Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 101

Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,

rebels who have rebelled against me;

they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.

Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.

But you shall say to them:

Thus says the LORD GOD!

And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house —

they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Christian ministers are generally treated with great respect. That's a good thing; it makes a calling to the altar or pulpit look attractive to young candidates. Soon enough they'll learn there's not much money in the work. And, if they're faithful to their calling, they also discover that human beings, Christian and otherwise, resist the call of the Spirit. That is as true of the minister as it is of the congregation. We like the good stuff; we're not so hep on the bad.

I try to remind myself often of Job's words, "We accept good things from the Lord, and should we not accept the bad?" Life comes with many "blessings in disguise." And there are also many curses disguised as blessings. How are we supposed to know which is which?

When Jesus returned to his native Galilee he might have expected a cheerful welcome from his neighbors, friends and family. His name was getting around and the elders invited him to speak in the old, familiar synagogue. Saint Mark doesn't relate his message; his message was himself. They didn't like what they heard.

Despite his familiar accent and homely manner, there was something very strange about Jesus. They didn't know where he was coming from. 

"Where did this man get all this?

What kind of wisdom has been given him?

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

        ... and they took offense at him."

Saint John would highlight that unfamiliarity often in his gospel but it's clear enough in Saint Mark. They might have supposed he had attended a strange school in Jerusalem, or picked up peculiar ideas in his wanderings. But Saint Mark doesn't suggest that to us. He recalls their reaction as suspicious and hostile toward him personally, without saying what they made of his ideas. The bottom line is they didn't like him and would not recognize him as one of their own. He no longer fit in with his brothers, James, Joses, Judas and Simon; nor with his sisters. 

Saint Paul, a generation later, would speak of a similar frustration:

That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul didn't seem to fit in with those Christian missionaries who preached "another gospel." His "thorn in the flesh" was their sabotage of his work. A disease in the eye, an unhealed wound or a weak back would be easier to handle than the constant harassment of these Christians who would compromise the Gospel.

Job teaches us to look for the good in the bad, and the bad in the good. Nothing earthly is entirely trustworthy. Every pleasure and every pain will pass; don't invest to much in it.Good times don't mean you are succeeding; bad times don't mean you are failing. Everything comes from God; look on it as gift. 

Jesus and his disciples must  find reassurance in the words of Ezekiel:

And whether they heed or resist - for they are a rebellious house - they shall know that a prophet has been among them.