Reflection for Saturday July 21, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 12:14-21

Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

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Reflection:

Do you make ways to avoid a troublesome situation whenever it presents itself to you?

The Pharisees were planning to put Jesus to death yet Jesus knew about this evil plan of action of his persecutors. In the midst of threats and pressure on His life Jesus chose to avoid them. He could have confronted them because He also had His own followers at that time.

But he calmly walked away from trouble He instead chose to serve His people by healing them. What do you do when you are faced with the same situation? Do you mindlessly confront or you to think of ways to avoid it so that you could serve a higher purpose?

For example, somebody is challenging you to a fight would you meet that mindless challenge or you will decline? The wisdom filled action is to decline the mindless challenge. You do this because you have a higher purpose in life and you simply choose not to stoop to his/her level.  

Jesus chose to take the higher road by not meeting those who were running after Him and this is always the right action to do. Let us therefore emulate the example of Jesus. He is never arrogant, never violent and He always takes the high and educated road. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday July 20, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 12:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath. He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

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Reflection:

What is in the heart of Jesus? It’s mercy and compassion for His people. Mercy and compassion that is ever ready to transgress sacred laws such as the Sabbath law.

Being God the Son Jesus perfectly knew that what He was doing was right. But the Pharisees did not know the true identity of Jesus. So they questioned the decision of Jesus to allow His disciples to pick and eat the grains on a Sabbath day.

Do you know Jesus deeply? Do you feel His presence in your life? If you don’t know Jesus deeply and if you don’t feel His presence in your life. You will also question some events or trial/s that occurs in your life.

For instance when you go through severe trials such as sickness and the like. You might also question the Lord Jesus and ask Him this question: Why am I going through this trial or why did you allow me to go through this episode in my life?

But if you know Jesus and if you feel His presence in your life  you will never question Jesus thus you will simply bow to His will. Why bow to His will? This is for the reason that you know that something greater is in store for you. That you don’t see and know now but you will certainly see and feel in your life in the future.  

Ask Jesus therefore to give you the gift of knowing Him deeply and the gift of His living presence in your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Thursday July 19, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

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Reflection:

There’s a story about a very rich man who was so burdened by his problems. He tried many ways to solve it, he thought his money would help him solve his problems, to no avail. He went to his friends and indulge in drinking sessions and vices yet it did not solve his problems either.

He was living like a ship without a rudder aimlessly drifting to nowhere, he didn’t know it but he was slowly wasting his life. Until he meet a relative who was an active member of the church. He opened up to him and the relative listened.

At the end the relative had only one advice: “Go and spend time with Jesus in the adoration chapel. Then, don’t miss Sunday Mass and when you are at Mass be attentive and listen to every word being spoken for many of it will speak to you. You also read your bible for Jesus will also speak to you there. To cut short a long story, he made a devotion to the adoration chapel, went to Holy Mass as often as he could. And regularly read his bible.

After a few weeks he already had a normal family life. Yes, from time to time there were still problems that need to be sorted out. But he knows now where to go. Not to his vices, not to his money not even to his friends. But to Jesus in the adoration chapel, to Jesus in the Holy Mass and to Jesus  in the Holy bible.

In the gospel Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Why does Jesus invites us to go to him? We who are sinful and we who are beset by our many burdens. This is for the reason that Jesus loves us dearly, Jesus doesn’t want us to waste our life by finding earthy solutions to our burdens.

Take this offer of Jesus by surrendering your life to Him. And see for yourself the miracle that He will create in your life the moment you surrender it to Him. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday July 18, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 11:25-27

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

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Reflection:

What is the key to know Gods will for you? It’s childlike humility,  a humble person is ever ready to listen to the voice and will of God. He/she doesn’t go against the will of God he/she rather allows God’s will to work in his/her life. In the process of allowing God’s will to rule his/her life he/she discovers more about God.

When you are humble you open yourself to the countless blessings that emanates from God. You may ask, how am I going to be humble before God? You have to follow the rules of the church which Jesus founded through St. Peter.  

For example the rule of Sunday Holy Mass obligation, a humble person would always see to it that he/she is always present in this sacred celebration. Another example is our submission to the sacraments most especially the sacrament of reconciliation. A humble person would always find time to confess his/her sins to a priest who is there in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus always looks kindly to those who are childlike and humble. Why? Because this is the nature of God: He loves those who are humble and He opens Himself more to the humble. 

Do you want to know more about God? And do you want to have a deeper friendship with God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Reflection for Tuesday July 17, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 11:20-24

Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Reflection:

Do you get frustrated or even get angry every once in a while? It’s ok for as long as your frustration and anger is for a good reason. And for as long as your anger doesn’t stay for long in your heart.  For example, you advice a relative or a friend to mend his/her ways but she/he doesn’t listen to you.  

In his humanity Jesus also gets frustrated like us and it is shown in the gospel. When He reproached the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida due to their refusal to repent. Jesus wanted the inhabitants of the two towns to change their wicked ways and accept His good news.

Some of us if not majority of us are like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida full of stubbornness. Yes, we believe that there’s a God but believing is very different from listening to God and letting Him live in our hearts.

In pushing His good news to us Jesus touches us in so many ways. There are also times when He uses our fellowmen and other forms of modern medium such as the internet in order to touch us. Yet we often times don’t listen or pay attention, we remain stubborn and continue to commit sin. However, until when we are going to sin? Until such time that sin destroys us?

Let us avoid sin because sin is evil and whomever embraces sin will eventually be destroyed by sin. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Reflection for Monday July 16, Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:34-11:1

Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

(Jesus said to the Apostles) Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

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Reflection:

A man was pondering on how he could bring peace to his fractured family. One night he had a dream and on that dream Jesus said to him, you need to become a priest for you to have healing in your family. But the young man was very worldly he loved the treasures of this world. Yet he also loved dearly his family.

So, he headed the voice of Jesus, he studied for the priesthood and whenever he had a vacation he would always gather his family for a recollection inside their house. To make a long story short, the once factional and fractured family slowly became unified. After a few years he eventually became a priest and true enough his becoming a priest ushered healing in his family.

Jesus tells us in the gospel that HE is a cause of division and disunity inside a family. On the other hand Jesus is also a healing instrument inside a family. How would this happen? If you fight for the teachings of Jesus inside your family naturally there would be initial resistance and division.

Members of the family would initially resist it but for as long as you will not give-up. And for as long as you offer to Jesus whatever you do inside your family even if it causes initial division sooner or later there would be healing and reconciliation. Many of us already discount the healing power of Jesus but it has already been proven time and again that Jesus heals families.

Have you tried introducing Jesus to your family through HIS life story in the bible?  Perhaps not yet, now is the most opportune time, do it slowly and patiently. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Sunday July 15, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 6:7-13

Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them. So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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Reflection:

Part of the growing-up experience of a child is to be summoned and instructed by his/her parents to do this and that. As the child enters school the teacher will also play the role of the parents by summoning and giving instructions to the child.

The child will now become an adult and will be through with his college studies. Perhaps he will tell himself: At long last! I am through from being summoned and being instructed, but not yet. There shall be a very powerful voice that will perpetually summon, tell and guide him on how he must properly live his life.

This very powerful voice is no other than the voice of Jesus who speaks to us thru the homily of a priest. The voice of Jesus who speaks to us thru the voice of a Godly relative or friend. And the voice of Jesus who will speak to us the moment we read the bible with reverence.  If we will listen to this powerful voice of Jesus we would be assured of a worthy and well lived life in this world.

In our gospel the apostles were summoned, given authority and instructed by Jesus after which He sent them to their mission two by two. These were the instructions of Jesus: “Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick-- no food, no sack, no money, wear sandals, wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."

The apostles faithfully followed these instructions that’s why they were very successful with their given mission. One of the countless concrete evidence of their success is the faith that we have right now. We attribute the Catholic faith that we hold on today to their faithful discipleship to Jesus. They responded to the voice of Jesus and faithfully followed His instructions.

We too are being summoned and instructed by Jesus to help Him and the apostles spread the faith. Are you doing something to help Jesus and the apostles propagate the faith? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Saturday July 14, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:24-33

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33

(Jesus said to the twelve Apostles) “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

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Reflection:

There is a story of a dying man who rarely attends Holy Mass and who was very much afraid to die. When his relatives told him that they will call a priest for him to be conferred with the Sacrament of the Anointment of the Sick. He asked them, Am I going to die already (For this was his usual notion)?

To make a long story short, the priest arrived, and he was conferred the sacrament. After the priest left, the dying man told his relatives, now I am prepared to die. From being afraid to not being afraid to die and the reason of it all is the courage that Jesus gave him through the anointment of the sick.

Are you not afraid to die? Of course you are, But why are you afraid to die? Perhaps the reason is you have not found Jesus yet and surely Jesus is not yet part of your way of life. This is perhaps the primary reason why you are afraid to die. However, once Jesus  is already part of your way of life you will not anymore be afraid to die.

  

When we have Jesus in our lives we already have the courage to face anything that may befall us.   We are not anymore afraid to stare at earthly death because we now know that soon after we will be with Jesus in heaven.

Are you still afraid to die? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Friday July 13, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:16-23

Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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Reflection:

Are you ready to give your life for the mission of Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer but there are many already who dared to willingly give their lives for the mission of Jesus. What fuels them to give their lives when they have a choice to save it?

 It’s their burning desire to witness for Jesus. The same Jesus who strengthens them to endure and continue with their mission even at the cost of their lives. To be a real follower of Jesus is easier said than done. It’s easy to say I am a Christian but to live this Christian pronouncement is another story altogether. How about you? Are you willing to give your life for the mission of Jesus?   

When you give your life to Jesus you will face persecution as well. But what is consoling here is the midst of your trials and persecution you also will feel the abiding presence of Jesus in your life. For the reason that Jesus has never abandoned anyone who gave his/her life for His mission in this world.

Be not afraid to give your life for the mission of Jesus. For when you decide to do so you will soon after find the real purpose of your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas      

Reflection for Thursday July 12, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 10:7-15

Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15

Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words— go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town.

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Reflection:

Do you expect to receive something in return for the things that you do for the greater glory of God? Better not expect because when our expectations are not meet we would be disappointed. Let’s just do good and be content with the fact that we’ve done good to our fellowmen.

Money rules they say, but for those who follow Jesus money does not rule and money doesn’t dictate. It’s Jesus who rules and dictates, when we allow Jesus to rule and dictate our life. We are free from worries that emanates from this world and we are not beholden to anybody in this world.     

When Jesus was sending off his twelve apostles to their mission. One of His specific declarations for them is this: not to let money or anything that is worldly rule over them. Jesus instead wanted His apostles to let Him rule their lives.

When we let Jesus rule our lives we will not anymore care about worldly possessions. We instead will be satisfied with what we have no matter how meager the things that we have. This is for the reason that we already believe that the essence and fullness of life is not measured by material ownership.

What is with material things when it can be taken away from you anytime? Seek Jesus in your life for when you have Jesus you have everything. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reflection for Wednesday July 11, Saint Benedict, Abbot: Matthew 10:1-7

Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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Reflection:

Where does The Kingdom of Heaven lies? It lies within us and it has been with us since we’ve been baptized. But we may say, if the kingdom of heaven is within us, why is it that our life is still problematic? This is for the reason that we refuse to live our life according to God’s will for us. Thus, we live our life according to our own will and not according to God’s will.

So what happens when we live our life according to our own terms? We open our life to many problems, problems that we could actually avoid if we only live our life according to the will of God. However, many of us do not have an awareness of the will of God because we overpower it with our own selfish will for ourselves.

It’s not difficult to know God’s will for us, by going to Holy Mass we will begin to discern God’s will for our life. By reading our bible we will discern the will of God for us. By our frequent interactions with Jesus through our prayers we will discern the will of God.  

Many of us are lost in this world because we are not always in touch with Jesus. Yet we are always in touch with materialism, hedonism and other worldly things. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Tuesday July 10, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 9:32-38

Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

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Reflection:

How does the gospel speak to you today? Does it tell you that you need to do something for the kingdom of God? Jesus tells the disciples in our gospel and He tells this to you too! “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37)”.

Indeed, the harvest is abundant yet those who venture to volunteer their time for God’s kingdom are still few. We don’t know the reason behind but perhaps we could guess that we have become very materialistic. We devote our entire time for our own glory in this world. So we forget that there is a much greater purpose and glory beyond this world that awaits us and that is the kingdom of God.  

When we are near death already the labors that we have given to this world will not matter anymore. We will not think about how big our bank accounts. We will not think about our many worldly achievements.

What we will be thinking about is the status of our soul after we die. This is what confronts a dying person: The status of his/her soul after it departs from his/her body. Therefore to avoid this dilemma let us do something for the advancement of the kingdom of God in this world.

Any effort that we do today for God no matter how small for so long as we sincerely do it for His greater glory. Will be permanently etched in  the heart of God and will become our passport to heaven when our departure time comes. - Marino J. Dasmarinas    

Reflection for Monday July 9, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 9:18-26

Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping. And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.

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Reflection:

Do you believe that Jesus can cure you of whatever sickness that you have? The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years believed that she would be healed by Jesus. She believed that the moment she touched even the tassel of Jesus cloak she would be healed. What a display of deep faith!

Sometimes we don’t get what we wish from Jesus because we doubt. We allow the devil to disturb our faith thus we don’t get what we want. We see in the gospel a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages she obviously has deep faith. Faith that is willing to overcome whatever obstacles that are put in front of her.  Do you have the same deep faith as this woman in the gospel?

When Jesus noticed this woman of faith, He told her, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you (Matthew 9:22).” And the result was immediate physical healing coming from Jesus and surely the woman was completely healed.

Are you suffering from any form sickness right now? Pray to Jesus and ask Him to heal you! Beseech Him to give you the same healing that He gave the woman in the gospel. Jesus will surely heal you for He will not refuse anyone who approaches Him with deep faith and humility. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Reflection for Sunday July 8, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 6:1-6

Gospel 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 Joses 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.

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Reflection:

What usually happens when we belittle or look down on someone: For example a relative or friend. We normally are deprived of the privilege of knowing that person more deeply. Not only that we are deprived we also miss the opportunity to be blessed by that person’s insight and wisdom.

In marriage there’s a saying that goes: “Familiarity breeds contempt” this means that once you know your spouse well enough you somehow stop respecting him or her. This frequently happens most especially when the couple has been together for several years already. This animosity could even lead to their separation. Thus, they are deprived of the many blessings that are due to couples that stay faithful to their vows of marriage.   

The moment these two relationships (friendship and marriage) fail to successfully materialize. There’s one common deprivation that happens: The deprivation of many blessings. The blessing of insight, wisdom, happiness and friendship just to name a few.

The townmates of Jesus where amazed when they saw Jesus teaching and healing in the synagogue. They were wondering as to where did Jesus imbibed all of His wisdom and healing power. They said: “Where did this man get all this?” Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joset, Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?"

They were full of contemptuous feeling towards Jesus because they know Him well as an ordinary carpenter. They could not accept that this ordinary man that they know very well is now an emphatic speaker and healer.

Since Jesus was ridiculed by His own townmates they missed the opportunity to know Him well, they missed the opportunity to partake of His wisdom and they missed the golden opportunity to be spiritually and physically healed by Him.

This is also what we will miss if we would not listen and if we would continue to belittle  Jesus who continuously speaks to us through the daily events in our lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas