Gentlemanly Behavior

Readings for Wednesday February 3, 2010

First Reading: 2 Samuel 24:2,9-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32
Gospel: Mark 6:1-6


Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mk 6:1-6)

I once heard someone say that God is a perfect gentleman. When we ask Him into our lives He is there, when we ask Him to leave, He leaves. He does not force Himself upon anybody, and He gives everyone free will with the power to choose or reject Him. In the gospel today, the people of Nazareth could not believe that "the carpenter" had come back to town and now all of a sudden had all this new knowledge and power. They were completely baffled and they were so blind as to who Jesus was. It says that He was not able to perform any mighty deeds there, and that He was amazed at their lack of faith. The reason why Jesus couldn't perform any mighty deeds was not that He lacked the ability, remember this is God we are talking about here, He could have done whatever He wanted. So it wasn't that He couldn't, instead He chose not to force Himself upon them. If they decide to reject Him, He isn't going to force them to believe by working mighty deeds on them ... gentlemanly behavior.

The same situation can happen in our lives as well. If we decide to reject God and choose not to have faith, He is not going to force Himself into our lives. He is not going to force us to have faith and to trust in Him, that is something that we must choose to do. We must always remember, that God does not need us, He wants us. If we want God to work miracles in our lives and to bless us with all of His gifts, then we must have faith. We must believe in Him, in His power and authority, and we must be willing to surrender our lives to Him who gives us life.

God, being the gentleman that He is does not force Himself into our lives ... He waits for acceptance first.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Thank you for all that you give to us and for all that you bless us with. Lord, you are our one true God, help us to keep our faith strong so that we will never doubt or reject what you offer to us. Lord, thank you for your love and mercy in our lives and for always being there for us. We pray for all those in need of conversion and for all those who are furthest away from you. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.