Homily for Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus seems quite annoyed and frustrated with His disciples in the conversation He has with them in today’s gospel passage. Despite all that they have seen Him do in their time with Him, it seems to Jesus that they really have no idea who He is, but there was more to come. They not only failed to understand Him, but they would also eventually abandon Him. And yet, it was these disciples who would begin the now 2,000-year tradition of handing on the faith.

In the closing chapter of Mark’s Gospel, the young man sitting in the tomb tells Mary Magdalene and Salome, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid Him. But go and tell His disciples and Peter, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you.”

Despite their failure, Jesus met with them again in Galilee to renew their call. The gospel shows that Jesus is faithful to us even when we fail to be faithful to Him. He goes ahead of us into all the places in which we find ourselves. He is there, calling us from our failures in faithfulness to His call to begin anew.+