Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070812.cfm

And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”

The jury is still out about the family. In the United States we hear much about family values. Madison Avenue, where the advertisers hang out, has certainly caught the wave; they bombard us with romantic images of rural families (usually farmers) gathering to celebrate the nation’s holidays. There’s Grandma and Grandpa and all the aunts and uncles and cousins and in-laws. They rush out to the driveway to greet the latest arrivals and they’re all smiling. And now they’re eating, playing ball, fishing and quilting. And don’t forget the group picture. It’s sweet enough to induce diabetic shock.

But these ad-people are the same suits that have torn families apart with their promises of happiness through ownership, the freedom of wealth, and impersonal intimacy. They don't tell you that upward mobility is for individuals only; the family is always left on the farm or in the deteriorating neighborhood when people move up the scale.

But the family was never heaven on earth in the first place, as today’s gospel testifies. For every father or mother who encourages the child to “be all that you can be” there are others who habitually, systematically tear their children down. Alcoholism, drug abuse and illiteracy spread from one generation to the next as adults berate their own offspring, “Well, lah-de-dah, look who thinks he’s somebody!” They fear the child who might outshine an elder. Many young adults today have never known a hard-working parent or seen a couple work out their differences.

It was that uncouth, provincial society that stripped Jesus of his authority in Nazareth. They took offence at his teaching, his mighty deeds and growing fame. They had paid no attention to him as he grew up, absorbed as they were in themselves; and wanted no interference from his adulthood.

Saint Mark says Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. We often hear of amazement in this gospel, but it’s usually about something wonderful. If it’s not Jesus’ mighty works it’s the faith of the centurion. In this case Jesus is bewildered as he meets his own people. They cannot see him because he is too familiar. They cannot hear him because they already know what he will say. They cannot even bring their sick to him for fear he might touch them and change their lives altogether.

Americans still prefer the pandering salesman who peddles excitement; be it religious, chemical, electronic or financial. They will not listen to the gospel of sobriety, of reverence for ordinary sexuality and quotidian marriage, or of simple living within one’s means. The family with money, straight teeth, clear skin and a functioning dinner table is welcome enough; but our experience of absent parents, former-in-laws and alienated children does not appeal to our romantic notions of America. 

Jesus returned to Nazareth to announce the Healing, Reconciling Gospel to his own, and his own did not receive him. We can only imagine the shock he felt at such a rude reception. He would teach them that "charity begins at home" but they would only listen to pandering strangers with useless goods.