The 14 th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B Readings, Lectionary #102 Begin in prayer Spend a few moments in prayer before reading the Scripture. Ask the Lord to let his Word speak to your heart. Christ Jesus, may you receive the honor as I preach your Gospel. May your Spirit be upon me to bring glad tidings to the poor. Be with me now, Holy Spirit, as I prepare my homily for next weekend. Guide my words and my life to reflect the joy you bring. Amen. Liturgical Context We learn today that unless we yield in faith God simply cannot accomplish his will for our lives. Today s is an invitation to conversion and to see and recognize God working in places we might never imagine. Are we blind to God s work in our lives, or are we willing to take the blinders off and see the marvels that God is doing? We are given a choice. Approach the Text Read the Scripture for this Sunday several times. Let its words and phrases truly affect you. Use the Lectio Divina method (available from PastoralPlanning.com as part of this homily kit) to allow the Word to fill your heart and excite you about the homily you are preparing. Begin by reading through all the readings for this weekend.
FIRST READING: Ezekiel 2:2-5 Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. Ezekiel was sent to preach God s Ezekiel was given a vision of what word to the people. He was warned would come into his life. that he and God s word would be God in his faithfulness promised to rejected. Such is the fate of prophets. provide the words Ezekiel was to Today s first reading is connected to speak to his people. the Gospel in that Ezekiel was As a sign of God s promise and warned that he would be rejected faithfulness to be Ezekiel s voice he just as Jesus was rejected. ordered Ezekiel to eat the scroll Ezekiel re-establishes the concept of containing the words Ezekiel was to God as Spirit in today s reading. It speak to the people. was a concept that was avoided Ezekiel went forth as commanded because of its close association with and spoke the truth in the face of pagan religions. hostility Ezekiel re-inaugurated the term and He was brutally honest to those to from his time forward all the whom he was sent. prophets considered themselves One can only imagine the response. called and commissioned by the No one likes to have their sins laid Spirit. bare for all to see. Prophets do not always go willingly God s word will go forth. One way when called by God. Many resist or another God s Word will have its vehemently. way. One can hardly blame them. God will get through to his people The prophetic ministry was often one way or another. fraught with untold misery for the God s messengers, the prophets, will prophet and by extension for his be sent again and again until the family. message is heard. No one walks head-on into such God s message, however, is one of calamity unless strengthened, called love, forgiveness, mercy, healing, and and empowered by God. reconciliation. Who enjoys rejection? For your reflection: Have you ever tried to speak the honest truth to someone something they needed to hear, only to be rejected? How does your experience relate to the task of the prophets? How can God get through to us to challenge us, teach us and admonish us when we go astray? How does the prophetic role continue today? In what way are you called to be a prophet in your pastoral work and preaching? Who in your parish, family and/or local community need to hear your prophetic voice? What will it cost you if you were to live out your prophetic role? What does this reading reveal to us about the heart of God? Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 2
SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 "My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection." Paul boasts about the spiritual experiences he has experienced as an apostle to the Gentiles. He boasts not of his own achievement, but of the trials, hardships, and weakness endured for the sake of the Gospel. One cannot help but feel Paul s frustration. His apostolic authenticity was brought into question, he was ridiculed and castigated by the Judaizers and he struggled to gain credibility due to their constant persecution. Paul boasts today, not as an arrogant, self-righteous believer, but as a humble servant of the Lord who boasts because of his suffering. Paul understands it as an opportunity to embrace the cross of Christ. Herein lies the reason for Paul s boasting: Paul boasted in the Lord and in his (Paul s) precious opportunity to join his suffering to the suffering of Christ. True boasting belongs to the Lord alone thus Paul will not boast for himself. Paul insisted that he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. Much speculation as to what this thorn in the flesh comprised has taken place over the centuries. Some say it was perhaps a spiritual weakness or some sort of temptation. Some scholars have suggested that it was a horrible disease with great accompanying pain since he often described it as a stake similar to that which was used to kill and maim prisoners. We do not know what it was. Perhaps Divine Wisdom was at work in not naming Paul s thorn. We can discover in Paul s unnamed thorn our own thorn--whatever that may be in our broken lives. Even though Paul asked God to remove the thorn, God responded by giving him the strength to endure it. Jesus was revealed and present in his thorn as he is in ours. Paul s thorn was an invitation to trust. He is an icon of that trust for us today. Paul celebrated his weakness because through it God s own power became manifest and present to Paul and to others who witnessed it. We are all called to pray for an end of suffering and pain. All who came to Jesus were healed (spiritually or physically). All were not, however, cured. We are indeed invited to bring our prayers for healing our prayers for relief from pain, sickness and sorrow to the throne of Christ. We may not, however, experience our desired outcome. Our specific prayer may be denied. Paul reminds us that in such a case, we are invited to allow God to fill us with his presence, to transform our hearts and to gift us with his grace and peace that passes all understanding. God can work a mighty work in us when we acknowledge our weakness and allow God to transform that weakness into grace. To embrace weakness is antithetical Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 3
to everything in our culture. This is, therefore, one of the most challenging Scriptures. Jesus saved the world in what his culture understood as complete and abject failure. Paul s lesson reminds us that God comes to us disguised as our life even (and most especially) the darkest and most painful parts of our lives. For your reflection: What is Paul s primary teaching in this reading? Can you name a thorn in your flesh? What does God want you to do with that thorn? What does it mean to you that we should glory in our weakness? How could that possibly be a good thing for us? In what way does this reading invite you to be a better disciple of Christ? GOSPEL: Mark 6:1-6 "How it is such miraculous deeds are accomplished by his hands?" One might ask why the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus outright. Word about Jesus marvelous deeds was spreading and eventually reached Nazareth. Would not a small hamlet like Nazareth celebrate when one of their own was catapulted to prominence? Most small hometowns in our culture would certainly make a huge clamor if one of their own reached the limelight. Such is not the case in Nazareth. Why? There are hints early on that Jesus was initially positively received. Verse two and three, however, suggests a transition. Something changed. In Mark s third chapter his family came to whisk him away as they thought he had gone mad. The people did not necessarily deny his miraculous deeds; some feared the source of those deeds. Perhaps they feared that Jesus called upon demonic forces as the source of his power. The culture of Jesus day was an extreme shame and honor based society. A person s position in life his social status was considered fixed from birth. The position a person was born into would be the position and status of his entire life. It was unheard of for a person to move beyond or out of one s fixed social status. Jesus was a carpenter, tradesperson and craftsman--a person of lowly status. The people simply could not fathom the hometown carpenter s son as capable of such miraculous works. They were incredulous. Jesus actions and fame would have automatically elevated him beyond his meager social standing something that stretched social convention to the maximum. Not only was he the carpenter s son a lowly craftsman he was also called son of Mary (a possible allusion to his questionable Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 4
fatherhood people do gossip then and now). The people think they know who Jesus is, while Mark s Jesus insists they do not. Ultimately, they condescendingly ask: Just who does he think he is? Mark continues to raise the issue of Jesus identity. It is his Gospel s primary theme. He tells us the opinions of rulers, religious authorities, crowds, disciples, and family members. Mark s question about Jesus identity leads to the most important question of all: Who do you (the reader) think he is? Do you think he is a prophet? Do think he is more than a prophet? If so, what does that mean for your life? Are you willing to rock the proverbial boat and leave old familial, religious, and cultural values to follow this Jesus person? Every person is faced with the question. Mark cleverly asks the question and in the process invites conversion of heart and a confession of faith. Would we stand with the skeptics of Nazareth or would we (do we) see Christ for who he really is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world savior of my life? If we live in a world that for the most part has ignored Christ, then what good is it for us to preach the Good News? Will it not fall on deaf ears? In truth, that is not our concern. We go forth because we can do no less than preach Jesus Christ crucified and raised because he is our all in all he is our source and our life blood. We can do no less than share his marvelous works with all the nations. For your reflection: If someone were to ask you about your faith in God, how would you respond? What is faith according to your understanding? How would you answer the question that Mark posed: Would we stand with the skeptics of Nazareth or would we (do we) see Christ for who he really is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world savior of my life? How does the experience of Nazareth relate to issues in our own communities today? Can you make this reference a starting point for your homily this week? In what way does this Gospel invite us to be better disciples? Take an inward glance Think about how the call to holiness is embedded in this week s liturgy: * [Ezekiel] "Hard of face and obstinate of heart." When have you met obduracy in those to whom you preach? When have you yourself been "hard of face" in the Lord's dealings with you? How successful are you, usually, when your prophetic duty has met with obstacles? * [Psalm] "As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters." How comfortable are you with the servant-master image found so often in the Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 5
Scriptures? How comfortable are you with calling Jesus your Master? How often do your eyes stray from your Master's hands? * [2 Corinthians] "I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses." What are your weaknesses? How often do you bring them to your prayer? Can you be frank and honest about them? Does your confessor or spiritual director offer practicable assistance? * " Is he not the carpenter?'" How does your family treat you? Are you treated by them with the honor and reverence that you often receive from your parishioners? Would your parishioners give you such honor if they knew what your family knew about you? * "Except in his native place." Where are you from? Are you proud of your origins, your beginnings? How has becoming the Lord's minister changed your social status? Are you as poor, or as rich, as you used to be? How often do you go back to your "roots"? * "He was amazed at their lack of faith." Does your preaching increase the faith of your listeners (instrumentally)? Have you ever been "amazed" with a congregation's lack of faith? When have you been most inspired by your assembly's faith? Take an outward glance Think about how the call to holiness is embedded in the daily experiences of the people to whom you will be speaking: * [Ezekiel] "They shall know that a prophet has been among them." When was the last time that the congregation felt that a prophet had been among them? What would your brothers and sisters list as the prerequisites for a true prophet? * [2 Corinthians] "My grace is sufficient for you." What situations do your parishioners face day in and day out (at home, in the community or at work) that seem desperate for the Lord's graciousness? Which of these situations seem most resistant to the Lord's grace? o Can you help your people recognize grace as a strong force in their lives, empowering them to become the people they are created to be? o Can you help them see that grace is a free gift from a loving God, offered to all, regardless our worthiness? * "The brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon." How do your brothers and sisters understand this reference to Jesus' brothers? * "He was not able to perform any mighty deed there." What stands in the way of mighty deeds in your parochial community? What life-situations of some of your sisters and brothers need mighty deeds? What miracles have you seen, perhaps quietly, performed in their midst? Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 6
Speaking of Scripture Preparing the 8-minute homily Power is made perfect in weakness. Perhaps you have been able to sharpen your focus on the weaknesses that you bring to the Lord's service. Try to prepare a homily that rises up from a heart that recognizes such weakness, and is open to the Lord's power. Preach so that the assembly hears the Lord in your voice! Sharing your own experience of grace might offer you an image or story with which to begin your homily this week. Don t offer your people a theology of grace as much as your own experience of it as a witness to how God touches our lives. Timing Homily notes Memo 30 seconds Greet everyone and say one thing to connect with what is on the mind of the community news, weather, sports, parish events, visitors, a special group which is present, or other. Humor is good here. God is sending his love through you to your listeners. 1-2 minutes Tell a story or provide an image that will fire the imagination of your listeners. Do not launch into a treatment of the readings. This image or story must be one that is easy to understand by everyone, young and old. Avoid using standard jokes here. Instead, as you prepare the homily, what comes to mind as illustrative of the message in the readings? 3-4 minutes Connect that image now to the message in today s readings. Again, avoid providing commentary on the readings or exegesis which is disconnected from your image. You want people to remember what you say and take it home. What hope does the message today offer to your listeners? 1-2 minutes Return to the liturgy. Gesture toward the altar and say, Let s come back here now to this liturgy You re setting the stage for what will follow. Make a quick connection between the message today and the Eucharist. Keep this very short. It takes any group of people a few seconds to get used to the sound of your voice in a room and this is a way to begin that will help your listeners hear you. Again, make sure this stays brief. The point of the homily is not you or your story but the Word of God and this image or story is a way to set the stage for that. Make two or three quick points here. Remember that the message must fit into the lives of the people in front of you. How will celebrating Eucharist and receiving communion change you and your listeners? How will it help them incorporate the message of today s readings into their Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 7
30 second Thank your listeners and end on a very positive note. daily lives? Sit down. Conclude in prayer To conclude your preparation, think about the community for whom you ve just prepared to preach or teach, and spend a few moments in prayer. Lord, your grace is sufficient for us. When we are weak, make us strong in your service. I open myself to the wisdom you alone can give and I offer myself as the earthen vessel which will carry your Word to these people. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 8