💖 HOMILY - FEBRUARY 5 💖

First Reading - Hebrews 12:4-7,11-15

Gospel - Mark 6:1-6

We all dream of a peaceful and happy life, and rightly so. Who wouldn’t want to wake up every day with no problems, no worries, and everything going exactly as planned? But deep down, we know that life is not like that. Happiness and peace are beautiful, but they are not constant. Life is a blend of joy and sorrow, success and failure, comfort and struggle. The readings today remind us to develop an attitude of acceptance—learning to embrace every situation with faith, knowing that even difficulties can lead us to something greater.  

The first reading speaks about the struggles of life and encourages believers to have a positive attitude toward them. It reminds us that hardships are not necessarily punishments but can be paths to growth. The author quotes Proverbs to emphasize that, just as a loving parent disciplines a child to help them mature, so too does God allow challenges to shape us into better people. The goal is not suffering for suffering’s sake but to lead us to holiness and peace. However, reaching this goal requires discipline, patience, and a willingness to surrender our desires to God’s greater plan.  

The Gospel presents a different kind of struggle—Jesus facing rejection in His own hometown. The people are amazed at His wisdom and power, yet they refuse to believe in Him. Why? Because they cannot accept that someone so familiar, someone they grew up with, could be the Messiah. Their prejudices and assumptions prevent them from receiving the blessings Jesus wants to bring them. Instead of welcoming Him with faith, they shut their hearts and miss out on the miracles that others were experiencing.  

Jesus, however, does not let their rejection discourage Him. He does not waste time arguing or forcing people to believe. He accepts their response, understands their limitations, and moves on with His mission. His attitude teaches us a powerful lesson—when faced with difficulties, misunderstandings, or even rejection, we must not let them crush us. Instead, like Jesus, we should acknowledge reality, accept what we cannot change, and keep moving forward with faith and purpose.  

Many people ask, “Why is there suffering in life? Why can’t there be only happiness and success?” These are natural questions, but they focus only on one side of life. The truth is, joy and sorrow together make life complete. Just as there is the joy of birth, there is also the pain of loss. Just as there is laughter, there are also tears. The first reading reminds us that struggles are not meaningless—they make us stronger, wiser, and more open to receiving God’s grace.  

The challenge for us today is to avoid negativity and pessimism. When life gets tough, it is easy to become discouraged, to doubt, or even to reject God’s presence. This is exactly what happened in Jesus’ hometown—because the people allowed their negative thoughts to dominate, they missed out on the blessings He could have given them. If we are not careful, we too can close our hearts and miss the grace that God wants to pour into our lives.  

Instead, let us choose to trust, to accept, and to believe. Let us have the attitude of Jesus, who did not let rejection stop Him but continued to do God’s work with confidence. Let us embrace our joys and struggles alike, knowing that each moment—whether easy or difficult—is part of God’s plan to shape us into the people He wants us to be.  

May God give us the grace to accept every situation, good or bad, with faith and courage, knowing that He is always at work in our lives.