Scripture:
Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
Matthew 13:54-58
Reflection:
"…..Is he not the carpenter’s son?"
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house". Jesus was identified. They knew who he was – the son of Joseph the carpenter, the son of Mary. They knew just what the son of a carpenter was expected to do, but Jesus was daring to speak like a rabbi, and he was saying things that even the rabbis weren’t saying. He was talking about the kingdom of heaven coming in our midst. And he spoke with wisdom and performed deeds of power. But he was the son of a laborer. And the people around him were convinced that God wouldn’t speak through someone like that.
When did we lose the idea that God is the God of surprises, the one who reveals the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary? When did we decide that God was tame and predictable? In today’s gospel, Jesus was disrespected because he was lower class, not well educated…..the son of a carpenter, and yet he dared to suggest that the common people – not just the powerful – mattered to God.
Through God, the ordinary are chosen to perform the extraordinary. This has been God’s pattern throughout history. We never know just whose voice may be important. God uses many different voices to be instruments through which the Word is spoken to reach this diverse, hurting world.
LORD……..HELP ME TO DEVELOP "SPIRITUAL EARS" TO LISTEN FOR YOUR VOICE
Deacon Brian Clements is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.