14th Sunday B

14 

14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Readings: Ezekiel 2:2-5  2 Corinthians 12:7-10  Mark 6:1-6

            A central feature of the Christian gospel is the “scandal” or “offense” caused by those sent by God to do his saving work.  In this Sunday’s readings the prophet Ezekiel, the apostle Paul, and Jesus himself are sent to those whose hearts are hardened against God’s saving actions. All three can identify with the words of our responsorial psalm: “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” (Ps 123:3-4)

            The Ezekiel reading is part of the prophet’s first person report of his call to be a prophet to the rebellious exiles in Babylon (see Ezekiel 1-3).  This section is the first of three commissions Ezekiel receives (see chapters 2-3), and it emphasizes both God’s power in sending the prophet forth and the recalcitrance of the exiles as “rebels.”  When the prophet receives his commission, he is prostrate on his face after seeing a fiery vision in a storm wind of the Lord enthroned upon a chariot borne by four mysterious cherubim (Ezekiel 1).  The Lord then literally commandeers Ezekiel for his mission. Ezekiel recounts how as the Lord spoke to him, “the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet.”  Addressing him as “son of man” (mere mortal), the Lord then sends him to prophesy to the rebel exiles:  “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.”  Although they have been punished for their sins, the Lord warns Ezekiel the exiles are still hardened against his plan: “Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.”  Ezekiel’s commission is surprisingly simple.  The Lord merely commands him to speak the messenger formula: “Thus says the Lord God!”  Whether the exiles heed or resist, “they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”  We learn later that the Lord is sending Ezekiel as a “watchman” to warn his people to turn from their sins so that they may live (see Ezek 3:17-21; 18; 33).

            In the Second Corinthians reading, Paul is defending his apostolic mission against super-apostles who have tried to win the Corinthian Christians over to a gospel of glory which denies the centrality of the cross in the life of the true apostle (see 1 Corinthians 10-13).  Paul’s opponents have boasted of their apostolic credentials, visions, and ability to work miracles. As the founder and “father” of the Corinthian community, Paul has “foolishly” reminded them of his own credentials, especially his sufferings in behalf of the gospel—the only true sign of an emissary of the crucified Jesus.  But now Paul has just recounted that he too fourteen years ago had an ecstatic vision and revelation from God (2 Cor 12:1-6).  However, lest he be elated by “the abundance of revelations” Paul says, “a thorn in the flesh was given me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.”  We do not know what this “thorn in the flesh” was.  Scholars have suggested several possibilities: a sickness, physical handicap like near blindness (cf. Gal 4:4, 12-20), temptation, disability that weakened his apostolic mission, or even a vexing opponent (see Num 33:55; Ez 28:24).  In any case, Paul tells the Corinthians that, like Jesus in Gethsemane, three times he begged the Lord that it might leave him.  The Lord’s answer conforms to the very nature of the gospel of Christ’s cross and resurrection: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”  Paul concludes by insisting, “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.”  He is content “with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints, for the sake of Christ.”  For when he is “weak,” then he is “strong” through the risen Christ.

            The Gospel is Mark’s story of Jesus’ rejection by the people of “his native place,” presumably his hometown Nazareth.  It marks the end of a section of Mark in which Jesus has proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God by teaching with authority and working mighty miracles in both Galilee (1:14-4:41; 5:13-43) and Gentile territory (5:1-12).  The demons Jesus has exorcized have recognized him as the very Holy One/Son of God (1:24; 1:34; 3:11; 5:1-12).  The sick and outcast who have faith in Jesus have been healed or had their sins forgiven. The crowds have been astonished by his teaching authority (1:22).  The disciples have left their homes and occupations to follow him but also do not yet fully understand his power and authority (4:35-41). 

But Jesus has also met opposition from scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, and even his own family.  The scribes have been critical of his forgiving sins (2:1-12) and have accused him of working miracles by the power of Beelzebul (3:30); the Pharisees have questioned his association with sinners, failure to fast, and violations of Sabbath in order to heal (2:13-3:6); and members of his family have said, “He is out of his mind” (3:20, 31-34).  Already the shadow of the cross has fallen over the narrative, as the Pharisees have taken counsel with the Herodians to put Jesus to death (3:6). 

            Now when Jesus comes to “his native place, accompanied by his disciples” this theme of rejection and the cross is continued.  As he begins to teach in the synagogue, those who hear him are “astonished”; the same reaction as those who heard him in the synagogue at Capernaum (1:22) and that the crowd will have when he cleanses the temple in Jerusalem before his death (11:18).  Sadly, the people of Nazareth express their astonishment in the form of five rapid fire and disparaging questions about the source of Jesus’ wisdom and power: “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 Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?”   Mark concludes by saying, “they took offense (were scandalized) by him.”  Their lack of faith excludes them from the mystery of the kingdom (see 4:10-12), and Jesus responds by identifying himself with the prophets of old who were rejected by their own people: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”  He is amazed at “their lack of faith” which limits his power “to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.”  We are reminded that the very mystery of our salvation in Jesus’ cross and resurrection is also a story of the triumph of God’s love over our rejection of his Son.