‘Nowhere-Nazareth’

200 words: No one can say Jesus is Lord except through the Holy Spirit

The Gospel brings us into the world of unbelief.

Jesus lived in Nowhere-Nazareth. His teaching astonished his friends (relations), but they couldn’t accept him:

Where did the man get all this? (Mark 6)

Was Jesus too ordinary for them?

Evidently, faith is a gift from God:

No one can say Jesus is Lord except through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12).

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) expresses it well:

Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace (Summa Theologica II-II,2,9).

Beautifully put:

Notice the harmony between the grace of God, the assent of the mind and heart, the arousal and engagement of the will.

But, of course, this harmony can be upset by personal and communal factors.

At times we will have struggles of the mind and heart. A mist of unbelief may well descend upon the mind and into the heart.

What to do?

Be humble. Talk to someone.

The chaos of disorder can enter and disrupt the strength of our will.

What to do?

Get on our knees and invoke the Holy Spirit.

We will once again embrace Jesus – truly human, truly divine.

Amen.