(Optional Memorial for Saint Ansgar, Bishop)
(Optional Memorial for Saint Blase, Bishop, Martyr)
Proper for the Memorial of St. Ansgar
(Optional Memorial for Saint Blase, Bishop, Martyr)
Proper for the Memorial of St. Ansgar
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| “Jesus Is Rejected In His Hometown” from UNKNOWN; Illustrator of Jerome Nadal's 'Evangelicae Historiae Imagines', 1593 |
Commentary:
Reading I: 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17
Commentary on 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17
Completing the Second Book of Samuel is this encounter between the pride of King David and God. The king seeks to measure his strength in terms of numbers of people who can serve in his army, thinking that this strength will bring him victory. Once he has completed the census, the Prophet Gad comes and he sees the sin he has committed in trusting in the strength of his arms instead of the Lord God.
Gad offers punishment options, the first of which is similar to that imposed because of Saul’s misdeeds (2 Samuel 21:1ff). The two other options each contain the number three, a number significant in that it represents the most intense representation of the event (three days of pestilence would imply the most intense pestilence). Just as the punishment is to strike Jerusalem, the King pleads with God, recognizing his power. King David accepts the guilt for his deeds and attitude. Hearing David's contrition, God holds his angel back, similar to the way he withheld the hand of Abraham from striking down Isaac.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R. (see 5c) Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Commentary on Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
Psalm 32 is an individual hymn of thanksgiving. The psalmist (presumably King David) sings a song of gratitude that the Almighty Father has pardoned his sins (which were freely confessed). In spite of these blemishes, salvation is heaped upon the repentant person.
Providing hope for mankind following the story of “The Fall,” the psalmist is rejoicing for the one whose sins are forgiven. Then he gives thanks for God’s saving work, emphasizing that only the Lord can deliver man from sin.
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Gospel: Mark 6:1-6
Commentary on Mk 6:1-6
This passage is St. Mark’s account of the Lord returning to his home town. As is his custom he goes to speak in the synagogue and amazes the people he grew up with. The Lord encounters intense skepticism, born out of the fact that the people knew him before he took up his mission. In St. Luke's version (Luke 4:28ff), reference is made to the feeling that Jesus, in assuming the role of the Messiah, had blasphemed. The resulting attempt on his life is omitted in St. Mark's Gospel, but we still see the Lord’s response to their lack of faith. Non-canonical documents of the early Church Fathers (c. 400) refer to the relationships of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. See The History of Joseph the Carpenter.
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Reflection:
We are given a unique glimpse into the Lord’s early years in this account of Jesus returning home. There is a reference to the period between age 12 when Jesus was presented at the temple the second time (Luke 2:41-50) and his baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17). The last we were told following his first presentation was: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40) That does not tell us much about his interaction with the community in which he grew up. This exchange, however, hints at what the young Jesus must have been like in those years.
When he came to teach in the Synagogue that sabbath, we are told that those who heard him were “astonished.” They asked themselves where he had come by the knowledge and wisdom he displayed. In order for them to react the way they did, we can only assume that as a young man, Jesus was humble and unassuming. He did not presume to instruct his elders or even his peers. He was growing into what he must become, a humble and compassionate man who could weep for those who mourned at the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35).
The people of his community would have certainly seen the young Jesus, unassuming, learning the carpenter’s trade at the side of his foster father, St. Joseph. He would not have stood out among his peers with the exception that he never seemed to get into mischief. He could not take the lead in these early years except by example; his ultimate role was much much larger.
Is it any wonder then that when he came home after his remarkable transformation at the Jordan, after going into the desert and confronting his nemesis, the people who knew him before he assumed his Father’s mission would be amazed and then angered? They were not with him to see the Holy Spirit descending upon him (Luke 3:22), they were not there when he returned from the desert (“in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all” (Luke 4:14-15)).
Now, robed as he was in his Father’s mighty mission, we can feel the Lord’s disappointment as the great lack of faith displayed by those friends with whom he had grown up was shown in their petty attacks on him. Such lack of faith would naturally prevent the full impact of his healing power from being effective with those people. We are told: “he was not able to perform any mighty deed there”.
And what message do we take away from this encounter? Do we think our friends and families will be kinder to us as we go through our ongoing conversion? We should expect to be received as Christ was, especially if we are away for a while and come home with great zeal for our faith. Human nature has not changed. Our hope remains in the Lord, and when we do encounter this kind of response, we rejoice, for the trials we face for the faith are a blessing from God our Father. In this case, we know we are doing something right.
Pax
[2] The picture is “Jesus Is Rejected In His Hometown” from UNKNOWN; Illustrator of Jerome Nadal's 'Evangelicae Historiae Imagines', 1593
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