14B SUNDAY HOMILY, MARK 6:1-6, JULY 7, 2024
1. STORY
Many years ago in China, a man named Ben found an unpolished but
precious large stone which he presented to the emperor. Seeing nothing but a large rock, the emperor
felt tricked and ordered Ben’s left foot to be chopped off. Ben sent the same present to the next emperor
who rejected it and angrily ordered the donor’s right foot to be chopped off. When the third emperor came to the throne, Ben
held the stone in his arm at the gate of the emperor’s palace and wept for
three days and three nights. The emperor
sent someone to investigate and then ordered the stone to be polished. Only then did they discover it was a priceless
jade. Jesus resembles the jade which was
most precious but rejected.
2. GOSPEL: MARK 6:1-6a
A. SOME PEOPLE REJECT JESUS.
Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, and preached to them is the
synagogue.
i) They were amazed at how wonderfully he spoke as his words were full
of wisdom.
ii) Then realizing that he was just one of them, they rejected him as “they took offense at him.”
B. JESUS WAS AMAZED BY THEIR LACK OF FAITH.
i) Jesus knew that a prophet was not appreciated among his own people.
ii) He was amazed by their lack of faith. This made him sad, and he did not work many
miracles there.
3. APPLICATION TO LIFE
A. TODAY MANY PEOPLE REJECT JESUS.
Here are two types of people who reject Jesus today.
i) There are those who are baptized but have left Jesus and left the Church. They have either completely abandoned all religion as being useless or have found what they think is a better religion.
ii) There are those who believe in only what they can see, feel, and hear. The spiritual, that they cannot see, feel or hear, either does not exist or is not worth considering.
B. JESUS COMES TO US.
Just as Jesus visited his own town, Jesus constantly comes to us.
i) We pray to Jesus and he comes to us each time to help us, to
encourage us, and to comfort us.
ii) When we read the bible, he comes to us to teach us about God’s love
for us and how to stay on the right path as we journey through life.
iii) Jesus comes to us each time at Mass when we receive the Body and
Blood in the Eucharist. He comes to give
us strength to stay faithful to him, to carry our burdens, and to continue to
share the good news with others.
4. CONCLUSION
Two emperors rejected the precious jade but the third accepted it. Many in Jesus’ home town rejected Jesus while
only a few accepted him. Today, many
reject Jesus. We accept Jesus in our
lives. We are truly blessed to be
Catholics. We have the responsibility of
bringing Jesus to others. Today we thank
Jesus for coming to us and giving us peace, happiness, and eternal life. We ask him to help us share these blessings
with others.
