“A Youth Minister in Her Native Place”
by Rachael Pineiro, Fiat Ventures
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Let me tell you a story that happened to me recently…
Last month, I took a little break from my high-energy Youth Ministry job in New Jersey for an extended weekend in hometown of Allendale, Michigan. I hadn’t been there for a while, because I had spent the last few years running around different cities on the east coast, coordinating retreats, organizing mission trips and training teams of teenagers to be faithful leaders in their parishes and schools. It was time for a break.
I flew home Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, we went to my home parish for Mass. Afterwards, we stuck around for a little while to say hello to old friends over coffee and donuts, which was always my favorite. Someone said something about how strange the first reading was, and I launched into an explanation of the prophet Ezekiel, expounding upon the historical, sociological and literary explanation of the reading.
The people were astonished by what seemed to be my sudden knowledge of scripture and said to each other, “Where did she get all of this from? What kind of grad school did she go to after she moved away?” And my favorite, “Is she making this stuff up?” To my surprise, they were not impressed. “Is this not the Theatre major from the college down the road? Isn’t this Sheryl’s nerdy daughter with the braces who used to pass out at cross country meets? The sister of Ansel, Erika and Weston? Aren’t her siblings still here among us, making trouble?”
I solemnly walked away from their ridicule and said, “A youth minister is not without honor except in her native place and among her own kin and in her own house.”
Okay…maybe I’m being dramatic. But this really did happen to Jesus in the Gospel this Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary time.
Although Jesus had been running all around the ancient map, cleansing lepers and casting out demons — to the people in his home town–Jesus was still “Joseph’s boy.” It didn’t matter what kind of buzz he was getting in Galilee or the headlines he was making in Capernaum over healing the paralytic, the people in his hometown remembered him as the boy next door, hauling wood or slates of stone with his dad for their daily carpentry project. They simply could not believe that someone they watched grow up could possibly be a highly respected, well-known teacher, and essentially – a celebrity. And it’s not like the disbelief of the hometown folk didn’t affect Jesus. Because of their lack of faith, he was only able to cure a few sick people by laying hands on them, when he could have performed much greater signs.
Maybe you can relate to this in some way. Maybe you had an incredible experience on a retreat or at a summer service camp where you were pushed out of your comfort zone, stretched in your talents in a positive way and inspired on a spiritual level. Sometimes, after coming home from a grand experience of this kind, it is a bit of a let-down to return to ordinary life. Even if you feel like you’ve really grown and changed in a deep way, it can take the people who are closest to you (parents, siblings, best friends, etc) some time to catch up with you. They might still see you as the kid who slept through CCD or the kid who went kicking and screaming to Mass.
If this is the case, take courage. Be steadfast in your new direction. Your old reputation might end up being like a “thorn in the flesh” (or a hardship) as St. Paul describes in the second reading, but you are called to holiness and greatness. This is actually your truest identity. We are all meant to become the best versions of ourselves and join Jesus in Heaven someday, as saints. But also keep in mind…if there is anything close family and friends are good for, it’s keeping you humble. And humility is a virtue!
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