Daily Reflections
Mark 6:1-6
The people of Nazareth were amazed by Jesus and he was amazed by them. They were amazed by his teaching authority and he was amazed by their unbelief and lack of faith. They viewed Jesus through the prism of their own world and therefore their own limited criteria. They knew him as a local carpenter, not a miracle worker or anybody special, and were offended by him. Their prejudice and lack of openness pulled the shutters down on their minds and hearts resulting in a certain hardness and resistance to Jesus and his message.
St Mark records one of the most sobering and possibly most disturbing verses in the Bible, ‘And he was amazed at their lack of faith’ (v. 6 NIV). Jesus was amazed because even though they could actually see and hear him, and actually witnessed his miracles, they still did not believe. These people were blessed beyond their wildest dreams but they did not realize it. We are blessed if we have received the gift of faith because although we do not see, we believe.
Faith is God’s gift to us but it requires us to consent to God’s revelation in Jesus. We at Bible Alive believe that a human being’s response to Jesus is the most important response he or she will ever have to make.
Consider the wisdom of C.S. Lewis on the choices we all face in accepting or rejecting Jesus: ‘A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool; you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.’
‘Lord Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of God, the Eternal and Blessed Second Person of the Holy Trinity. We bow down and worship.’
Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15
Psalm 102(103):1-2, 13-14, 17-18 • Mark 6:1-6
Daily Reflections
Subscribe to Bible Alive today, and read Daily Reflections wherever you are!
Can't find a book?
Fill out our enquiry form to register interest in a particular Catholic/ Christian book.
Holy Cross Parcels
Make a difference by making a donation and buying a Holy Cross Parcel. Click here
Twitter and Facebook
Pope Francis Special Bumper Edition of Faith Today
Click here to read Joanna Moorhead's blog from the Conclave and the Inauguration
Free Faith Pack
FREE Faith Pack
worth over £30/€50!!
with every new subscription to
Bible Alive or Faith Today.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Faith Today Trial Subscription
Try out Faith Today for three months free of charge. Many began receiving Faith Today this way and have been with us for years.
Trial Bible Alive Subscription
Try out Bible Alive for three months free of charge. Many began receiving Bible Alive this way and have been with us for years.
Give it a go today!
Walk With Me
Walk with Me is a prayer and scripture journey for the seasons of Advent, Lent and Easter.
Alive Design – Wedding Stationery
Catholic Today Newspaper
Catholic Today is the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Birmingham with the latest Birmingham Catholic news and videocasts.
Christian Publications
Bible Alive - Subscription
Latest Catholic Articles
Daily Reflections
Bible Alive daily reflections are written in an accessible and warm style inviting you to penetrate and plumb the depths of the scripture reading of the day.
Latest Daily Bible ReflectionFree Catalogue
