WE ARE PEOPLE OF HOPE!
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Ezekiel 2:2-5; Ps 23; 23; 2 Cor. 12: 7-10; Mark 6:1-6.
A) May God continue to bless America!
Dear friends, greetings of peace and love to you all in the name of Jesus. This week has been marked by fireworks, the barbecue, family visitation for the celebration of July 4th, the independence of our great nation, the United States of America. Happy belated independence day indeed! This Sunday, I would like us first of all to pray: -- for those who fought for this independence and for those who are still fighting to sustain it; -- for those who laid down their lives for that cause and for those who were left behind to mourn them. We also pray that the people may be reminded to give God his rightful position in this Nation and among all nations in the world. I would like us to remember the beautiful and powerful words of George Washington, the first President of the United States, who once said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible”. Let us remember that independence is all about freedom. And when God sets his children free, he sets them free from slavery and bondages, oppression and idolatry but also sets them free for Himself so that they may know, love and serve Him. This had always been a constant reminder of the prophets to the children of God.
B) We will be held accountable of the decisions we make
Ezekiel in the first reading is called and commissioned by God to speak to the children of Israel in exile in Babylon. The people who were set free by God became rebellious and constantly refused to follow God. It is in fact their stubbornness (complaints against God, idolatry, disobedience and their rebellion) that was the result of their exile. However, God did not give up on them. He shows his love, patience and his mercy by sending Ezekiel to remind them of their covenant with God. He loves them and does not want to lose them. However, the first reading reminds us that we are responsible for our own decisions. God cannot force us to obey. We will be accountable for the decisions we are making today for our families and for our country.
C) We must be humble and only trust in God
“My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness”
Dear friends in Christ, Paul had had an extraordinary experience of paradise, the dwelling place of God (2 Corinthians: 1-6). It was a great privilege for Paul to have such a surpassing revelation. This could cause Paul to feel superior to anyone else and to be boastful. To prevent this God gives Paul a “thorn in the flesh”, which could be a kind of human weakness or suffering, such as persistent temptation to sin (Romans 7:22-25) or forms of aggressive discouragement. Definitely, God has major lessons to teach us.
First, in spite of all the spiritual and physical abilities that we may have, humility is important in our service to God. We must always trust that God is at the source of our achievement. Second, our spiritual strength is no guarantee of health, wealth, or prosperity. Trust and faithfulness to God is the key in our relationship with him.
Finally, God is willing to allow Satan a limited level of power to create helpful weakness in His children. No doubt, God's power is made perfect in a believer's weakness, not in our strength. Our tendency is to get rid of any form of suffering, yet God wants us rather to rely on his strength in our weaknesses. When we accept our sufferings, our weaknesses and rely on God’s strength that we are truly strong for then, it is God’s strength working true us and not our own strength. We should be strong enough to accept our weakness and be weak enough to accept God’s strength to be strong! We need to have enough faith in Jesus and not reject him as the people of Nazareth did (Mark 6:1-6).
Prayer:
Lord, as you gave to Prophet Ezekiel, give us the strength to speak Your truth, even when it is hard. Help us to embrace our weaknesses and trust in Your power. Increase our faith, so we may always believe in Your love and guidance. Amen.
Rev. Fr. Georges R. BIDZOGO SAC
Living the Gospel this week. “Is it not the carpenter, the son of May…?”
Beware of the danger of familiarity
We focus this week on this sentence from the Gospel of Mark 6: 1-6. Jesus was born in Nazareth and being close to them brought familiarity and they could not take him with consideration. Jesus could perform miracles there and he was astonished at their unbelief.
1) Beware of neglecting whoever is closer to you… Your parents, your children, your spouse, your Pastor, your staff, your colleagues at work. Anything you cannot pay for, is God’s gift to you.
2) Beware of neglecting the power in the Eucharist because of our familiarity with it. As we are reminded by Mark Twain: “Familiarity breeds contempt and children”.
3) Faith and Healing: Jesus is only able to heal a few sick people in Nazareth because of their unbelief. Do I have faith in God’s power to heal and help us?
"In faith, there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't." — Blaise Pascal.
Prayer:
Lord increase our Faith!
Rev. Fr. Georges R. BIDZOGO SAC