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Fourteenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 6/1-6 |
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| Background:
Mark in his simple yet vivid style thrusts us back into the early days of the
preaching of Jesus when he was still a mystery even to those who knew him, but a rather
simple mystery. The mystery would only deepen with time, but eventually no one asked him
any more who he thought he was. It had become clear that he thought he was someone
extraordinary, special unique, like the prophet we hear in the first reading, but even
more special. Even today we try to put labels on him, to claim him for our side, but it
doesn’t work. He continues to be utterly transparent and yet utterly mysterious. Take
the mystery out of Jesus and what remains, however impressive, is not Jesus any more. |
read the padre |
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Story: Once back in the nineteen forties there
was this very popular and very intelligent priest who presided over a certain suburban
parish. The people loved him because he was urbane and sympathetic and kind and preached a
fine sermon, as the homily was called in those days. He was quite famous nationally too
because he was the head of a band of crackpots who wanted the Mass in English and facing
the people with lay people actually reading the epistle (in those days there were only two
readings). His fellow priests dismissed him as likeable but a little mad. These crazy
ideas were a bit of an embarrassment to his people, but somehow they fit with his slightly
quirky(as they saw it) character. Priests and people, however, agreed that nothing would
ever come from his odd ideas. Some folks said he was a little ahead of his time, maybe a
hundred years. But they knew him very well, so in his own diocese and his own parish and
among his own people, no one thought him a prophet. In fact they kind of laughed at him
behind his back. As it was, he lived to see all his ideas become reality. He laughed a lot
too. Moral: listen to your crazy monsignors, they may be prophets
July Homilies: 2nd | 9th | 16th | 23rd
| 30th |
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