Word to the Wise
Friday, August 3, 2007 - Seventeenth Friday in Ordinary Time
[Leviticus 23:1, 4-11 and Matthew 13:54-58]"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
ss The people in Jesus' hometown thought they knew everything they needed to know about him. Most of that concerned who he was kin to! Coming from a small town and a large family, I can understand their feeling. But knowing who someone is kin to is not the same as knowing the person. Kinship makes a good conversation opener but it takes work to get to know or understand someone as a person. The people in Jesus' hometown thought they "knew" Jesus, but discipleship requires faith not just superficial genealogical knowledge or casual acquaintance. Note the last line about Jesus not working "many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith." It wouldn't matter what he tried if they had no faith. Many folks think that they only need to go to church or perform other external actions to call themselves Christians or disciples. It's just not true. All those things presume a very important reality: a genuine relationship of faith in the Lord that motivates the membership or the actions. The relationship is not one of blood. It is one of faith in the Son of God. It is not one of co-membership in a church. It is intentional participation in the body of Christ! It is not enough to just show your baptismal certificate. AMEN