Readings for July 6-7, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission
In our Gospel this Sunday, Jesus, who returns to his hometown of Nazareth, is not met with open arms.
Quite the opposite: people were angry and bitter at seeing him. Jesus knew this was going to happen, so he was emotionally prepared for it.
American author Thomas Wolfe expressed it in a poetic way by saying, “Sometimes we leave home; sometimes home leaves us.”
Everything constantly changes. Old majestic buildings from our childhood are torn down to be replaced by sleek modern edifices. The neighborhood you grew up in no longer contains familiar neighbors. The family corner grocery store, where the grocer knew everyone by name, has been replaced by a sprawling mall. Even the old familiar parish church just doesn’t feel the same.
Sometimes those changes are for the better. Sometimes they are not.
The most difficult struggle comes from the fact that the people we once knew have changed. We, too, have changed.
People have matured, grown into new careers, survived difficult experiences. Yet, when you look at them and they look at you, the changes cannot be comprehended or accepted. You are still that little kid with the runny nose and the disheveled hair, “the carpenter’s son.”
When Jesus returned to Nazareth, the attitude of the people had to grieve him.
He yearned to share with them good news, the miracles that he had brought to fulfillment in other regions of the country. He was back home, a place he loved, among his own people, friends and family. Of course, stories about Jesus’ wisdom in his teaching and the reality of his miracles had preceded him.
However, the people of Nazareth were bitter instead of being proud of a hometown boy who made good. They were angry that he should have such extraordinary gifts.
Some of the people felt threatened that Jesus, who had been one of them a mere three years ago, now appeared so far above them. They speculated that there were others among them who were more worthy of such undertakings.
Suspicious gossip flowed as to how Jesus had acquired these gifts.
The judgmental attitude of the people hardened their hearts to such a degree, creating such an atmosphere of bitterness and jealousy, that the Scriptures tell us the power in Jesus would not be roused. He could not perform any of the great deeds he did in other places. What a sad reality.
What kind of homecoming do we give to the people we encounter? Do we allow them a place among us? More so, do we allow them a place in the ministry of the church?
Can we set aside how they look, the education they have received, the accolades they may have obtained or the stories about them that have been passed from person to person?
Let us make each day a homecoming for others. In the words of writer George Whitman, “Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.”
Zahorik is director for spiritual engagement at St. Mary Parish, Omro, and St. Mary Parish, Winneconne.
The readings for Sunday, July 7, can be found at Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.