Homilies

14th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: JESUS IS ORDINARY, CLOSE, AND FAMILIAR

WE PEOPLE ARE usually proud of other’s achievements, especially when these people are our compatriots, our schoolmates, our batch mates or classmates. Let us take the case of the Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao. Every time he won a boxing match, we Filipinos always celebrate and we show to the world how proud we are of him.

What happened to Jesus at Nazareth is something perplexing. He became popular because of the preaching and miracles he did outside Nazareth. They heard about his marvelous deeds and thus we expect that his fellow Nazoreans should have been proud of his achievement. But, unfortunately, these people had a different feeling toward Jesus. Instead of being happy and proud of Jesus, they looked down on him because he was such a simple person and a simple son of a carpenter. In a way, they rejected Jesus.

What are the things we can learn from this attitude of the people of Nazareth toward Jesus?

First, they rejected Jesus because he is too ordinary for them. We Christians are on the process of searching for God; we search for a deeper and fuller experience of God. But often we want to experience him in “extraordinary” events and places. Like for instance, we have this tendency to find God only in the most holy places. Thus we always treasure “pilgrimages” because these places are sure extraordinary experiences of God. This could be true, but, let us not also forget that we can also find God in the most “ordinary” experiences and events in life. Ordinary moments are venues where God can work. I remember a story of a beggar who was given food by an unknown person, and his remark was, “Are you Jesus Christ?” The compassion of mercy of God are felt through ordinary acts, places, and persons.

Second, they rejected Jesus because he was too close and familiar with them. Like in the point I raised above, we people have this tendency to go to some distant places because it is there that we can experience God. Yes it may be true that “God is there!” but we need to realize that “God is also here!” God is here in our midst. God is with us. God works in our family, God works in our community. God is so close to us. He is not distant.

Third, the rejection of Jesus by the people of Nazareth is a sad story which continues to this day. In our life, there are instances in which we have rejected Jesus. How? Accepting Jesus demands clinging steadfastly to his laws and the laws of the Church. But we have the tendency to choose only what we want to follow or obey; and then we reject those things which we find uncomfortable or which brings discomfort to us. Our acceptance of Jesus should be something total. There are no compromises. Our faith in him must be full and complete. Seeing this, Jesus will no longer be amazed because we have a complete faith in him.

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