[stephenkhoo]

FAITH IS OPENNESS TO THE NEW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 SM 24:2, 9-17; PS 32:1-2, 5,6,7; MK 6:1-6
http://www.universalis.com/20140205/mass.htm

“No prophet is without honor except in his native place, among his own kindred, and in his own house.” This is one of the most poignant statements made by Jesus. We can easily identify with the sentiments of Jesus when He uttered these words, for like Jesus, we are often distressed over the apparent lack of openness of our fellow human beings in accepting us for what we are because of their prejudices, especially those closest to us.

On the other hand, taking on the perspectives of the villagers of Jesus’ time, we too can identify with them. We all know it is difficult to accept someone from our own kind telling us what to do, especially if that person is deemed to be inferior to us in age, status, education or experience. The question we need to confront ourselves is, why is it so difficult to accept authority from our own peers or people of our own kind?

The first reason is simply pride. This is perhaps the real reason. When we examine the gospel text, indeed, we find that Jesus’ townsfolk and relatives were not rejecting His knowledge, wisdom and power. Rather, we are told that they found Him ‘too much’ for them. What is the reason? Because they knew Him when He was a little boy; He was just one of them; only the son of a carpenter. So for them to accept Jesus’ teachings and to admit that He was wiser and more knowledgeable than them, would mean that they would have had to acknowledge His superiority (and their own inferiority). That of course would not do! It is the same for us too. It is very difficult for some of us, for example, to be told what to do by someone more junior to us, whether in terms of age or status. It is a threat to our ego and security.

But there could be another reason. It is what we call prejudice. But this word has been used so often that we have become prejudiced to the word itself. So instead of calling it prejudice, we adopt the biblical language by calling it the lack of faith. This lack of faith of course is simply the lack of openness to the newness of someone or something. It is to have a fixated and static view of a situation. It is to live in the past.

This happens when we hang on to our old mental models of people, things and situations, forgetting that nothing remains constant. Hence, parents often forget that their children have grown up. Some parents continue to treat their grown-up sons and daughters as if they were still little children. This was what the townsfolk and relatives of Jesus did. They forgot that Jesus was no longer the little boy in Nazareth; that He has grown up. Their out-dated impressions of Jesus prevented them from being open to the new Jesus before their eyes. They were prejudiced.

But the price of being prejudiced is the price of missing out on opportunities for life and growth. The gospel tells us that Jesus could work no miracles for them since their minds were closed. Similarly, when we are closed to people and situations, we miss out on opportunities for gaining new wisdom and the experience of miraculous deeds. We become the real losers in life when we refuse to see the newness in others.

Finally, for those of us who face rejection like Jesus, we can learn not to get bitter or angry. Instead, He only felt sorry for them, for He had nothing to lose. The rejection by His own people did not prevent Jesus from living out His life and His love. He did not engage in any form of self-pity. Instead, He was open to other avenues and opportunities. So, rather than offering His love and message to people who were prejudicial and disinterested, He offered His message to neighbouring villages instead.

This is the kind of attitude we should adopt. If people are not interested in what we have to offer, we need not react with resentment, we need not force our goodness on them, rather we should simply take them to others who can appreciate them. We need not allow our enthusiasm to be life-givers to be dampened simply because one group cannot accept us, because there are many others who are waiting to receive the good news. Thus, whether as messengers or recipients of the good news, so long as we adopt a fundamental openness to what others can offer us and what we can offer them, we will always be faith-filled and growing people.