A Prophet's Honor

54 He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? 55 Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” 58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith. (Matt 13:54-58) A PROPHET'S HONOR When I was a new priest, there were not a few times that I went to see my family and my relatives. I felt humbled seeing my uncles and aunts, and even my own parents, taking my hand to ask for my blessing when in the past I used to take theirs. It was a joy for them to see me, their very own, now a priest. That is one side of the coin. I could consider it fortunate not to exercise my ministry among my relatives because then there would be less opportunities to preach and teach to them, a situation that could be humbling for me because I would tend to look at them patronizingly or they, at me, with condescension. At this point I can say that I have touched more lives among others than my own family. Why so? There are many answers to this and this is nothing new, not even in the time of Jesus. Times were even tougher in those days. Jesus took the path of the prophet, getting rejected by his own people. It was not because the people did not believe in him, but perhaps they did not see God’s grandeur in someone with whom they were familiar. They knew his background too well. This gospel passage brings to mind two things. First, we may be familiar with sacred things and are always free to pray, but our prayers can remain at the mechanical level making us fail to see the grandeur and the majesty of God beyond the words and the actions that we do. Second, as Christians, we have a prophetic task. Thus, there is no need to fear when in the good we say or do we encounter rejections, even from the people close to us. For that is the way of the prophet, the way to Jesus, the path we must take if we are his followers. REFLECTION QUESTIONS 1. Do I recognize God’s grandeur and majesty even in the most familiar events in life? 2. Am I able to be prophetic even among my very own—family, friends, colleagues? Lord, continually astonish me with your presence even in my most ordinary experiences .

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