As you all mostly know, I have been retired from veterinary medicine for a few years now. I finished up my last couple years in the profession practicing animal behavior medicine exclusively. This involved treating dogs and cats with a variety of behavior issues including aggression, separation problems and a variety of fear based issues. It was very rewarding and, because I was the only veterinarian dealing with behavior issues in the state of Illinois, people would travel from a distance to see me. I was, I guess you could say, an expert in my field.
It is not unusual to have friends and family come up to me, knowing that I am a veterinarian, to ask my advice on a variety of pet related problems. Including behavior problems. I mostly don’t mind it. I really enjoy helping and giving people another perspective on what they are dealing with in their pets. Plus, I am very glad that I am not a gynecologist having to answer the questions they must normally have to answer. Just sayin’
When the issue involves a behavior problem, the questioning takes on a different level. These problems tend to be somewhat complicated but the questioner usually is looking for a quick fix thinking I can solve all their problems over dessert. When I do give them a comprehensive answer, about a quarter of the way through the explanation, I notice their eyes beginning to glaze over. They stop listening while simultaneously looking for the bar to snag a bit of refreshment. I think this is especially true when the person asking the question is someone who knows me well. And even more so if they knew me when I was a child. The amount of time they give me to construct a meaningful response is very limited. If I am not brilliant within the first 15 seconds of my answer I pretty much lose their attention.
Contrast that with those who came to my office, often from miles away. They were very motivated to taking my advice and typically hung on my every word. So, in a small sense I get what Jesus must have been going through when the crowds questioned his validity since He only came from Galilee…and not from Bethlehem as Scripture predicted. Apparently those hanging around Jesus were not on the guest list when Mary sent out the baby announcements…hello!! Bethlehem…hometown of DAVID!! If you recall, in Luke 4:24, Jesus acknowledges that a prophet is not welcome in his own town. And the people, his friends and relatives, try to throw Him off a cliff when He implied that the Gentiles were just as worthy as the Jews of being saved.
So from Jesus’ perspective, He is getting no love from the very people who should be behind Him and support Him. But beyond Him not getting any real satisfaction from the crowd, let’s look at what the crowd is losing here. They were certainly aware of the miracles that Jesus had performed prior to His arrival in Jerusalem during the feast of Tabernacles (also called Feast of booths or Sukkoth, as it is called today). Same when he showed up in Nazareth. But despite this, the Pharisees and those in Nazareth on the friends and family plan, would not accept what He was offering. The definition of hardness of hearts.
And what did they lose? Nothing much except the possibility of eternal salvation. I know my feelings are hurt when people don’t take my advice for their pets seriously. I assume Jesus, who was human as well as divine, had a similar response. In addition, there came the realization that the pets of my short attention span questioners were likely not getting the help they needed. And Jesus’ cadre ignored the opportunity to accept an invitation to salvation from none other than the Son of God.
And what about us? Are we not in positions to accept or reject similar invitations. I had been approached about seven times over seven years from my friend Jim to accept an invite to attend a Cursillo weekend. Maybe if he was some stranger I would have accepted more quickly. Luckily, Jim was persistent and I finally went to a weekend…and it changed my life.
How often are you asked by a friend or family member to attend a retreat? Or a Lenten mission? Or a Passion play? Or maybe you are not Catholic and a friend has invited you to go to Mass with them. Consider how that person must have struggled to step out of their comfort zone knowing how a friend or family member might respond to such an invitation. Maybe like those who knew Jeremiah in todays first reading. Jeremiah’s prophecies led to his friends plotting to kill him by dropping him into a cistern. Or maybe the response will be more like the response from Matthew, or Peter or Saul/Paul when Jesus invited them to follow Him. And it changed everything.
