I believe we all know what it’s like standing up in front of classmates, fellow employees or peers and having to give some type of information or report. We often fear our peers will feel we don’t know what we are talking about; we fear thoughts arising within the group like, “who does he/she think they are” telling us what to do. In other words, you’re one of them and you probably don’t know any more than they do. None the less, you have been asked or made to deliver some information to your peers and it is by no means every easy. As a priest its often the same type feeling when we must deliver a homily in front of other priests. Here is the scene from today’s gospel: Jesus has a mission from his Father. As a Jew, Jesus attends the synagogue and one day decides to get up to preach. The attendees begin to quibble about His credentials. Let’s listen “Where did this man get all this? What kind of special wisdom has been given to him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Isn’t he just the son of a poor carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” What are they really saying? Something like we feel standing up in front of our peers Who does He think he is standing here preaching to us and what makes Him so credible… after all, he’s just one of us. And we know Jesus needs no credibility for He is the very Son of God. Standing up in in front of others for what is truly right can be downright difficult. Much easier to stand up in front of strangers. However, never let your embarrassment, fear, or apparent lack of credibility ever defer you from what is right. Finally, never be afraid to stand for what is right, even if means standing alone. For one day, we shall all appear before the judgement seat alone and answering only for we did or did not do. Fr. Roach
