Poor Quality of Faith – Poor Receptivity of Christ and His Mighty Deeds’ Benefits: the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

 We have been reading the Gospel texts with a focus on faith in Christ during the Ordinary Time so that we can grow further in faith.

Faith is a key theme to reflect for our growth toward the week of the Christ the King Sunday (34^th week in Ordinary Time).

Growth of our faith is in proportion to the growth of the Kingdom – just as how a tiny mustard seed grows into a large tree to provide for many birds (Mark 4:26-34 – the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, B).

We have also reflected that faith is a powerful antidote to fear, calming storms in our hearts (Mark 4:35-41 – the 12^th Sunday). Along with this line, we have been reminded that faith is indispensable for our healing, including restoration of our life upon death (Mark 5:21-43 – the 13^th Sunday) . For it is not just Christ’s will but also a will of the Father, who sent him, that we all enjoy our lives in full, Christ heals and restores life. But, it is possible only if we have faith in him.

In today’s (14^th Sunday ) Gospel reading (Mark 6:1-6), we learn and reflect how the quality of our faith can affect the receptivity of Christ’s ministry’s benefits.

The Gospel narrative describes how the audience of Jesus’ teaching at the synagogue in Nazareth changed their stance toward Jesus from being amazed (Mark 6:2) to detesting (Mark 6:3).  When they did not know who the man with astonishing teaching was, these Nazarenes seemed captivated by his teaching with awe. But, as soon as someone among them reminded that this “amazing” preacher was one of the Nazarenes and a carpenter, whose mother is Mary, they were no longer listening to him but turned spiteful toward him (Mark 6:3). Upon this, it prevented Jesus from performing his mighty deeds for them (Mark 6:5). And Mark describes this as a phenomenon of Nazarenes’ lack of faith (Mark 6:6), and this made Jesus say, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house”(Mark 6:4).

As reflected in the First Reading (Ezekiel 2:2-5), a prophet is a person chosen and commissioned by God, anointed with the Holy Spirit, to be sent to convey His message to the targeted people. In fact, Jesus was sent by the Father as the prophet for the New Covenant, as he was anointed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; cf. Mark 1:10; John 1:32) to teach us His message (i.e. John 7:16; 12:49; 14:24), while John the Baptist is considered as the last prophet of the Old Covenant.  

In regard to being a prophet rejected by people of his hometown (Mark 6:4), Jesus is like Jeremiah of Anathoth (Jeremiah 11:21). And Jesus, as rejected prophet, is also reflected in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, as the suffering servant of God. For Jesus, it was not just people of his hometown, Nazareth (Mark 6:3-6) but also by people of his tradition (i.e. John 18:1-19:42), though, at first, he was received with astonishment in Nazareth (Mark 6:2) and first welcomed in Jerusalem by the same people who rejected him to be crucified (i.e. John 12:12-18). What changed from their positive reception of Jesus to spiteful rejection of Jesus is a change of their perception of Jesus. 

In Nazareth, people received him as an astonish preacher in the synagogue when they did not really know who he really was (Mark 6:2). However, once he was recognized as an ordinary carpenter of Nazareth and son of Mary, he was rejected (Mark 6:3-6). In Jerusalem, Jesus was received as a triumphant hero when the crowd viewed him as the Messiah-King prophesized in Zachariah 9:9 (John 12:15). However, as their perception of Jesus was changed by an evil propaganda to see him as “king of the Jews”, the same crowd rejected him and demanded to have him killed (John 18:28-19:16).

An important lesson from today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 6:1-6), especially, in juxtaposition to how Jesus was treated in Jerusalem (John 12:12-18; 18:1-19:42), is that the quality of our faith affects our receptivity of Jesus. In other words, the way we see Jesus influences whether we embrace him or reject him, depending on the quality of our faith.

If we recognize the divinity in Jesus, and see this son of Mary as the Messiah, as well as the King of the Universe, but not an earthly political king, then, we will not reject him, no matter how he may be seen by the world. And this also means the good quality of faith. In contrast, if we fail to see the divinity in him, as with the case of the Arianism, then, we would reject Jesus as Nazarenes did (Mark 6:3-6) and people in Jerusalem and their religious leaders did (John 18:1-19:42). Those who failed to recognize the divinity in him and rejected Jesus had no faith in him.

Our faith in Christ, our perception of him, and our receptivity are closely related, as our faith in Christ and perception of Jesus affects how we receive or reject him.

In the Gospel Reading for the 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)(last Sunday)(Mark 5:21-43), there are two examples of how our faith can affect the efficacy of Jesus’ miraculous effects on us, as well as, our loved ones. In contrast, the Gospel Reading today, the 14^th Sunday (Mark 6:1-6), reflects that a lack of our faith is not only a factor to reject Jesus but also a major stumbling block to Jesus’ mighty deeds for us.

Is your faith strong and in good quality so that your receptivity of Jesus and his divine quality, as the Messiah (Christ) – King, is excellent, and therefore, you embrace him?  Or, do you sometimes wonder if Jesus is truly divine and truly the Messiah (Christ), especially when you feel that Jesus is not helping you at all, as you want him to?

In fact, if you happened to be with the latter case, then the Second Reading (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) can give you some helpful insights. You feel so because of what Paul describes as “a thorn in the flesh”(2 Corinthians 12:7). This represents human’s inherent weakness, making us vulnerable to doubting and rejecting Jesus – contributing to a lack of our faith. To overcome this problem, we need grace from Jesus. So, he said to Paul, who struggled with “a thorn in the flesh”, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”(2 Corinthians 12:9).

“A thorn in the flesh” may be a stain of the Original Sin, inherited from Adam and Eve. It cannot be taken away (2 Corinthians 12:8) – unfortunately. However, as long as we receive grace from Jesus, it may not become a problem. But, to enjoy the benefits of his grace to counter “a thorn in the flesh”, we do need to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) and the King, the New Covenant Prophet, sent by the Father, anointed with the Holy Spirit. If we can receive his grace, with our faith in him, then we increase our receptivity of him as the Messiah and the King and the Prophet!

To us, the faithful, Jesus is not a rejected prophet. He is not a rejected king. Our faith enables us to welcome and embrace him as the Messiah and the King and the Prophet, for our faith also enables us to receive his grace to keep “a thorn in the flesh” from compromising our receptivity of Christ.