Year B
Fourteenth Ordinary Sunday
Images
Speaking up
Rejection
Points to note
This reading tries to bring across the idea that, as
Christians, we have a duty to stand up for what is right. That is our calling to be prophets. Highlight the point that all of us are called
to be prophets and therefore we are all called to this responsibility.
Liturgy
Acclamation
before the Gospel
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Word was made
flesh and lived among us;
to all who accept
him
he gave power to
become children of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Explain that Jesus has just started teaching in the
area around his home region.
A
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark
(Mk 6: 1-6)
Jesus went to his hometown and his disciples accompanied
him. With the coming of the Sabbath he
began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they
heard him. They said, “Where did the man
get all these? What is the wisdom that
has been granted him, and these miracles that has been worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of
Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?” And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is only
despised in his own country among his own relations and in his own house”; and
he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his
hands on them. He was amazed at their
lack of faith.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Discussions
What is a prophet?
Can you give examples of prophets of the old days? In the
Old Testament, there are four major prophets:
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
They are so called because their books in the Old Testament are the
longest. There are also twelve minor prophets, because their books are
shorter: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. In addition, there are prophets who did not
write any of the Old Testament books such as Samuel, Elijah, Eli, Nathan and so
on. People like Moses and Abraham are
not prophets: they are called
patriarchs.
Discuss the fact that Jesus
was anointed priest, prophet and king.
Similarly, at our baptism, we are all called to be priests, prophets and
kings (or queens?). For us Christians,
we see our role as priests to be that of praying, prophets to be that of
proclaiming and kings to be that of servants.
What does a prophet do? Discuss what we expect a prophet to be.
A prophet is not someone who
predicts the future: that is a fortune
teller. A prophet calls people to be
true to God’s teachings. In many ways, a
prophet is a teacher. Discuss people who
we could consider prophets in this sense: Sunday school teachers, priests, your
friendly CLOW facilitators, etc.
A prophet also has to proclaim God’s law and point
out where people have not followed God’s commandments. Examples of people who are prophets in this
sense are those who speak up for
the poor, those involved in social justice, etc.
What qualities do you think a prophet should
have? Courage, a strong faith, a clear voice. A prophet should also be one who can
withstand rejection because many people would not want to listen to them. Discuss the types of people who would have been
rejected for their message.
For older children
Discuss with the children
the times when they have made themselves unpopular when they have pointed out
something that is right and should be done.
At times, they have incurred someone’s anger when they refused to take part
in an unkind act, a dishonest act or a disobedient act. Discuss how it hurts and ask them to share
their experience.
Scripture note
In the reading, Jesus was referred to as the brother of James and Joset and Jude and
Simon. Catholic teaching on this
point is that brother here is used in
the same sense as cousin, which is
the meaning still commonly encountered in Middle Eastern languages. There is an interesting minority view that
Jesus has half brothers, sons of Joseph from a previous marriage. This retains the belief that Mary herself has
no other children.
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