July 8, 2012 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6
Living Christian discipleship today is not an easy task. In a world wrought with selfishness and sin, there is opposition all around us. Indeed, living discipleship through stewardship – giving of ourselves for one another, living completely for the sake of the Gospel – is counter-cultural. In fact, many of us have probably already encountered mockery, jeers, and judgment, and that can be very discouraging. But the readings today remind us that we are not alone. Even Jesus Himself dealt with such opposition.
He tells us, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”
Yet we know that when we live for Christ, when we serve as His prophets, as His disciples, proclaiming the Good News to the world, the reward is much greater than the suffering we encounter. We were not made for this world. We were made for Christ. So, as we encounter the suffering that may come from proclaiming the truth, let us take heart in the knowledge that Christ knows what we’re going through. He experienced it too. And when we live for Christ completely and help others encounter Him, we will experience a grace and utter fulfillment that surpasses anything the world has to offer.
