Gospel Reflection for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

8th. July – Jesus is Rejected by the crowds…

This Sunday’s gospel sees Jesus returning home, perhaps to see his family and take a break from teaching and healing people. But once he arrives, he goes to the local synagogue and begins teaching those were present. However, his neighbours do not exactly roll out the red carpet for him. Although they were astonished by what they heard, they were not impressed with Jesus at all. They looked at Jesus and reminded of him of his humble origins; after all, he is only the son of the local carpenter! Surely he is not worthy of all the attention and praise he receives. They did not accept him. In the end, he could only heal a few people. Sadly, he was amazed at their lack of faith. So it is very safe to say that Jesus was familiar with rejection, criticism, being judged and dismissed.

Again, it is worth noticing that Jesus could no miracles there, (he did cure and heal a few people), because of their lack of faith. Jesus could not work with these people because they would not work with him. He offered them a message through his preaching and teaching. But they not only closed their ears to them; they also closed their hearts to what he had to offer them. They did not want to hear the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps they were jealous of him, perhaps they thought they knew better than he did; perhaps they were angry with him because he challenged them. Who really knows why they rejected him?

This experience that Jesus has the  gospel this Sunday is the exact opposite from last Sunday’s gospel. We recall that the poor and sick woman came to Jesus. She believed passionately that all she had to do was to touch the hem of his garment she would be healed; she did and she was.  We also recall the words Jesus spoke to her; ‘My daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ It was her strong and deep faith in Jesus that healed her. Jesus could do nothing in the village because they had little or no faith in him, in who he was or in his message.

In the gospels it is often the self-righteous and the overly self-sufficient who do not welcome Jesus. It is the sick, the poor, the outsider, the marginalized like the lepers, the tax collectors and the Roman soldiers who recognised Jesus for who he really was. It was the blind who saw him, the deaf who heard him and it was the crippled who followed him.

Our friendship with Jesus is automatic. It is my choice and my decision. Like the woman in last weeks gospel, I need to have faith in Jesus first of all and cooperate with him in my ordinary life. Jesus, in some ways depend on my faith response. He didn’t beg the people in the village to listen to him or to accept him. He doesn’t force or beg us to follow him. Through the gift of faith, it our free choice and decision too. Jesus calls and invites us to listen to him and to follow him; it is up to each of whether or not we do listen to him  and follow him.

We pray this week that our faith will grow and that we will have the courage and wisdom to follow Jesus. May we never reject him like those in his own home village did.

Michael Moore OMI