14th Sunday-B

FOURTIENTH SUNDAY-B 

Good evening/morning everyone. I am happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Once a parishioner asked me..."What kind of entertainment we have in India". I couldn't stop laughing and said, "In India, we have more than one billion people and you want to know what kind of entertainment we have. Procreation is our recreation. Then I said, 'Please don't ask me these things in the confessional and tell me your sins now". 

Once an old man was walking in the street holding hands with a beautiful woman and laughing and joking. The next week as he went to see his family doctor, he said, "Thank you for your advice, doc". The doctor said, "What did I say?" You said, "Get a hot mama and be cheerful". The doctor said, "No, not at all. I said, "you had heart murmur and be careful". 

The name 'Isha' which means Jesus in Arabic is mentioned in the Holy Koran more than twenty-five times. It's more than the prophet Mohamed. The Old Testament uses the names Jesus more than hundred times. Every time the Hebrew Bible talks about 'Salvation', it uses the word 'Jeshua'. With this name that the angel Gabriel asked Mary to name her divine son. At the very name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. This very name has power and anyone who pronounces the name of Jesus and bless themselves will be abundantly blessed.  

In today's gospel passage, we see how our Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples comes to His home town and in the synagogue, He proclaims His mission statement namely preaching and healing; loving and forgiving and thus showing the people who were enslaved by so many man-made rules and regulations and so many man-made rituals the way to the kingdom of God. They say all the way to heaven is heaven because He said that He is the way and as we follow Christ, we are already living in heaven. He not only shows the way and He Himself is the way. 

But His home town people reacted differently. Prophets are not without honor except their hometown and among His own people. They began to put Him down saying, "We know Him. He is just a carpenter's Son and we know His mother and we know His father and we know His siblings and others. Then where did He get this wisdom and knowledge and where did He get His power and authority and they took offense at Him. 

Though they criticized Him, they did recognize Christ's great divine authority and power. They did see Him immense healing miracles and wonders. Even by rejecting Christ our Lord, they recognized His divinity. 

And How did Christ accept His rejection? 

Once Victor Frankl said, "Between stimulus and response, there is a space and in that space is our freedom to choose our response. And in our response lies our growth and our freedom". 

Jesus says, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad and your reward is great in heaven". 

When people, His own people who were friend with Him and who knew Him well, put Him down and criticized Him, the only reaction of Christ or Lord was, the gospel passage says that He was amazed at their disbelief". 

And He still did some miracles and wonders and healing for people. Yes, Christ our Lord will never say, "NO" to anyone. 

Conclusion: Friends in Christ Jesus, people may reject us, it's because you believe in Christ and your own family members and friends may criticize you, it's because you come to Church and your own people and others may put you down, it’s because you put your faith in practice, let us not be afraid but stand firm and proclaim the truth. We are not alone but Christ is with us. Amen.