
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And He did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
REFLECTION: And He did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
Having grown up in a small town, one did not do anything without the news making it back home. It was not surprising to have my parents waiting to discuss some behavior a friend, family member, neighbor or someone I did not know saw me doing. Everyone knew everyone in Laredo. So when people know your family and their problems, their failures and successes, it is not uncommon that they know what to expect of you.
Imagine Jesus, coming from a carpenter's family, a working class and a mere Jew untrained by Jewish scholars. And Mary had no distinctive history. What would people think of Him, standing there preaching and claiming to be the Son of God? Who does He think He is, instructing them about God?
And He did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith. The people in the time of Jesus could not bring themselves to surrender to Him and to His mighty claims and deeds because they were familiar with Him and His family. It is this call of faith, of trusting God and believing He can save you that will make you and help you surrender to Him. Once we surrender to God we can become uniform in our love.
This month we pray for priests to have the gift of wisdom. Let us follow the PAPA method--'The fewer words the better. More prayer, more faith. More faith, more confidence. More confidence, more clarity. More clarity, more trust. More trust, more love. More love, more Jesus. Thus more love for Jesus, more love for His Priests.'
God Bless You