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| “St. Paul Miki and His Companions” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15
Commentary on Heb 12:4-7, 11-15
St. Paul encourages the Hebrew Christians to look at the persecution they endure, not as a fall from favor, but rather as a means by which the Lord strengthens them as his adopted children. “This teaching is supported by Proverbs 3:11-12, taken from a long discourse in which a father exhorts his son to acquire true wisdom. In the present passage the father is identified with God and we with the sons whom he is addressing.” [4]
The proverb teaches that divine discipline is inspired by divine love. Without this wisdom, one might mistake the trials of life (such as persecution; Hebrews 10:32-36) for signs of God’s anger hammering down on every fault and failure. On the contrary, God is a wise and caring Father who desires only to make his children better. It is because he loves them too much to overlook their sins and selfishness that he sends difficulties to train them in righteousness and to raise them to spiritual adulthood. In point of fact, the sons of God are being forged in the image of God the Son who ‘learned obedience through what he suffered.’ (5:8) (CCC 2825)" [5] He calls them to remain faithful in the face of these trials so that God’s work may continue in them. The passage ends with encouragement to seek the peace of Christ in all things and with everyone.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a
R. (see 17) The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a
Psalm 103 is a hymn of praise (and thanksgiving). It is a simple and beautiful reaction to God’s goodness. Contemplating human mortality, the psalmist reflects on the brevity of life and the goodness God bestows upon us in his eternal blessing of those who follow him and keep his covenant. It continues the analogy used in Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15, speaking to us of the loving and compassionate Father. It goes on to emphasize the omnipresence of God and his eternal nature, knowing us from eternity.
CCC: Ps 103 304
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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:
In this account of Jesus returning home, we understand something about the Lord’s early years, that period between age 12 when he was presented at the temple the second time and his baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist. 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 this way, 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
Is it any wonder then, that when he came home after his remarkable transformation at the Jordan
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 effect of his healing power from being effective with those people. We are told: “he was not able to perform any mighty deed there” (Mark 6:5).
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? Especially if we are away for a while and come home with great zeal for our faith, we should expect to be received as Christ was; human nature has not changed. Our hope remains in the Lord, and when we do encounter this kind of response, we rejoice as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews encouraged. For the trials we face for our faith are blessings from God our Father. In this case – we know we are doing something right.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “St. Paul Miki and His Companions” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN.
[4] NAB Footnote for Hebrews 12:18.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 262.
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