4 September 2017
Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
One of the standard fallacies in the armory of bad argumentation is known as the ad hominum. Loosely translated, it means “against the man”, implying that if you disagree with the message, shoot the messenger and you get rid of both the message and the annoying messenger at the same time. Although this type of argumentation may delay the inevitable as truth always manages to make itself known. The readings from today’s gospel tell the story which has come down to us in the distilled version that no prophet is accepted in his own home. Actually, prophets usually have a rough go of it no matter where they speak. It is often the case, however, that the recollection of someone’s humble beginnings and a retelling of a few antics in those dangerous years of the late teens and early 20s render any truth telling either invalid or questionable. The gospel reminds us that even the simple and the ignorant have their story and in these stories there may be something for each of us to learn.