Homily — 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

After many weeks of special solemnities, at last we return to the green Sundays of Ordinary Time, and our continuous reading of the Gospel of Saint Mark. Today’s Gospel finds Jesus revisiting his hometown of Nazareth. It’s the second time he’s been back there since he left to begin his public ministry. The first time he went back home was not much happier than this visit. If you remember the story, he went into the synagogue to teach and, at first, the people were rather impressed with what he had to say. But when he began to call them to task for their unbelief, they rapidly became disgusted with him and even tried to throw him off the cliff on which the town was built. Somehow, he was able to elude them and continue his work elsewhere. If the people of a town treated any of us that way, I don’t think we’d be back anytime soon. But this just shows the great patience and love of our Blessed Lord that he’s willing to give the people of Nazareth a second chance.

Once again, Jesus enters the synagogue to teach. And once again the people are amazed at what he has to say. But it doesn’t take long for them to resume their bitter complaining. They just can’t accept the fact that one of their own—a common laborer whose family is known to everyone—should rise above them in any way. Instead of accepting him with joy—or at least congratulating him on his success—they take offense at him and reject him out of hand.

One writer has suggested that the reason for the Nazarenes’ disbelief in Jesus is rooted in their own lack of self-respect. They don’t really believe God’s power can have an effect in their lives, so they refuse to recognize that power when it’s evident in the life of someone else. In other words, you have to believe in yourself before you can believe in God. If you can’t see God at work in ordinary things—including your own life—how will you recognize him when the very Son of God stands in your midst?

In any case, the terrible unbelief of the people of Nazareth gives rise to that famous saying of our Lord’s which has become a proverb throughout the whole world: "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." A prophet is only without honor among his own people. This pattern has been repeated countless times in every place and in every age. What about our community? How do we respond to the prophets among us? Oh yes, they’re here! All around us are people God has touched in a special way. Do we recognize them and heed their words and follow the example of their lives? Or do we take offense at them and treat their message with contempt?

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, allow me to give just one example. I’m convinced that there are many young men and women in our parish who have a vocation to the priesthood or the consecrated life. They have felt the stirring of the Spirit within them, and they are drawn to that life of service to God and to the Church. But sadly, they will never enter the seminary or the order because their own family has made light of the idea or has discouraged them from even thinking about it. This is a tragedy—not only for the individual involved, but for all of us—the Church they were called to serve.

At the end of today’s Gospel, there is a phrase which is absolutely horrifying in its implications. Saint Mark writes, "he was not able to perform any mighty deed there." It doesn’t say he chose not to perform any mighty deed, or he decided not to perform any mighty deed. It says, "he was not able." The people’s lack of faith actually prevented him from performing any miracles except for a few healings. Do you realize what this means? God is, always has been, and always will be omnipotent—his power cannot be measured or contained. And yet, such is the freedom he has given to his creatures out of love, that we are actually capable of tying his hands and gagging his mouth through our lack of faith. Unbelief will stop the Lord in his tracks! It’s not that we actually control God. Rather, unbelief prevents us from receiving the good things God wants to give us. Why should God waste his power on those who refuse to believe that he can and will change their lives? The Lord seeks grateful and receptive hearts, and he will not force himself on anyone.

But if God’s power is stifled in an atmosphere where there is no faith, imagine what he can do where faith is strong. And it really doesn’t take much faith to unleash the power of God in all its grandeur. After all, Jesus tells his disciples elsewhere that faith the size of the mustard seed can move mountains. So what do you think God could do if faith were stronger among us?

Well, let’s return to the question of vocations. We worry that there aren’t enough priests to administer the sacraments, that there are no more sisters and brothers to teach in the schools or to serve the sick and the poor. We’re saddened by the fact that monasteries, which were once vibrant powerhouses of prayer, are now virtually empty if not closed altogether. And how have we come to this state of affairs? I, for one, truly believe it’s because faith has grown cold in our land—and in some places has all but died out. And where there is no faith, the mustard seed of a vocation has no fertile soil in which to grow.

Now, I know that in many ways the faith is strong in western South Dakota—stronger than in many other places. But where the weakness lies is in a lack of trust in God’s providence. Too often we just don’t believe that God will do what he has promised. We’re afraid that if we encourage vocations in our sons and daughters, somehow our material needs and desires will not be met. This is an attitude which is both dangerous and selfish. Dangerous, because God may not continue to extend to us these opportunities of grace; and selfish, because it is an attitude centered upon our own personal gratification rather than upon the needs of the whole Church.

This week, the diocese is once again offering its Totus Tuus vocation camps for middle school boys and girls. At these camps, the kids are not pressured to become priests and nuns. Rather, they’re given the opportunity to consider these vocations as an option—perhaps for the first time—and to add this consideration to the mix of ideas that go through young people’s minds as they think about their future. All of us can help to provide fertile conditions for this seed of faith to grow. How? By prayer. I encourage each one of us to pray five decades of the Rosary every day this week for the more than four dozen boys and girls who will gather for Totus Tuus. Pray for the older kids who will be junior leaders, and for the seminarians, sisters, priests and other adults who will be directing the camps. Pray that each heart will be open to receive God’s message with joy and to respond to that message in faith.

After Jesus visited Nazareth the second time, he never returned. He had given the people of his hometown—his own family and friends—ample opportunity to respond to his loving call. In effect, he gave up on them because they had rejected him. It’s a chilling thought, but the same could happen to us—to our community, our church, our nation. We can receive God’s message with scorn, or we can receive it with humble faith and joy. The choice is yours.

© 2003, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor