Jesus, since he is weak, is strong. Those who follow him break the mold, too, as they affirm, “When we are weak, then we are strong.”

The folks of Jesus’ hometown do not doubt that he is a wise teacher who does mighty works. Yet there is one thing about him that shocks them: he is just one of them. They know he is a carpenter. And they also know his mother and his brothers. So, for them, his words and deeds cannot come from God. They cannot grasp that God chooses the weak, the lowly, those who count little to carry out his plans. In other words, they have yet to break the mold.

Those in Jesus’ hometown cannot be open to Jesus, since they cannot break out of their thought patterns. And we Christians can lock up ourselves, too, in what we have grown used to in our Christian communities. So, the account of Jesus’ rejection in his own town serves to warn us. Yes, those who think they know him best can reject him.

Don’t we also have yet to break the mold? Smug, do we not say, “We have always done it this way”? Let us hope that we do rethink boldly the goals, structures, style and methods of announcing the Good News (EG 33). For we can so obsess with passing and insisting on many doctrines that we miss what counts most (EG 35).

When all is said and done, who counts most is Jesus, God’s love and mercy made flesh. And we preach best the Good News that Jesus is, when he, his love, his mercy, become flesh in us. In our communities. Others will know Jesus by our love. By our love, too, will they know that we follow him, that we live by his death (SV.EN I:276). That he feeds us with his body and blood, so that, sharing his life, we may feed others also.

Lord Jesus, help us to break the mold and not be like snails who lock themselves up in their shells (SV.EN XII:81). Teach us, so we may grasp that, in your kingdom, boundaries get wider and wider, and the poor are blessed, peace is the basis of a life in common, the pure of heart see, those who mourn find comfort, the hungry justice, sinners forgiveness, and we are all brothers and sisters (Paul VI).

7 July 2024
14th Sunday in O.T. (B)
Ez 2, 2-5; 2 Cor 12, 7-10; Mk 6, 1-6