BE OPEN FOR ALL

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Heb 12: 4-7, 11-15

Ps 103: 1-2, 13-14, 17-18A

Mk 6:1-6

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are brought to pay attention and focus on the Lord and just how much He has been so patient with us, all these while despite all of our disobedience and stubborn attitude. And likened as a loving father in our Scripture passages today, particularly from our first reading and Psalm today, we are reminded just how our Lord is stern with us and firm in guiding our path, and yet, always filled with love and genuine compassion as well.

In our first reading today, we are called by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews to reflect on the love of God, our heavenly Father, who corrects and punishes those whom He loves, not because He wants to make us suffer and endure difficulties. Rather, if we do not learn our lesson and continue to act irresponsibly, we will end up in even greater suffering and pain. I am referring to the eternal suffering and damnation in hell that awaits all those who have not been faithful to God and His ways.

The Lord guides us in various ways, and He has shown us His loving and tender care even when He was at His sternest against us and our ridiculous antics and stubbornness. He has always been patient in calling us all to return to Him, in waiting for us to embrace Him with love and to spend time with Him once again. And yet, we just how He has been treated, being rejected and cast out, shut out and ostracised when He came into our midst, even by those who knew Him.

Jesus is teaching us about the need to always not discriminate a person from his external looks. The people of Jesus’ native area in Nazareth missed out on the great things He would have done, because of their lack of faith that a person they have known all the time could be their saviour. It is our human nature to look down upon others especially when, from our human perspective, we think nothing much can come from them. It may not be a sin per se, but you tend to miss out on the good things that God had created the person to do for you.

Each and every person here on earth has a purpose to fulfil regardless of how they look or how we know them and therefore we should accord them the chance to do just that. Jesus Had lived all His life in Nazareth. The people there had seen Jesus grow up as a humble son of a carpenter. He had lived very normal life just like all the other kids of His age, so the residents of that area didn’t expect anything much from a son of a carpenter. But how wrong they were, they missed the best of what anyone could ever wish to get on earth.

This means that good things from God will not come on a silver platter. They will come wrapped in the humblest way possible. This is also similar to the statement from Jesus that on the last day he will come unexpectedly like a thief.

Let us therefore respect every person who brings the Good News, about the Kingdom of Heaven, to us even though they are wearing the worst of clothes or living in the humblest of houses. This is the case because God does not look at the external looks of a person but the internal cleanliness and fidelity of a person to become His messenger.