Being a Carpenter Like Jesus

July 4, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle B Readings

1st Reading:  Ez 2:2-5  

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4  

2nd Reading: 2 Cor 12:7-10 

Gospel: Mk 6:1-6  

Word Count: 1132

Reading speed

Slow (100 wpm): 11.8 minutes

Average (130 wpm): 9.1 minutes

Fast (160 wpm): 7.4 minutes

 

In our Gospel today, we read that Jesus went to his native place, Nazareth. For 30 years, he stayed and grew up there before He started His ministry. In all these years, his townsfolk came to know him so well as the son of Mary and Joseph, the carpenter. Jesus learned that trade from his earthly father that is why he was called a carpenter as well. Perhaps many of the people in their town had their houses, furnitures and other things built Joseph and Jesus. For them, Jesus was just a carpenter and a son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon. They knew his sisters as well. 

And so when Jesus taught at their synagogue, the people could not believe what they heard. They said “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Because of this they rejected Jesus. Yet, Jesus taught them and even cured a few sick people. 

From this account, there are three things I found significant and are worth reflecting on.

1) Jesus as a carpenter

2) The so-called brothers and sisters of Jesus

3) Jesus did not work many miracles

First, Jesus as a Carpenter

Being a devoted father, Joseph trained Jesus as a craftsman, passing on his own professional skills to him. So, the people of Nazareth described Jesus as both a carpenter and a son of a carpenter. The Gospel reminds us that work is a valuable part of God’s Plan of Salvation. In Laborem Exercens #26, St. John Paul II exhorted us,

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God himself, his creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ--the Jesus at whom many of his first listeners in Nazareth "were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? . . . Is not this the carpenter?'" For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by his deeds the "gospel," the word of eternal wisdom that had been entrusted to him. Therefore, this was also "the gospel of work," because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth.” 

Today, manual labor, a dirty, messy, physically challenging kind of work is looked down as a menial work, lacking in prestige, because it requires no college degree. Its skills can be acquired without having to understand its theory, without a diploma. Though, we think of it as menial work, this is the kind of work that Jesus did and lived on as He Himself was a carpenter. Jesus sanctified his work as a carpenter. 

Let us ask ourselves, what I am doing that gives value to my work, whatever it may be? When I work everyday to earn a living for myself and for my family, am I conscious that I am participating in the activity of God? Am I living the “gospel of work?” Can I also be a “carpenter” like Jesus, by sanctifying my work, my job, my day-to-day tasks?

Second, the So-Called Brothers and Sisters of Jesus

The issue we find here is our belief that Jesus is the only son of Mary, and that, though Mary had given birth to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, she remained a virgin all her life. But what about the brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in our Gospel? Does this prove that Mary is not a virgin after all, that we should not call her, Blessed Virgin Mary? Let us examine this a little deeper.

In Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries, it is stated: 

“St. Mark mentions by name a number of brothers of Jesus, and refers in general to His sisters. But the word "brother" does not necessarily mean son of the same parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship--cousins, nephews, etc. Thus in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of Abraham (translated as "kinsman" in RSV), whereas we know that he was Abraham's nephew, the son of Abraham's brother Haran. The same is true of Laban, who is called the brother of Jacob (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother's brother (Genesis 29:15); there are other instances: cf. 1 Chronicles 23:21-22, etc. This confusion is due to the poverty of Hebrew and Aramaic language: in the absence of distinct terms, the same word, brother, is used to designate different degrees of relationship.” 

Furthermore, nowhere in the Gospels can we find that Mary had other children. The description “sons or daughters of Mary” is never mentioned. Jesus Himself proved this at the foot of the cross when He entrusted Mary to John, the “beloved” disciple.

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:26-27)

If Mary had other children, Jesus would not have done that. He could have entrusted Mary to His brothers and sisters if there truly are. It was because of this that Mary, the mother of the Messiah, becomes the mother of John, the mother of the disciples, making all of us, today, Mary’s sons and daughters. 

Third, Jesus Did Not Work Many Miracles

Because of the people’s rejection, Jesus “was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them” as the Gospel reading stated. Despite the fact that His own people, the people that He knew personally, rejected Him, Jesus still laid His hands on a few sick people and cured them. He was not disheartened, nor discouraged by their action and attitude towards Him. Instead, the Gospel said, “he was amazed at their lack of faith.” 

At times, when our ideas, our plans, our proposals, our requests, even our gifts are set aside, we feel rejected. And it becomes difficult for us to continue and still be involved. We readily shy away in passivity. We do not participate anymore, we do not come to Mass anymore, we do not join Church activities anymore, and worse, we leave the faith. Jesus is teaching us today that even if we are rejected, can we still participate, do something good for others, remain active in our life as faithful Catholics? We can only do this by being a “carpenter” like Jesus. 

Final Thoughts

As a summary, God is reminding us today that as sons and daughters of Mary, as brothers and sisters of Jesus, the carpenter and son of a carpenter, to remain actively participating in the God’s Work of Salvation even if at times we feel abandoned, neglected, rejected even by God Himself or by our community, our so- called “towns people.” Like Jesus, we still do good deeds, remain faithful Christians and move forward with our tasks as Jesus’ missionary-disciples. 

In the end, being a carpenter like Jesus, we can say to Him, it is our greatest honor working with you and for you Lord.

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: flickr.com (creative commons)

Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

July 03, Saturday

Readings for the Feast

Ephesians 2:19-22

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 117:1bc, 2 

John 20:24-29

Word count: 661

Reading speed

Slow (100 wpm): 6.6 minutes

Average (130 wpm): 5.1 minutes

Fast (160 wpm): 4.1 minutes

Common people say that believing in God is hard. For them they do not see that he is answering their prayers. There are no signs, no proof that he is working in their lives. And they began to wonder: Why should they continue to have faith? They don’t “feel”  anything. Personally for some reasons for I too have experience the same sentiments. Sometimes the spiritual dryness that can come upon us is itself a cross. This is when our faith and our love of God are more important than ever. In difficult times we must take up our cross and persevere in prayer.

 

The apostle Thomas was surely in a crisis of faith after Jesus died. Hearing from his brothers that they have seen the Lord alive did not help a bit. He felt even more abandoned and alone. He determined that he would not believe that Jesus really rose from the dead until he could actually touch his wounds. Jesus came back to give Thomas exactly what he asked for: not only proof that he was alive, but also proof that he loves him. Jesus revealed his heart to his troubled disciple; he invited him into his heart. Divine love- divine mercy- was the power behind Jesus’ urgent invitation: “Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe! When Thomas saw that the Lord had not abandoned him, that he had not rejected him for his doubts, his stubbornness and his arrogance, he was humbled and filled with light. He was able to make the leap of faith and to utter the glorious acclamation: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus often challenged the apostles to believe in him and to love him.

He does the same with us. He knows that the way of faith is sometimes hard for us, yet at times he seems to make it even harder, telling us about the cross or about persecution. When life is going along just fine, we find easy to believe in Jesus. In those times, we may even become complacent in our prayer life. We tend to drift, skip or forget to pray, or not think it is very important- until something goes wrong! Then we suddenly remember how much we need God’s help. We remember to pray.  

God in his mercy will always accept us back if we stray. “For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever.” He is never the one who leave us; we are the ones who forget him or ignore him. Our failure to “see” and “hear” him has more to do with the weakness of our faith than with his absence. We cannot see him with our eye, it is true, as Thomas did, but we can believe what Thomas believed – that Jesus is our Lord and our God. Then we receive the blessing that Jesus announced to Thomas: “Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.” When Thomas came to faith, he suddenly discovered that he was part of the community of faith, the Church. Not only had the Lord not abandoned him, his brother apostles had not abandoned him either. 

We too are not alone in our faith. We are “fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” This is the encouraging message of today’s first reading, an especially important message in the age of ever increasing social fragmentation and isolation. By our faith in Jesus Christ and our being incorporated into his Body the Church, we are “strangers and aliens no longer.” Each of us is a real part, a small but significant part, of the holy temple that God has built as a dwelling place for himself. When we stand firm on the foundation of faith of the apostles, including Thomas, we can be sure that God is always with us, for he dwell within us. 

Amen. . .

St. Thomas the Apostle, pray for us.

Rev. Joseph Casiao, SSS

Image credit: flickr.com (creative commons)

I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice

Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time

July 2, 2021

First Reading: Gn 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13
 
Word Count: 300 words
Reading speed  
    Slow (100 wpm): 3 minutes
    Average (130 wpm): 2.3 minutes
    Fast (160 wpm) : 1.9 minutes

By being merciful ourselves, we open our hearts to experience God’s mercy.

There are 3 instances in our Gospel today that Jesus shows us God’s mercy.  

  

1) When He called Matthew, the tax collector, to follow him.  God’s mercy can make an apostle, an evangelist, a saint out of a sinner.

 

2) When He ate with tax collectors and sinners. For the Jews, sharing a meal with someone indicates friendship and a common bond.  Here, Jesus shows that God is bonding with sinners who for him are His friends. 

 

3) When Jesus replied to the Pharisees, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”  

 

In answer to the judgmental attitude of the Pharisees, Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” quoting Hosea 6:6.  He is telling them that instead of ritually offering sacrifices for sins, they can truthfully obtain God’s mercy by being merciful themselves.

There are 2 things I would like to reflect on.

First.  There are Catholics who think that through their own efforts they can obtain God’s mercy by making sacrifices, that is, by inflicting pain and suffering to oneself or by simply being more prayerful as atonement for one's sinfulness.  Jesus makes it clear that He does not desire our sacrifices but our mercy for fellow sinners.

Second.  About the judgemental attitude of the Pharisees.  Christians have no reason to be scandalized by the sins of others, for Jesus Himself came to reconcile sinners to Himself.  He did that once and for all when He offered Himself as a living sacrifice for our sins, which we always celebrate at Mass.  Pope Francis said: “The Eucharist is the bread of sinners not a reward of saints.”

With these, I can say that it is only by becoming merciful ourselves, can  we open our hearts to receive God's mercy. 

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit:  pixabay.com