Believe to See

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 5, 2015

We are the people of the Lord, the flock that is led by his hand: come, let us adore him, alleluia.

First reading                                      Ezekiel 2:2-5

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

Psalm                                              Psalm 122:1-5

Second reading                              2 Corinthians 12:7-10

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Gospel                                               Mark 6:1-6

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Reflection

By Benj Santiago

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

Jesus started His public ministry and many of those who believed are those who do not have any full knowledge of where He came from and what was His background. Most of those who knew Him as the carpenter’s son did not believe in Him. In one instance He even had to admonish the disciples who had been with Him in His ministry teaching the people and healing the sick. I can sense the frustration Jesus had when He said: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me”.

It is a paradox. They saw the miracles that Jesus has performed yet they didn’t believe. A lot of us like Thomas has to simply see to believe. But no matter what unfolds in front of us, if we are blinded by disbelief caused by our pre-programmed biases and beliefs we still end up doubting. I really wonder how Jesus felt when His own kin and close friends did not recognize and give Him due honor as a prophet in spite of the many miracles He had performed. In the end, He chose to bring His ministry and healing to other places. He chose to do mighty deeds somewhere else.

To this date, in Israel where Jesus Christ was born, many are still hard-hearted and still is in disbelief even after thousands of years has passed. They still do not give honor to Jesus as a mighty prophet at the least. We who are so far away from where He was born, are so blessed that we have heard the good news of salvation through the disciples and the martyrs and saints and believed! Thus we give Him honor not just as a mighty prophet but us our Lord and Savior!

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we thank You for opening our eyes and erasing our disbelief. We thank You that for allowing us not to have the need to see with our physical eyes but with our eyes of faith to believe that You are our Lord and Savior. That You are our Almighty God! Use us Lord that we may be able to open the eyes of those who still struggle to believe in You! Amen!