Breaking Open the Word

By James Cavanagh

July 5: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture readings:
• Ezekiel 2:2-5
• Psalm 123: 1-4
• 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
• Mark 6:1-6

Overview: It is natural to want the approval of others. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re tempted to compromise our beliefs and keep silent or say things people want to hear in order to win their approval. Ezekiel was one of several thousand exiles deported to Babylon in 597 B.C. In the early part of his ministry Ezekiel prepared his fellow exiles for the impending destruction of Jerusalem as the just judgment against a rebellious nation. Even though the Israelites were “hard of face and obstinate of heart” God insisted that Ezekiel speak the truth, as difficult as it was to hear. Whether or not they would heed his words, the Israelites would know that “a prophet has been among them.” In our second reading, St. Paul testifies that in proclaiming the Gospel he often suffered “insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints.” Even though he and his message were regularly rejected, he could not but speak the truth of Jesus Christ. As so often is the case in the Gospels, Jesus speaks and acts in ways that sum up the law and the prophets. In this week’s Gospel reading he is rejected by his own people, just like Ezekiel was. Still, he spoke the truth such that people were astonished, wondering where he had acquired such wisdom. In all three cases Ezekiel, St. Paul, and Christ spoke the truth, inviting people to respond in faith and hope.

Key verse: “He was amazed at their lack of faith.”—Mk 6:6

“Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “To be human, ‘man’s response to God by faith must be free, and … therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act.’ ‘God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. … This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus.’ Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. ‘For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom … grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself’” (No. 160).

Pope Benedict XVI: “Belief is not at all mere opinion; rather, it is certainty that God has shown himself and has opened up for us the view of truth itself.” (“Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith”).

Application: Christ bore witness to the truth and invited all who heard him to conversion and faith. Christ still speaks to us through his word and the magisterium of the Church. Our minds are made for truth. When we hear it, we recognize it and are compelled to respond—one way or another. When we’re in a situation that calls for us to explain the faith, we shouldn’t be timid about it for we have confidence that the faith we profess comes from Christ himself who is “the way, the truth, and the life.”