Lv23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37; Ps 81: 3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab; Mt 13: 54-58
Something that is very obvious after reading the scriptures for mass today, is that the people in the old testament were willing to listen to everything Moses told them, but the people in the new testament refused to listen to Jesus. Is it because Moses was not raised by his own parents? He was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter and spent his childhood in Pharaoh’s household. Therefore, Moses was not overly familiar to the people of Israel. Jesus and his parents were very well known to the people in his hometown though. The gospel reading ends by saying that “he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.” If you remember, there are several accounts in the gospels that Jesus asked the person if they believed in him, before he performed a miracle for them. Several days ago in the readings for mass, Jesus said this to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” And Martha answered “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Jesus then raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. Martha’s belief in Jesus was very strong, and it’s possible that is one of the reasons he raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha believed that he could. But, the people in Christ’s hometown did not believe he had the power to perform miracles, so they did not receive any miracles.
What a shame that strangers had faith in Jesus, but not the members of his own community. It was actually like that with Moses too though, if you think about it. Pharaoh turned against him and Moses had been raised in his household. The Israelite people whom he did not know very well though, welcomed him and listened to his words and believed them. God performed many miracles through Moses because the people listened to him and believed him.
The first reading for mass today is pretty lengthy. A lot of specific instructions from God for the festivals that he wanted to take place and descriptions of how they should be done. Very methodical, systematic and practical instructions. And people think that we have far too many “rules” in the Catholic faith! God Himself was very specific in what he told the people of Israel to do. It’s actually pretty awesome when you think about how the Israelites actually took part in these festivities. First of all, three times God instructs them “you shall not work at your occupations” on certain days. That alone was a cause for celebration! But, then the entire community took part in rituals, offerings and sacrifices together on certain days. What a unifying thing this must have been for the people of Israel. Common experiences form bonds between people that can last a lifetime. These rituals were probably a very deep bonding experience with one another in the community, but the bonds that formed between themselves and God were probably the most profound. This was well worth setting aside every day life and participating in the convocations, sacrifices and festivals. It is really a shame that we do not do the same kind of things as Catholics. We do celebrate the liturgical seasons and celebrations of the year together, but we usually do not take time out of our every day lives at work or school in order to participate more fully in our Catholic observances, other than Good Friday and Christmas. Even these two holidays are hard for some Catholics to get off work to observe sometimes.
That might be something to think about today. How much effort do we put into practicing our own faith? Do we periodically take time out of our everyday lives, to take a break and let the stress and busyness go and seek to know Jesus more deeply? Going on a retreat might be just the thing we need to revitalize our faith life, form closer bonds with our fellow Catholics and come to have a deeper relationship with the Lord. If we aren’t careful, Jesus can become a little too familiar to us as well and we can fall into the danger of taking him, and our faith, for granted.
There are many retreats that are available in your community that are well worth looking into, but for those of you who do not have the time or money to go on an extended retreat, this is an excellent book to check into: “Consoling the Heart of Jesus”. It is a guide on how to have a retreat in the privacy of your own home over the course of a weekend. It will help you grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus and refresh, revitalize and renew your faith life. EWTN and other well known Catholics in the US thoroughly recommend this book. This link is where to purchase a new copy, but second hand copies are also available here too.
Have a wonderful day!
