Fourteenth Sunday Ordinary Time

Psalm 138:2: I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
Prayer …
Heavenly Father, we praise you for your steadfast love and faithfulness. We recognize that you and you alone are to be exalted above all other things and that we must never be more important than your will revealed in your word. Give us the courage to be true to you even if the society with whom we are involved may not completely honor you. Through Infant Jesus we pray. Amen.
Today's Readings (July 07, 2012)
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time First Reading: Ez 2:2-5 Responsorial Psalm: 123:1-2, 2, 3-4 Second Reading: 2 Cor 12:7-10 Gospel: Mark 6:1-6 Colour: GREEN Lectionary: 101
Short Reflection on Today's Gospel (Mark 6:1-6)
Why were Jews offended by Jesus' word to them? They reviled Jesus and his caution for them because he was a carpenter by trade, a layman who did not hold a public office or ruling location in Israel like the scribes and the Pharasisees who sat on the "seat of Moses". Where did Jesus get his knowledge and authority to speak in the name of God? Jesus' authority did not arrive from man but from his Father in heaven. When Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, the Spirit of God anointed him with divine authority and power to carry out the mission entrusted to him by his Father, who spoke perceptibly, "Behold, and my Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him". Familiarity with one's acquaintances can easily lead to disdain and jealousy when we feel diminished by their advancement in position or power. Don't we fell tempted to look down on those who rise over us in prestige or power? Our sinful nature likes to contrast ourselves with others, particularly among the people we know and relate with. Our sinful "flesh" wants to hold them in disrespect and anger when they rise above us, or express a position which is opposing to our own point of view.