Jesus Rejected At Nazareth

July 04, 2021, Sunday
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 101

Reading I
Ez 2:2-5

As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me
    and set me on my feet,
    and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:
    Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
    rebels who have rebelled against me;
    they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart
    are they to whom I am sending you. 
But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD! 
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
    they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

R. (2cd)  Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

To you I lift up my eyes
    who are enthroned in heaven —
As the eyes of servants
    are on the hands of their masters.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

As the eyes of a maid
    are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
    till he have pity on us.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
    for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
    with the mockery of the arrogant,
    with the contempt of the proud.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Reading II
2 Cor 12:7-10

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. 
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.” 
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. 
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Alleluia
Cf. Lk 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Mk 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. 
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished. 
They said, "Where did this man get all this? 
What kind of wisdom has been given him? 
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?" 
And they took offense at him. 
Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house." 
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

REFLECTION:

Perhaps today’s Gospel invites us to be with Jesus in the profound suffering this must have caused Him. You might then let Jesus be with you in the ways you suffer when people are not sensitive to, or show respect for your dignity as a human being or as a Christian.

Even after all the miracles of healing that Jesus worked, he still was not accepted even in his own town. As he taught in the synagogue there his hearers were amazed that this ordinary man whom they knew as the carpenter could attain such wisdom, and they rejected him.

PRAYER:

Lord, I pray that I may recognize your presence in the ordinary encounters of my day and notice the ways through which you desire to nourish me and give me life because you are present in all things.