Today's Gospel

The Consequences of Unbelief

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea to anchor our day in the life and teachings of Jesus. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of Matthew 13:54-58. Coming to His own country, Jesus taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and are not His brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all His sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of this?" And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house," and He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

What jumps out at you? It's human nature, right? We talk about Radical and Relevant. Human nature is unchanging, and we have to grapple with that like these people. They already acknowledged Jesus' mighty works. They're astonished by His mighty works, by His ability to teach. But then they're like, "Where's your college degree? Where have you studied? Where have you taught? What is your experience? Do you have any experience as this? Because, really, we need to know that you have five years' experience in healing people and raising people from the dead before we can let you do that here in our local synagogue." It's essentially the insanity of what they're saying, like, "We know Him, so He can't be great." We all experience that at different times in our lives. When we're in the sandbox, we experience that. When we're in grade school, we experience that. When we're in high school, college, after college, all our lives, we experience this disbelief that God could do anything good in ordinary people. And of course, God isn't doing something in ordinary people here. God is doing something extraordinary in the Son of God, in God Himself.

The other thing that strikes me is just this last line. It's so easy to miss these last lines sometimes. And Jesus did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. There's a correlation between the mighty works of God and faith. There's a correlation. It's there. It's right there. It's impossible to miss. And so, again, pray and ask God to increase our faith in this world of unbelief, in this world that is crippled with cynicism and skepticism and unbelief. Be always asking God every day, "Lord, increase my faith. Fill me with the faith of the saints, with the faith of the apostles, with the faith of the ordinary people and the gospel." Have an amazing day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.