Gospel Reflections for July 4 2021: 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Gospel for July 4 2021 – Mark 6:1-6

Gospel Reflections for July 4 2021

Jesus Declaration of Independence

Today’s Gospel is the story of Our Lord’s return to His hometown of Nazareth, a place where everyone knew Him well.

Because they knew He was wise, He was invited to speak in the local synagogue on the famous passage from Isaiah that proclaims the saving actions of God for those in need (more fully told in Luke 4: 14-30). 

It is a wonderful list of saving actions for anyone in trouble. The passage in Luke from this same event declares God will bring liberty to captives, good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free. Who would not want those wonderful goals? 

The Jewish people, long oppressed by foreign rulers, would have loved this saving message of God granting them special favor. However …they believed it was only for them!

Amazingly, after Jesus finishes, the people seek his death! Why is that?

At the end of His speech Jesus recounts two miracles from the Old Testament where God performed miracles for non-Jewish pagan people. That surprises them. To their amazement, Jesus affirms that God’s salvation is for all people …and not just the Jews! The Jewish people of Nazareth rose in anger because they felt God should only help their own people. They resented that people from other groups could receive God’s grace.

This is a perfect Gospel to hear on the day that we celebrate our nation’s birth in 1776, where the blessings of liberty would one day be shared by all people no matter what group they were born into. Our nation was founded on the dignity of every citizen no matter where they were born or who they are. Of course, that freedom did not happen instantly.

The 1776 event began a long and sometimes painful process that would eventually bring freedom to everyone, including former slaves. 

God’s message of salvation comes to each of us, one person at a time, and never because we belong to any group, race, or ethnicity. No one can claim salvation except by your personal acceptance in faith and good behavior. 

This is a time in our nation when people are claiming rights by their group membership. (see my article on Critical Race Theory) Our nation and our Catholic faith are both founded on your personal responsibility before God and one another. That is the true source of your salvation …and our nation’s prosperity.

Happy Fourth of July!

God Bless!

Fr. Dave