03/02/2021 Reflection 1085 (Bro. Kewin Palocaren, OP on Mark 6:1-6)

Like us on Facebook at   / dominicanministriesgoa   write to us: [email protected] Website: www.dominicans.in DO YOU STILL BELIEVE IN THE ANCIENT LIE OF THE SERPENT? My dear brothers and sisters, the biggest lie ever told and believed was that man could be as powerful as God without humbly depending on Him, that divine power could be attained without humility. And it was believing this lie that brought about our fall from grace. And ever since the fall, we have always seen an apparent contradiction between power and humility. This is the reason why the people of Nazareth, in today’s Gospel, took offence when they saw that a humble man from among them had the power to restore life to the dead and teach Scripture with authority. They saw in Christ the one thing they never thought they would see in anyone: Divine power along with a humble origin. And so He became a Sign of Contradiction for them. They weren't able to accept that this "son of Mary", the simple carpenter who used to make tables and chairs for a living, was performing wonders that only the Son of God, the Divine Carpenter who made heaven and earth could do. After all, they were all victims of that ancient lie. This is why Christ had to proclaim the Truth that would set them free. And He chose to do it upon the Cross. You see, because they arrogantly chose to believe that their Savior could not be a humble carpenter, He chose to save them with the instruments of a carpenter, three nails and a wooden Cross. Because they considered His humble origin as an obstacle to His Divine Power, He made His powerful victory over Satan one and the same with His humiliating death on the Cross. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “He partook of human nature, that through death He might destroy him who has power over death, that is, the devil.” My dear brothers and sisters, it is when we look upon the Crucified Christ, we see the Truth that sets us free from that ancient lie of the serpent. It is then that we are given the grace to see that humility is not an obstacle, but the means to participate in God’s Divine Power; it is then that we begin to experience this Infinite Power in our humble and weak lives, especially through the Sacrament of the Church. Then we will be able to say along with St. Paul, “I boast of my weakness that the strength of Christ may be mine.” Amen. #dominicanmediamission #DOMINICANFRIARSINDIA