Feb 1 2006

Mk 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.
The first thought that comes to mind is my own household being a similar situation as Galilee. Last night, I went to a poetry/arts cafe at the university next to where the monastery is. My friend from the other university where I work came with her son to here me read some of my original recent poems. The students that were there, the staff including a professor who teaches writing and publishes a poetry journal were all very encouraging and supportive. None of the Sisters came from the monastery. This is typical. I do feel that I am without honor in my own house. Perhaps I should consider who a prophet truly is.

Last night in my reading before going to sleep, Ronald Rolheiser was speaking about who a prophet is. Many books and articles state that Religious are now called to be a prophetic voice. Who is the prophetic voice to speak to and about what? At the cafe, I spoke several minutes about the messages of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that I heard in person on January 19th. His message of forgiveness and love was prophetic and historic and I truly felt blessed to be present when he spoke at USF that thursday night in the Sun Dome. A wonderful Sister from Tanzania who lives at the monastery while she is studying at the university next door went with me to here Tutu. None of the Sisters in my community went with me.

I suppose that to walk in the steps of Jesus is a trying path to follow but one of great reward. It is a puzzle that the people of Galilee would take offense at Jesus while at the same time being amazed at his words and knowledge. Jesus himself was astonished at their lack of faith. The reading stated that Jesus was not able to perform any mighty deed. From this I gather that the faith of the people was needed for Jesus to perform a mighty deed. This is an aspect I must ponder further. The lack of faith takes away some of the power of Jesus to do mighty deeds. He was sent for the salvation of the people and the people turned him away in his own home region. Although he can not use all of his power, he continues to heal a few people. He heals in a more ordinary way of laying on of hands to cure the sick. From this I learn that even when I feel that I do not have the full powers of who I am in a situation, I can always be able to continue to heal others.

To heal others is one of my God given charisms that I have never questioned or stopped practicing throughout my life no matter what the situation, time or place. I know this started when I was very young and has always been a natural part of who I am. Last night I spoke about poetry as being a tool of self healing for the poet/writer. I write so that I can understand what I think and feel. Then in turn what I have written, speaks to me in a healing way. The other writer poets seemed to have an instant acknowledgement of this process/role.