Father Dan Juelfs
Homily from the Televised Mass, NewsCenter1
The 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 7, 2024

“Whether they heed or resist … they shall know that there is a prophet among them.”

As we listen to our readings today, the first reading and the Gospel — the prophet Ezekiel and the Gospel of Mark — we have accounts of God continuing to invite people regardless of their response. Regardless of whether they’re going to take it seriously, whether they’re going to allow themselves to be changed or not. 

The prophet Ezekiel had the task of somehow trying to change the Israelite peoples who had chosen to ignore God’s call. They’ve chosen to go off on their own. And God warns Ezekiel that there may not be a very positive response but that doesn’t change God’s desire to bring them back. It doesn’t change his desire to know that for them to know that God still considers them his people despite their actions, despite the fact that they ignored him.

Jesus expresses that same sort of attitude as he goes to his hometown and begins teaching in the synagogue. You know one would think that the human factor, if you will, or the fact that he was in his hometown with people that knew him, that there should be a greater kind of response but the results were certainly the opposite. He received much more resistance than people in the sense thought him as being too well known, too ordinary to have any authority for the people. The attitude seems to be, “Who does he think he is? Why should we pay attention to him?” 

But that didn’t stop Jesus from preaching. It didn’t stop him from continuing to proclaim his message and then gaining other followers. Gaining other people that became an effective new family. Became in effect the ones who shared life with him and were willing to trust him.

I think what we see in looking at these two accounts, these two examples, the one from Ezekiel and the one in the Gospel, we see the affirmation of God’s desire to remain in contact with us almost in spite of us. Almost in spite of what we do and how we respond. 

God’s care goes far beyond our response. It’s not at all limited to how we react to it. God’s care is there for all of us. We may choose to turn away and God will accept that, but he doesn’t accept that without a continual invitation to return right up till the final moment of our life. God always gives us the opportunities to say “yes,” to return to his presence. That consistent kind of invitation is always there on the part of God. 

The decision it’s always ours. The gift of faith is always offered but never forced. God never forces us to do anything. We’re the ones who are called to make that choice. We’re reminded in our readings today that that’s been the history of how God has acted with his people from the earliest times. He keeps sending prophets among them. He keeps inviting them. He keeps calling upon them and allowing them to do what they are going to do. God is always open and waiting for us. As it were, the ball is always in our court. It’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do with it.