As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Faith and humility are the keys to understanding our lessons from scripture today. The psalmist starts by reminding us of the necessity of being humble before God.

The eyes of the servant must be on his master’s or mistresses’ hands.

When the master or mistress is in need of something the servant comes running. When the master calls out, the servant who is wise will have anticipated, and will be nearby.

This is key for us. We need to keep our eyes, ears, hearts, and attention fixed on our master who is the Lord God. We need to be prepared and active in addressing God’s call to us, the call and command given to us by His very son our Lord Jesus Christ.

My brothers and sisters,

The Lord was speaking about the people of Israel when he sent Ezekiel to them to prophesy.

The Israelites had forgotten where their eyes were supposed to be. They neglected to keep themselves focused on God.

God calls them rebels, hard of face, and obstinate of heart.

Ezekiel became a prophet during Israel’s Babylonian captivity. His first task was to prepare the Israelites for the final destruction of Jerusalem. Of course the Israelites thought he was crazy. They believed Jerusalem would stand forever.

They thought of Jerusalem as a walled fortress and inviolable, rather than as a place for the heart, a place to stand waiting for God’s command, a place to fulfill God’s commands.

In 587 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, Ezekiel was vindicated before the unbelieving.

Israel had closed itself off from the only right relationship —“ the one with God. They choose to set their own limits, their own paradigms, their own values. They declared their own ‘house gods’ and forgot the altar of the Lord. They not only forgot their history, they rejected God’s saving action throughout that history. They took their eyes, ears, and hearts from God. They loved the Jerusalem of stone rather than the Jerusalem of the covenant.

Frankly, they got comfortable. They got lazy and complacent.

Even so, God did not forget them. He sent Ezekiel to reproach them and to give them hope. God was very matter of fact in sending Ezekiel saying:

And whether they heed or resist, they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

God is without pretense. God is very matter of fact. If fact, He is perfect in every way. Being perfect and desiring our salvation, He has given us all we need to come to Him.

He gave His very Son, His Word. He gave us the totality of scripture and sacred tradition. He left us the Apostles, disciples, the Fathers, and our bishops to train us in the orthodox catholic faith. An orthodox faith that is simply absolute fidelity to the principles and piety, the beliefs and Tradition of the early, undivided Church.

My friends,

God works with us even though we are unformed and undeveloped. God uses every means to draw us to Himself. As St. Paul tells us, He has turned even our sufferings and our temptations to good result —“ if, and only if we keep our eyes, ears, hearts, and attention focused on God. This is total faith, the total giving of ourselves as servants to God so that He may bring us home to heaven.

Paul did this. Paul dedicated himself, and in the process of dedication, prayer, hard labor, suffering, temptation and trials, and finally martyrdom, Paul learned that God’s grace was enough for him. Paul’s words are indeed a boast, a boast we should all work toward. A boast that I pray we may all repeat one day:

I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ

Brothers and sisters,

The poor people of Nazareth missed it didn’t they? They too forgot where their eyes were supposed to be. They forgot that God works miracles in our life every day.

Do you remember Simeon and Anna. Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple for the ritual purification. Simeon and Anna were there:

Simeon came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Simeon and Anna were people of faith. They prayed daily, studied scripture, and focused their eyes, ears, minds, and hearts on God. When the revelation appeared, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, they were there and ready. Simeon cried out:

my eyes have seen Your salvation

Simeon and Anna came forward that day in faith trusting in God.

Not so the people of Nazareth.

You might like to think that the people of Nazareth are highlighted today so Jesus can engage in repartee with them and deliver a witty retort about prophets not being welcome in their native place.

The fact is, they are symbolic of way too many people.

No the people of Nazareth are here today to show you the other side of the faith coin. Those without faith, without a love for the teachings of Jesus and the Holy Catholic faith are just like the Nazarenes: They take offense at Him.

No witty retort. No interesting point to debate about growing up next to someone and knowing them too well. No, the Nazarenes took offense at Him. They took offence because unlike Simeon and Anna, unlike the Apostles at Pentecost, they took their gaze off their Lord and God. They forgot what life is really about.

Keep your eyes, ears, hearts, and attention fixed on God. It is not just a way of living, it is the only way of living. All else is death. May you be spared from hearing it said of Jesus:

He was amazed at their lack of faith.