Sunday, June 9, 2024 – X Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B Readings: Genesis 3:9-15, Psalm 130 “With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption” , 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1, Mark 3:20-35

                                 The Real Source of Courage
                              Jesus was focused on his mission

•   He worked hard to communicate his message of salvation, to train his apostles, to heal the sick and comfort the troubled.
•   In fact, he worked so hard to fulfill his mission that it was “impossible for [him and his disciples] even to eat.”

          But not everyone appreciated Jesus and his dedication to his          
          mission

•  Even members of his own extended family, St. Mark's Gospel tells us, thought he was crazy.
•   And the more popular and respected religious and cultural leaders of the time rejected him.
•  They actually accused him, as today's Gospel passage makes clear, of being an instrument of the devil. It must have been hard for Our Lord, to stay focused on his mission, to be faithful to what his Father had sent him to do, when he ran into so much opposition, mockery, and misunderstanding.

 
                                  And yet, he persevered. 

• He didn't let criticism, rejection, jealously, mockery, or persecution of any kind interfere with his loving fulfillment of God's will.
• Where did he get the courage to be true to his identity and mission even when those closest to him were rejecting him?
• In his relationship with the Father – his heart was anchored not in the shifting sands of this fallen world, but in the everlasting love of the Lord, in doing God’s will.
•  As today’s Psalm puts it: “My soul looks for the Lord more than sentinels for daybreak.”                                                                               

           We too find it difficult to be faithful to our mission in life, to     
          God's  will for us, to his commandments and to the circumstances 
          that he permits to trouble us.

•  We too run into opposition, mockery, misunderstanding.
• We too need courage.

 And so, we too need to anchor our hearts in the Lord, so that we can persevere, be strong, and endure.
Source: ePriest.com / Best Practices and Homily Resources for Catholic Priests