Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Donna Del Santo
Opening Prayer
Psalm 123 From Psalms for Praying © 2007 Nan C. Merrill
To You I lift up my spirit, You, who are enthroned in every heart! For, as the young child holds tightly the hand of its parent, as those in the throes of disease look to one who brings comfort, so our spirits seek the Heart of Love, that we might find mercy and forgiveness.
Have mercy on us, O Compassionate One, have mercy, that we might turn from our blind and ignorant ways. Too long our souls have been veiled by fear and illusion. Have mercy, lead us to the path of wholeness, that we may know the abiding Peace of the Beloved.
Reading
Mark 6:1-6 A Prophet Without Honor
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “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.
Reflection
Have you ever noticed that persons who are seen as prophets or great teachers are often loved and respected everywhere except in their own hometown, where people familiar with them know all their faults, and failings and the rebellious times of their youth. It’s almost as if they were caught in some kind of a time capsule and not allowed to grow, change and mature from how people remembered them to be. Maybe this has even happened to you where you were not seen for who you are today but rather who you were in your past. Or you have held someone in your past locked in your memory of them rather than knowing them for who they are today.
This is what is happening to Jesus. He was in his hometown, and his neighbors couldn’t accept who he had become and took offense at him. Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Perhaps we can ask a similar question of ourselves. Do we hold Jesus in our mind’s eye as the sweet baby in the Nativity scene or the child of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth or do we see him as the Savior of the world, the one who is sent to bring good news to the poor. The same Jesus who beckons us to follow him and to do even greater things… Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these. John 14:12
What mighty deeds will Christ be able to work in and through you? What is the depth of your faith?
Closing Prayer
Prayer of a Reluctant Disciple by Joe Seremane
You asked for my hands that you might use them for your purpose, I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice. I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my life that you might work through me. I gave a small part that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you only when it is convenient for me to do so, only in those places where it is safe to do so, and only in those who make it easy to do so.
Lord, forgive me, renew me, heal me, nurture me, empower me, send me out as an instrument of your peace that I might take seriously the meaning of following You. Amen.
