OT XIV [B] Ez 2:2-5; II Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6

Today’s readings introduce Jesus as a prophet and explain how prophets and other messengers from God inevitably suffer rejection. Most of the famous men have experienced rejection, not once, but many times. Colonel Sanders is the founder of KFC. He started his dream at 65 years old! He got a social security check for only $105 and was mad. Instead of complaining he did something about it. He thought restaurant owners would love his fried chicken recipe, use it, sales would increase, and he’d get a percentage of it. He drove around the country knocking on doors, sleeping in his car, wearing his white suit. Do you know how many times people said “no” till he got one yes? 1009 times!

 Walt Disney was the man who gave us Disney World and Mickey Mouse. His first animation company went bankrupt. He was fired by a news editor because he lacked imagination. Legend has it he was turned down 302 times before he got financing for creating Disney World.

Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime! Just one to a friend. Despite that he kept painting and finished over 800 pieces. Now everyone wants to buy them and his most expensive painting is valued at $142.7 million.

Today's gospel passage shows how some people of Jesus' home town, Nazareth, did not accept him as a prophet because they knew him and his family. They knew that he was a carpenter with no schooling in Mosaic Law and “knew” that he could not be the promised Messiah who would come from Bethlehem as a descendant of David’s royal family. Besides, they were angry when Jesus did not work any miracles in Nazareth but, with prophetic courage, he accused them of lack of faith, and warned that he would take to other people his preaching and healing ministry.

Throughout the life of Jesus there were two diametrically opposing views towards Jesus. The Infant Jesus was joyfully accepted by the shepherds. But, the infant was rejected by Herod, and he sought ways to annihilate him. The wise men from the East recognized and accepted him; but the wise men of his society – the scribes and Pharisees rejected him. Many simple people from all over Galilee and neighbouring places flocked around him; but his co-villagers rejected him. Sinful people like Zachhaeus, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman etc. accepted him; but he was rejected by priests and religious leaders who were supposed to be holy.

 

The people of Nazareth despised Jesus because they knew his family. Every person that comes into the world is confronted with a choice: to accept or reject Jesus. Fortunately we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour.  It is not enough to have accepted Jesus once; we must renew our acceptance day after day. Our acceptance demands that we must always be attentive to discover what God wants from us:  he manifests his will in prayer, through His Word in the Scriptures, through the people we meet and through every event in our lives, and in nature. The obstacles that prevent from accepting Jesus are the same that prevented people of Nazareth from accepting him – they are   “pride” and “ego”. Hence, it is important that we overcome our pride and ego, then we will gain the courage to accept Jesus.

Ego will not allow us to accept the shortcomings of our life and will try to cover them up from others. Paul in the second reading tells us of his personal struggles and weaknesses he had. St Paul was not perfect; in fact, no saint was perfect. They were human beings, just like us, and they had to face problems, hardship, suffering, and temptation, just as we do.

They did not live carefree lives; in fact, it was their very challenges and failings that God used to make them into saints. That's what St Paul is trying to tell us in today's Second Reading. He says that although God has given him extraordinary mystical experiences, God has also given him a "thorn in his flesh, an angel of Satan to beat him." Paul prayed repeatedly for God to remove this thorn, but God refused, in order "to keep him from being too elated."

This strange passage raises two questions.

First, what was this thorn? No one really knows, but scholars have many theories. It may have been a physical ailment of some kind; or a particular temptation, like lust or greed; or the discouragement he constantly felt from being rejected by his Jewish confreres; or it may also have been his fiery temperament, which always seemed to get him into trouble. Whatever it was, it was a continual source of pain and irritation to St Paul.

The second question is: why didn't God take this thorn away?

St Paul tells us that it continually reminded him of his human weakness, inspiring him to depend more fully on God's grace. This is what he means when he writes: "when I am weak, then I am strong."

And this should be a comforting thought for us. It means that our thorns, whatever they may be, are not signs that God's anger or displeasure, but signs that he is teaching us, as he taught St Paul, true wisdom, the wisdom of humility and trust in God. As painful as it is, he recognizes that God is permitting it for a reason; to cure him of his tendency to arrogance and self-absorption.

Likewise, when God allows difficulties to plague us, he is not absent from them, but at work through them,  like a good doctor with a sharp scalpel.

During this Mass Jesus will renew his commitment to us through the sacrifice of the Eucharist. When he does, let's renew our commitment to him, and ask him to help us accept the thorns he allows in our lives, so that we can also experience the full transforming power of his love.