Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 101

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.

Growing up in the 1950's, I idolized the Lone Ranger and Superman, and laughed at Mighty Mouse cartoons. By the 1970's I had matured enough to admire super-loners like David Carradine's Kung Fu; and Mannix, played by Mike Connors. I might not have believed in these make-believe heroes but I wanted to be one. 

Fortunately, for me and perhaps everyone else, the world already had enough superheroes and the Lord was taking me down a different road. I became a Franciscan in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, and a priest on that narrow non-conforming pathway which has been defined by the Spirit of God and trod by millions. 

The Gospel according to Saint Mark gives us no hero; Jesus is a prophet, in the tradition of Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. He is a solitary man for the favor of the Lord rests upon him. He might be admired by some and feared by others, but he plays to neither. He intimidates his opponents so long as the crowds follow him, but they do not fear him personally. If he is the Messiah, he cannot be the Messiah they want. They know he will not call upon twelve legions of angels to protect him.  

As a prophet Jesus alone announces the Gospel of God's Kingdom; it is with us, in the world, here and now, in his person. Because they have kept the religion but lost the faith his opponents are not impressed by his presence. They do not see God's Spirit resting on him, nor can they see him as the gateway to that Holy Place. 

As we hear in today's gospel, his family are those who suppose they know him best. They are his flesh and blood; they know his parents, grandparents, and cousins to the third degree and fourth remove. He certainly looks like his mother's son, though they might not see Joseph in his features. 

But they do not know him. Because they have lost hope in God, they cannot recognize him as a prophet from God. And so he is very much alone. 

Saint Mark reminds us often of Jesus's extreme abandonment. His family, neighbors, and disciples do not understand him. He is opposed by Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, priests, levites, and the Sanhedrin. The Roman overlords don't know what to make of him or his pronouncements, but they don't mind crucifying another Jew if that will keep the peace. 

Saint Mark does not present Jesus as the kind of lone wolf, superhero that I idolized in the 1950's and sixties. Rather, he is the prophet who inspired the Church which faced severe persecution in Rome during the seventh decade of the Christian era, a persecution which would persist for several centuries, and periodically besets the Church wherever we speak the truth, and whenever we announce God's kingdom. 

So long as the prophetic Church speaks the Word of God, we cannot expect a friendly welcome. The world will never welcome a truth they did not think of themselves. They cannot imagine the dignity that belongs to every human being, born and unborn, young and old, capable and disabled, healthy and sick,  be they upstanding citizens or depraved criminals, They see only consumers and sellers, victims and oppressors. They do not aspire to the dignity of those who do justice and love goodness, and walk humbly with their God. 

Only those who recognize the hand of God in their disappointment, abandonment, and grief, only those who acknowledge their sins and accept God's mercy find the hope that inspires Jesus and his church. 

We are called like Jesus to be a holy, prophetic church. We can expect a hostile reception in this world, and a glorious welcome among the saints and angels.