Ordinary time year B, Sunday 14th, Mk 6 1-6
Jesus lived in Nazareth most of his life, nearly 30 years. He would have learned the skill of woodworking from Joseph and visited and worked in many of the houses in Nazareth in his years there. He was not an unfamiliar figure. When Jesus began his ministry, preaching, story telling and healing, they could not take it in. Or, maybe like us, they put people into boxes with a particular type of character, ability, personality, virtue etc. Being seen as someone different was not permissible.
What can we do to avoid making the same mistake and miss the presence of Jesus in our lives or better in the lives of others?
One answer lies another theme for today. The 4th July has been nominated Thank-you day.
Its purpose this year focuses on our response to Covid-19 which had a devastating impact on so many people. Following months of not being able to meet together in person it has tested us in ways we never expected. But it has also bought many of us closer together. In the face of lifting restrictions, we need to pause and say thank you to everyone who helped us through. Today offers an opportunity to do just that. Say thank-you to people who have helped you and hopefully you will receive a thank-you from those whom you have helped. Whenever we offer genuine thanks to someone, it is because we have recognised that God has worked though that person in some way. Adopting an attitude of thanksgiving, of gratitude, will help us become more sensitive to how God works through others in our lives, including those closest to us.
‘Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.’ (Sarah Ban Breathnak)
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer
“You say grace before meals. All right. I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” G. K. Chesterton
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” Cynthia Ozick
“Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted – a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” Rabbi Harold Kushner
How many people will you say thank-you to, today??
by Fr Thomas O'BRIEN a.a