Homily for Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus appears annoyed and frustrated with His disciples. Despite everything they have witnessed during their time with Him, they do not seem to grasp who He is. Moreover, He realizes that not only do they fail to understand Him, but they will also eventually abandon Him. Yet, these very disciples will initiate a now 2,000-year tradition of passing on the faith.

In the closing chapter of Mark’s Gospel, a 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 shortcomings, Jesus meets with them again in Galilee to renew their calling. The Gospel illustrates that Jesus remains faithful to us, even when we struggle to be faithful to Him. He goes ahead of us into all the situations we face, calling us from our failures back to begin anew.