We
have just heard how Our Lord received a terribly cold welcome into
his hometown of Nazareth. They are all bent out of shape because
they have heard of Jesus doing wonderful signs everywhere else,
gaining some worldly fame among the people, and they seem neglected
and this fills them with contempt. Because of this, they are unable
to hear what Jesus has to say, their faith is weak, and they are
unable to receive similar great signs. And Jesus, after doing what
little He can, moves on to other towns.
In
the first reading we hear a similar story: Ezekiel must preach the
Word of the Lord to His People whether they want to hear it or not,
so that at least this rebellious lot will know that there was a
prophet in their midst. So today, let us remember, and pray for, our
Pope, our Bishop Kevin and all bishops and priests, that when they
preach they do not shy away from the truth that the Lord wishes to
speak through them, because whether it is easy to hear or not, it is
truly for our good.
I
bet the people of Nazareth and the Jews of Ezekiel's time had the
same struggle: they did not want to hear what the Lord had to say.
And one of the easiest ways to disregard the message, and something
that people still do today, is to throw out the messenger by pointing
out their faults. For example, let's look at myself and Father Bill.
One easy thing that could be said of Father Terry, and I hear it a
lot, is that I am so young! This can be used to mean I don't have
enough experience or knowledge of life, etc. Well, don't worry, I
agree with that quite a bit! Turning to Father Bill, what could we
say? Ah, only too easy to say, especially for me, is that, even if
he doesn't look it, he is so old!
What
we need to remember is that when someone is speaking the Word of the
Lord, The message is not their own. They
are sharing God's message to you. We can tell this difference when
something turns our heart and reaches our soul. Because people can
speak to our ears and minds, but only the Holy Spirit can reach to
our heart and soul and demand that we “turn away of from sin and be
faithful to the Gospel!”
And
so, in these messages, The real messenger is God, not the
person bringing it, because God alone speaks to us in this deep and
powerful way. No one else is able.
Lest
we forget this mission is not only for our priests, bishops, and
pope, we need to recall that all of us are baptized into the
prophetic mission of Christ. We share in the Universal
call to proclaim the Gospel to our world.
CCC
851 Missionary
motivation.
It is from God's love for all men that the Church in every age
receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary
dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on." Indeed,
God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth"; that
is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the
truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting
of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the
Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet
their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in
God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.
What
ways should a Christian manifest his concern for those who don't
believe? What does it look like? Should we be nagging,
antagonistic, prodding, provoking? Are we completely silent? Do we
speak around it? Do we let our actions speak? The Holy Spirit will
guide us in how we are to proclaim the Gospel, but let us do so after
the example of Christ our Leader and Brother. Following His example
in today's gospel, let us not be discouraged when sometimes people do
not listen. If Jesus didn't convert every heart, why should we be
discouraged if we cannot?
Let
us pray to Our Lord as we receive this Holy Communion that we will
not only be good listeners to the Lord when he speaks to us,
but also good bearers of His message, proclaiming it in season
and out.
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