a shame! What a sadness, that the mighty One was not able to perform any mighty deed even though it would have been his deep desire to do something powerful; do something wonderful among them.
But what could stop the Master? He who raised the dead and calmed the storms – what could stop Him? He who forgave sins, healed broken limbs and changed water to wine – what could stop Him?
What stopped him from doing great things was the hostility of his own people toward Him. What prevented the Son of God from manifesting his full force and power to redeem and sanctify was the bitter envies and jealousies of a hometown crowd that just couldn’t stand someone local stepping outside of the pigeon-hole they’d placed him in and insisted he stay in. “Is this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t this Mary’s kid? Don’t we know a little something about his relatives?” And with that the gospel delivers this astonishing line: “And they took offence at Jesus.” They took offence at Him?! They took offence at the Son of God! Why? Because they didn’t want to hear, see or know the Truth. So they reverted into pettiness, prejudice and peevishness – sniping and snapping at anything he said or did so as to cover the fact that in their heart of hearts they knew he was more than what they wanted him to be. They knew deep down in that place in us where the Truth can’t be silenced – only shouted down – that this carpenter’s Son was capable of pointing out their sins and showing them they had chosen a wayward path. So they were faced with a choice: Humble submission to the Truth before them which could set them free; or shouting down in anger the Truth which convicts them. The gospel makes it clear what their choice was: “They took offence at him.”
And so, Jesus was not able to perform any mighty deeds there. And the hometown crowd stayed locked in anger, bitterness, envy and jealousy.
This, among the many tragic stories of the Gospels, is one of the greatest, it seems to me: That those who should have seen most clearly the movement of God – were the blindest and most hostile to Him.
God’s love for His people compels Him to always send prophets into our midst to show us the way; to point out our failings and to set us right upon the path of salvation. Authentic prophets come to us – not with a warm fuzzy to make us feel good about ourselves who dwell in the delusions of our sinfulness - but with the two-edged sword of Truth so that we can be set free from sins’ bondage. The encounter between God’s Truth and our sinfulness is never a pleasant one. Sin is a jealous master which, once it has hold of our minds and hearts will not let go easily. Thus when the light of Truth penetrates into the conscience even slightly – the combustion is instantaneous. Furry and bluster, anger and peevishness lash out shoving away the Prophet’s testimony, denying the very bearer of the Truth. It takes offence at anyone who dares speak the Truth; at anyone who dares aligns him/herself with the saving power of the Truth of God. This confrontation is as old as
But one thing is certain in the great drama. God will always send in the prophets with the word of Truth. He will never let evil have the last say. His love is too great; His desire to save is too compelling to give up on us. And it should be our joy and gladness to hear the voice of God say to Ezekiel: “Whether they heed or resist – for they are a rebellious house – they shall know that a prophet has been among them.” How? Just watch who the home-town crowd is trying to crucify today. For we can be certain that God has sent someone into our midst – into our homes and families, into our communities and organizations - to point out our sins and to call us to humble faithfulness again. And we can be equally certain from the whole of salvation history – that causes quite a stir among the home-town crowd.
So we have a choice: either we can allow ourselves to be convicted of sin by the voice of the prophets and so let God do great things among us; or we can bristle in anger at anyone whose way of life or speech would cause us disquiet and discomfort us deep in our souls and thus tie God’s hands from doing anything great among us at all.
In this native place, we can either let God stand amazed at our humility; or we can let God stand amazed at our lack of faith. It has always been the choice. And it is the choice before us today.