Daily Retreat 02/04/09
2009 Feb 4 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
Heb 12: 4-7. 11-15/ Ps 102(103): 1-2. 13-14. 17-18a/ Mk 6: 1-6
From today’s readings: “See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble.... The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear Him.... Where did this man get all this?”
The Nazareth Syndrome
To readers of the Gospel, the Nazareth townsmen’s rejection of Jesus comes across as particularly offensive and inexcusable. His charisma, His wisdom, even His ability to work miracles - they saw all those good things about Jesus plainly, and yet, rather than being led by them to faith or at least an appropriate sense of town pride, “they took offense at Him.” They were scandalized simply because Jesus had proven Himself to be more than they had initially seen in Him.
In reality, though, Jesus is forever proving Himself to be more than expected. Faithful Christians are bolstered, inspired, and saved every day by the Lord’s charisma, wisdom, miracles, and mercy, and yet, sometimes rather than being led to greater faith and humble gratitude, you and I can all too easily undervalue the grace of the Lord’s presence, and even might resent the implications that we should be honoring Him more in our own lives with our day-to-day choices and lived convictions.
For Christ is ever eager and willing to love and comfort and help, but, in the end, lack of faith is still too often such an awful obstacle to His grace, and thus even some of the modern brothers and sisters of Christ, stuck in the Podunk of nominal Christianity, opt to be scandalized rather than vitalized by the God who is with us.
Heb 12: 4-7. 11-15/ Ps 102(103): 1-2. 13-14. 17-18a/ Mk 6: 1-6
From today’s readings: “See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble.... The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear Him.... Where did this man get all this?”
The Nazareth Syndrome
To readers of the Gospel, the Nazareth townsmen’s rejection of Jesus comes across as particularly offensive and inexcusable. His charisma, His wisdom, even His ability to work miracles - they saw all those good things about Jesus plainly, and yet, rather than being led by them to faith or at least an appropriate sense of town pride, “they took offense at Him.” They were scandalized simply because Jesus had proven Himself to be more than they had initially seen in Him.
In reality, though, Jesus is forever proving Himself to be more than expected. Faithful Christians are bolstered, inspired, and saved every day by the Lord’s charisma, wisdom, miracles, and mercy, and yet, sometimes rather than being led to greater faith and humble gratitude, you and I can all too easily undervalue the grace of the Lord’s presence, and even might resent the implications that we should be honoring Him more in our own lives with our day-to-day choices and lived convictions.
For Christ is ever eager and willing to love and comfort and help, but, in the end, lack of faith is still too often such an awful obstacle to His grace, and thus even some of the modern brothers and sisters of Christ, stuck in the Podunk of nominal Christianity, opt to be scandalized rather than vitalized by the God who is with us.
posted by FrPitstick | 2/01/2009
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