Don’t Judge the Book by the Cover-Rejection of Jesus by Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 2: 2-5; 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10; Mark 6: 1-6

 

Introduction: The worst negative feeling we might have ever experienced is the feeling of rejection. And that too by our own people.  People experience rejection from their parents, children, spouses, colleagues, friends, peers, and even fellow church members! In our scripture for today, Jesus visits his hometown, where he is rejected! His homecoming, a reunion of sorts, ends on a bad note. Jesus, a local boy comes back home not as the “carpenter” who left the town but as a prophet. In the eyes of the town, he’s not a prophet. He is too familiar for them to accept him as the “new” Jesus.  His town people could not get past the “little Jesus” to Jesus the teacher and prophet. We all know the old adage “Familiarity breeds contempt” - a saying that goes back as far as Publius the Syrian, in 2 BC. And we see in our Gospel reading, how this happened to Jesus when he went back to his hometown of Nazareth.

Story: A poorly dressed couple walked into the office and asked to see the president of Harvard University. The receptionist thought that such a village couple did not need to be in such a place. She told them, "he is busy all day." They said, "we'll wait." After several hours, she finally called the president and asked if he would give them a few minutes just to get rid of them. He agreed. The couple sheepishly walked into the office as the president got up in a huff and strutted toward them. The lady said, "we had a son who attended Harvard for a year and loved it. But about a year ago, he was killed in an accident. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus." The president rolled his eyes. He looked at them in their unsophisticated clothing and said, "A building! Do you have any idea how much that costs. It will cost you more than 7 million dollars." The lady was silent. The president was pleased. The lady turned to her husband and said, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president looked bewildered.  At that point, Mr. & Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away from Harvard and went to Palo Alto CA where they established Stanford University as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about. No wonder they say don’t judge the book by the cover. You may lose all the blessings and benefits.

We dishonour Jesus and miss all His blessings when we fail to recognize and accept His true identity as our saviour & Lord. Familiarity displaces a sense of awe and worship. It is easy for us to get so used to talking, singing, and hearing about Jesus that we lose a sense of majesty and holiness. This is reflected in many ways. When the songs we sing get to the point where it makes little difference if you are singing about Jesus or your love for a spouse or girlfriend, we are too familiar.  The way we dress and behave in the church we can lose that awe and reverence.  The assumption that God forgives anything and everything has the potential to reduce our reverence for God. Human assumptions outweigh divine authority. The hometown crowd in Nazareth had drawn their own conclusions about Jesus and would not be convinced.

We must be careful that we do not dishonour Jesus like His home town people. If we dishonour Jesus, we forfeit His blessing. Dishonour leads to unbelief. When we allow a biblical view of Jesus to erode, soon our churches will begin to function as social clubs. Look at the many denominations that have torn down the proper view of Christ. They have been reduced from vibrant communities of faith to social action organizations and friendship clubs.

The people in Nazareth lost out - as the Scriptures sadly records: "He (Jesus) could not do any miracles there (in Nazareth), except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them." (Mk 6:5) because of their unbelief. We see in contrast in the second part of our Gospel reading (Mark 6:7-13) the great miracles that the disciples did - when Jesus sent them out into the surrounding villages. Why because their message of repentance was received with faith. St. Mark records: They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Mk 6:13). We can expect great things from God when we respond to God’s word – regardless of who brings it. 

Conclusion: On the wall of an ancient cathedral of Lubeck, Germany, are these words: You call me Master and Obey me not. You call me Light and See me not. You call the Way and Walk me not. You call me Life and Desire me not. You call me Wise and Follow me not. You call me Fair and Love me not. You call me Rich and Ask me not. You call me Eternal and Seek me not. You call me Gracious and Trust me not. If I do not Bless you, Blame me not.