Gospel: Mk 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.
A PROPHET IS AMONG YOU: The response of Jesus to the rejection by his very own seems to capture a recurrent human experience. This is like in the first reading, where God warns Ezekiel that people could refuse His message. This is mainly because of familiarity which may cause us to pay little attention to a preaching because we know our parish priest, our prayer meeting preacher or our neighbors at the small Christian communities. Having known that they have a thorn in their flesh which may be a human weakness or limitation, their reflections do not mean so much to us. However, what is certain here, as from the first reading of today, is that whether we heed or resist, at the end of the day we shall know that a prophet has been among us.
PRAYER: We pray for the grace to open our hearts to the Word of God as the is Lord standing knocking at our doors.
DAILY GOSPEL 