4th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday – 4th February 2021 — Gospel: Mark 6,7-13
Expect Hospitality and Hostility
Jesus assembled his apostles and trained them to do some missionary work by themselves. The negative response of Nazarenes did not slow the pace of Jesus’ mission. He instructed many things to them, especially that they would encounter both hospitality and hostility, both friends and enemies. He cautioned them to stay at one house in each community and not to “pick and choose”, because they were to be servants, not pampered guests. If a house or a village did not receive them, Jesus gave them permission to declare God’s judgment on those people. It was customary for the Jews to shake dust off their feet whenever they left Gentile territory, but for Jews to do this to their fellow Jews would be something new (Lk 10,10-11; Acts 13,51). It also symbolizes God’s rejection of those who reject his beloved Son. Through shaking off the dust, Jesus reminds his disciples that they are not responsible for the faith response of others. The disciples are to sow the word, till the soil and water the ground, but God alone causes the growth. Faith is ultimately a gift of God which must be accepted by each individual. However, the door to the human heart can only be opened from within. With this external gesture, the disciples relinquish their responsibility towards them and leave them in God’s hands. Jesus advises to expect rejection in their mission and reminds the disciples that we are responsible only for our own fidelity to Christ, not for the response of others.
