ORDINARY 4 (C)

No prophet is accepted in his own native place. – Luke 4: 24

 

   Our Lord is reminding His people that they were not chosen by God to form a closed society & become the beneficiaries of divine blessings. They were chosen to bring the benefits of the one God to all people. When they thought Jesus would bring them untold blessings, they spoke favorably of him. When it dawns on them that He is asking them to bring those blessings to others, some of whom were considered enemies & unbelievers, they were enraged. It is a short trip from approval to condemnation.

   It wasn’t just the fact that the divine favor they thought to be their personal prerogative would be offered to Gentiles. Worse, they were  the ones being asked to bestow those blessings.

   The lesson for us is to guard against seeking to keep to ourselves the gifts & privileges & graces we receive from God. We must not act as though our only purpose as a parish is to be concerned with our own survival, our own needs, our own spiritual, emotional & physical nourishment.  We must constantly & consciously be sensitive to the equal importance of all people in God’s eyes, & we must prepare for the rejection that may well come from such a view.

   As long as we approach the Christian faith with a “what’s in for me” attitude, our hopes & expectations are doomed to disappointment. The graces & spiritual consolations we receive will simply turn to dust & run through our fingers. It is my initial impression that many in this parish already appreciate this fundamental spiritual truth, so I need not belabor the point – especially when it comes to Catholic Charities (yes, it is that time of year again).

   For those who may not appreciate it, let me make a suggestion. Begin by lending a hand & see what will happen to the heart. Cooperate with the good even when we will get nothing out of it, when we cannot evaluate it in terms of our pleasure or displeasure. After we stop grumbling about the sacrifice, we will find ourselves filled with the goodness with which we are cooperating.

   Sooner or later a breakthrough realization will arrive: we can be joyful whenever or wherever the good is happening. We no longer need to resent the widow at Zarephath in Sidon or Naaman the Syrian. We will rejoice that her hunger has been filled & his skin has been cleansed. Finally, the prophecy of human liberation, not just our own well-being, will be fulfilled in our hearing. That should make the experiment far more worthwhile than anything we could have desired for ourselves.  AMEN!