14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 4, 2021

Mark 6:1-6

Jesus went home to Nazareth and began to preach there. However, the initial amazement was quickly spiraling down, and the people of Nazareth got scandalized after making a few background checks on Jesus. They knew Jesus’ simple life, were aware of His profession and were familiar with His relatives. So, they concluded, “Nothing’s special!” 

When I entered Seminary, I was always pondering whether I would receive a rejection from my hometown’s people. Yet, when I was ordained, many people came and be joyfully part of the celebration. People from many places worldwide rejoice when one of their sons and daughters becomes a priest or religious man and woman.

Then, why did the people of Nazareth still reject Jesus? From a socio-anthropological perspective, Jesus was living in a time where people expected sons would continue their fathers’ trade or profession. If your father is a farmer, then you should become a farmer. If your father is a fisherman, then your life should not be far from the sea or the lake. Serving the Lord in the Temple is also a family affair, especially Aaron’s family from the tribe of Levi. Jesus was a carpenter’s son, and people expected Him to be a carpenter for the rest of His life. This identity was reinforced by the fact that he seemed to live an ordinary life and worked as a carpenter before He began to preach and perform miracles.

Facing this rejection, Jesus revealed a fundamental truth about the lives of true prophets, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.” Jesus was referring to various prophets of Israel and how they faced brutal rejection from the people of Israel. Isaiah, for example, was persecuted, and according to the tradition, he was sown into two by order of wicked king Manasseh. According to the tradition, the people constantly rejected Jeremiah, and he was stoned to death in Egypt. In essence, Jesus was saying that as the archetype of all prophets, Jesus shall share in a lot of other prophets. The rejection in Nazareth is one small step toward much bigger rejections, the rejection of the elders of Israel, and our rejection.

Do we reject Christ? May we be no different from the people of Israel? Many of us would say that we accept and believe in Christ. Many of us are indeed active in various ministries and services in the Church. Yet, despite all of these, there is always a possibility we reject Christ. We reject Christ when we continue to live in sins. We abandon Christ when we make other things in our lives as priorities over Christ. We may deny the true Christ by having false ideas of Christ. We may refuse Christ when we expect God to fulfil all our wants. We may drive Christ away as we are putting ourselves in the center of our worship. 

The Gospel asks us a fundamental question: do we accept and believe in Jesus truly and fully, or are we just like the people of Nazareth who rejected Jesus?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP