July 5th, 2009 A.D. Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 6/1-6

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  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.

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 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

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Psalm 123:1-4

1 To thee I lift up my eyes, O thou who art enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid  to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Too long our soul has been sated with the scorn of those who are at ease, the contempt of the proud.  

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