14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – 4th July 2021 — Gospel: Mark 6,1-6
Negative Astonishment
Jesus returns to his hometown synagogue, the place where he went for worship every Sabbath. He already had earned reputation from the people, and so he was permitted to teach in the synagogue. Two things “astonished” the people who were around Jesus: His mighty works and His wonderful wisdom. But unlike the others who would normally begin to glorify God, those in Nazareth were “offended at him”. It is because they thought that they really knew him. He had been their neighbour for nearly thirty years. They had seen him at work in the carpenters’ shop. A carpenter was a respected artisan in that day, but nobody expected a carpenter to do miracles or teach profound truths in the synagogue. He appeared to be just another Nazarene, a “commoner”. The people who called him, “the son of Mary” were actually insulting him. Because, in those days, a man was identified by calling him the son of his father, not the son of his mother. For these reasons, they outwardly rejected Jesus and his teachings. However Jesus “amazed” at their unbelief. While Jesus positively marveled at the faith of the Roman Centurion (Lk 7,9) he also marveled at the people’s disbelief. But negatively their astonishment prevented the seed of God’s word taking root within them.
