Matthew 6: 1-6 – the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – July 4, 2021
A Happy Independence Day to One and All!
In the history of our lives, we know that today is NOT the first time we are hearing about Jesus being PREVENTED from performing miracles among some people. We grew up with the Tridentine Latin Mass that had a final Gospel from the left side of the altar (from the perspective of the congregation), while the priest’s back was to us: he was reading the Prologue of John’s Gospel, John 1: 1-14. It was there that John told us: Jesus was in the world, and the Word of God came into being through Him, but the world did not know him. Jesus came to his own town, and his own people would not accept Him. Why?
People from Jesus’ hometown knew a LOT about what Jesus did as a carpenter: creating and fixing table and chairs for home living. Some of those hometown people probably ate and drank with Jesus’ extended family. But one consequence of being SO comfortable in describing WHAT Jesus did for a living was that they narrowed Jesus, essentially putting Jesus in a box. And when what Jesus said or did did not fit into their pre-conceived picture of Him, they rejected Jesus, because those people KNEW a LOT of things ABOUT Jesus, but they had NO faith relation with him. We should know that in the twenty-first century, there are college professors and instructors who teach classes of young people about world religions, while at the same time declaring that they themselves are atheists, agnostics or of no particular religious connection. These are people who are getting paid good money to know ABOUT those religions, without any interest in knowing the God who is at the center of any and all of those religions!
Let’s use another example: It’s a familiar description that’s also found in St. John’s Gospel; it’s the story of the Vine & the Branches. We REMEMBER that Jesus said that in order for us to continue to be fruitful according to the plan of God, we have to REMAIN connected to the VINE! But being connected to the Vine necessarily involves us being in a relationship with God: the Father Son and Holy Spirit. One reason Jesus’ own townspeople rejected Him was because He described his personal relationship with God VERY clearly, and they found Jesus’ explanation OUTRAGEOUS. You can almost hear them gossiping on the street corner: “Who does that Jesus think he is, anyway: as if the carpenter could know God that well. He called God his abba, his papa, his father, his dad. No way.” And those same people were gossiping about Him at the SAME TIME that Jesus was LIVING his intimate relationship with God every single day!
So, the lack of the townspeople’s faith in effect SHUTS DOWN Jesus’ capacity to heal them. Yes: we may not have thought about it before, but peoples’ lack of faith TIES God’s hands. Let’s be honest: there are people across these United States who have turned away from Jesus over these last few years, and instead they have placed all their faith in one or another political system, party, or person. Did they forget how the words of Psalm 146 CLEARLY warn us: “trust not in rulers of earth,” for they will inevitably fail us. If we want a relationship that’s going to LAST, Jesus tells us to start with HIM! Did he not say that he is both the Good Shepherd who will lead us to the Father, as well as the gateway to eternity? Yes, he did!
Finally, there’s a revealing portrait by a nineteenth and twentieth century English painter named William Holman Hunt. This portrait is entitled Christ at Hearts’ Door. In it, the Lord Jesus is pictured knocking at a door that has no handle or latch. This symbolizes that only the person inside the house can open the door, to receive Christ’s grace, mercy and love. Jesus will never let Himself in, or force his entry. We were graced by God with free will, and Jesus honors that free will gift from the Father. So, it will be only those who believe in Christ’s power to conquer sin and death that open their hearts to Him. Let us pray that WE will be wise enough to open the door to Lord when He knocks! Fr. Chris Heller
