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JULY 6, 2003- 14th Sunday of the Year
"Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary…?"
Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house -Mark 6: 1-6
SO WE'LL CHANGE DADDY
A father took his two daughters shopping for a new bicycle for five-year-old Jenna. Jenna picked out a shiny "Starlett" with a banana seat and training wheels.
Andrea, three years old, decided she wanted one as well. Dad explained to Andrea that she was not big enough for a two-wheeler, that she was still having trouble with her tricycle. Andrea was not convinced; she still wanted a "big girl" bike, like her sister.
Her father tried to make her understand that a big bike would bring more pain than pleasure, more scrapes than thrills. Pouting, Andrea turned away and said nothing.
Dad promised that when she was older, she would get a "big girl" bike. Andrea just stared at him.
Finally, Dad sighed and said, "Look, honey, Daddy knows best, O.K.?"
Andrea then screamed loud enough for everyone in the store to hear: "Then I want a new daddy!"
CONNECTION: Three-year-old Andrea's response is not much different than our own response to the realities we do not want to face, wisdom we refuse to embrace, truth that clashes with the way we want our life and world to be. Like the people of Jesus' hometown (and his own family), when Jesus' prophetic words became too difficult and uncomfortable to hear, when his Gospel threatens their own safe, insulated world, when Jesus challenges their own incomplete and myopic view of God, they reject him. Like Andrea's demand for a new "daddy" we often seek instead a new "prophet," and authority, and church. Discipleship, however, demands that we look to changing our perspective, our understanding, ourselves. May God open our hearts to listen to Christ's "prophetic" word of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation and give us a prophet's spirit of humility and gratitude to be changed and transformed by that word.
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