17TH FRIDAY HOMILY IN THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
17TH FRIDAY HOMILY IN THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
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Immediately following the discourse on the parables of the Kingdom, we see Jesus going to His home town of Nazareth. As was His custom, He goes to the synagogue at Nazareth. The townspeople were quite amazed to hear Him speaking so well and powerful: “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?”
But ironically, they were so impressed that they could not accept Him. He was just too much. This is perhaps one of the most tragic accounts in the Gospels. After doing lots of miraculous deeds all over Galilee, Jesus goes back home to Nazareth. It is but natural to expect that His townmates would be excited and proud to see Him, and accord Him with no less than a hero’s welcome. Unfortunately, that was not the case. His own townmates rejected Him.
However, Jesus is not bothered by this because He is well aware that this is the natural reaction of people towards the prophets: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”
Why did they reject Him? First reason is because they think and are too certain that they know Him well: “Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?” As we always say, shallow knowledge is dangerous. What they know about Jesus is only His earthly origin. Had they carefully read the Scriptures, they would have realized that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, in the city of David, and he will be called a Nazorean.
Furthermore, the people of Nazareth were not sincere in their obedience to the Word of God. Jesus teaches with authority, unlike the scribes. But they resent Him because He proclaims the Word of God without human respect. The truth has to be proclaimed, no matter what people may say or feel. Like all the prophets before Him, He does not speak what people want to hear, but what God wants them to hear. And oftentimes, the truth hurts, and they are offended.
Another reason for rejecting Jesus is the ‘entitlement mentality’ among the people. They believe that since they belong to the Chosen People of God, and more especially, since they come from Nazareth, and they ‘know’ Jesus and His family background, they will receive special treatment from Him. But Jesus does not tolerate such mentality. He cites the examples of the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian who received God’s favors despite the fact that they were pagans.
And finally, the people rejected Jesus primarily “because of their lack of faith.” This is the reason why Jesus could not do in Nazareth any of the wonderful things He had done elsewhere. The Gospels abundantly show that faith is an indispensable requisite for the hand of Jesus to work wondrous deeds: “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Jesus demands faith from the people because He is God, and not a magician.
Before we blame and condemn the people of Nazareth, let us examine ourselves. At some point in our life, we may have rejected Jesus, and for the same reasons. Insufficient knowledge of the faith has led many of us to follow false prophets and preachers of the Prosperity Gospel. The “Entitlement Mentality” has made some to believe that, being Catholics, we deserve to receive special treatment and more blessings from God. That is why sometimes we feel indignant when ‘outsiders’ also receive heavenly blessings. Our lukewarm spiritual life makes us timid and frightened in the face of trials and difficulties that some of us turn to faith healers, feng shui superstitions, and the occult.
In this Mass, let us ask the Lord for an increase of faith, so that whatever happens, we will not waver in our decision and commitment to follow Him all the way to Calvary until we share in His eternal glory.
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