A Prophet with Honor

"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house."
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
 
I remember the first time I preached before my family.  It was a memorial Mass for an uncle of mine.  The Gospel pertained to the challenge of the Gospel message, and I spoke about the analogy of how easy it was for a camel to enter a needle's eye.  My family remembered the funny story I told in the middle of the homily, but seemed to be unable to remember anything else.  One other uncle asked why my alb looked the way that it did. 

Jesus is that young kid from down the street, you know, Joe and Mary's boy.  Jesus is familiar for them, but not in the way we think about.  For those around Jesus the Christ is to be mysterious, with no one knowing where he is from.  Jesus is quite ordinary.  From the very beginning people begin to question the authenticity of Jesus' claims since he is known and is not a warrior or a king.  Many had already decided that God could not save them from any plain person.

And yet this is exactly how God brings us salvation and peace.  In ordinary bread and wine we are nurtured and nourished with Jesus Christ.  Through regular men and women God continues the ministry of the Church in preaching, teaching, and sanctifying.  It is dangerous to assume we know how God is going to act or respond in our lives.  It is important to discern truths and to test the spirit of the messages that are conveyed to us.

To be sure God is unfolded in the Word and sacrament, but also in the children, the elderly in nursing care centers, and in the folks who come late to Mass only to leave early.  But it is a matter of being attentive to the ways of God.  The view that theology is "Faith seeking understanding" implies the faith work that we must do as faithful disciples of the Lord.