A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (6:1-6)
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,
accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
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.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Reflection: Several years ago, I was sharing my faith with a couple of my relatives, as I was sharing with them about my volunteer work in the juvenile hall, on sharing God’s love with the youngsters there. I had just experienced an encounter with Christ, at a retreat that changed my life for the better, and a greater relationship with God. I was on fire about my faith. I wasn’t wrong in my belief. But looking back now, I should have shared about my faith differently. I recall that I got loud, lecturing, and relentless. I think I must have spent about twenty minutes, at one time, monologuing about my faith, and the danger of living without God. I didn’t ask my relatives about their struggles; I just offered them, unsolicited solutions.
When I finally stopped, they both were silent. They did not look at me with intrigue, but with discomfort. One of them, politely excused herself from the table, but before she left, she told me; “if that’s how you share about God in the juvenile hall, good luck, I don’t want any part of it!
In my bold witnessing of my faith, I had become oblivious to the fact, that my lack of humility, had made my relatives feel judged, not loved. I had sought to do good but only succeeded in turning them off.
There is also another danger, when we live our faith on “fire”. We might also be met, with a sense of skepticism: Specially if they knew us, before our transformation. “Who do you think you are? We know you.” It is easy to get discouraged, when those closest to us—our own “hometown”—fail to recognize the transformative power of God in our lives. But we need to remember and share one’s faith, as Jesus does. He does not get loud, or judgmental, or stops preaching. He does not turn off the fire. He goes on, bringing the light elsewhere. As the Scripture says, “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” But He didn’t stop there. He continued His mission, regardless. So, let’s keep our faith flame burning. Our vocation is not to be accepted; our vocation is, to be faithful.
And on what I learned, about sharing my faith from that incident with my two relatives, is this: Be a listener first. Ask questions. Build trust. And share one’s faith with love, humility and patience.
Action for the Day: Meditate on Jesus’ behavior in today’s Gospel. Particularly, as he was being made fun of, at his native place, by those who knew him, and took offense at Him. Then, as you go through the course of your day, dedicate your actions to God, asking Him to make your actions an act of love. Serve others with special kindness, treating them, as if you are “laying hands” on them, in blessing.
Audio Reflection:
