Monday, February 9, 2004
5th Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: 1K 8:1-7, 9-13
Gospel: Mk 6:53-56

Having crossed the lake, Jesus and his disciples came ashore at Gennesaret where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognized Jesus and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside. Wherever he was they brought to him the sick lying on their mats. And wherever he went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace and begged him to let them touch just the fringe of his cloak. And all who touched him were cured.

 

Commentary

TODAY'S reading stands in strong contrast to tomorrow's. Today Jesus is among his own people, the Galileans; they recognize him and flock to him. But tomorrow a delegation from Jerusalem, the Judean capital, will arrive, and from there the hostility of the religious leaders will begin. It will lead to his death.

A preacher known to me was inclined to boast a little when he got a standing ovation after one of his sermons. A friend of mine said to him, "There's something wrong here: Jesus preached and they crucified him; you preach and they give you a standing ovation!"

Popularity is a fickle goddess: the crowd that cheered "Hosanna!" to Jesus were crying "Crucify him!" a few days later. Jesus went through both; the rest of us, with few exceptions, would settle for just Hosanna! Popularity looks like glory, and it is a kind of glory: someone called it "glory's small change." There is the personality type described as 'the pleaser'. Such a person will never challenge you; they rely too much on your good opinion of them. But it backfires; most people would prefer that you said what you thought. "He more had pleased us had he pleased us less."

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