Discipline is a frightening word for some these days. Inevitably, our response to God's call or any noble duty is paved with discipline. It is likened to a passage of endurance that we must pass through. It also indicates hope since it is not about the past, but about building a future for others. As Bishop St Oscar Romero inspired, "we are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own." The text of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us clearly, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by Him. For the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." Discipline is not a mere human effort, God has a role in it too.

In Mark's Gospel, Jesus was in Capernaum. He returned to His hometown and entered the synagogue. He seized the moment to teach. Surely, Jesus' disciplined tone of speech and demeanor must have impressed the people and they began to ask - "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him?" Surely, in the quiet life of Nazareth, Jesus had lived as disciplined a life as anyone else. To marvel is healthy but if it is tinged with envy or offence, as with the Capernaum crowd, we have failed in the school of discipline to give due recognition.