“Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James
and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with
us?” And they took offense at him. Mark 6:3
After traveling throughout the countryside performing miracles,
teaching the crowds and gaining many followers, Jesus returned to
Nazareth where He grew up. Perhaps His disciples were excited to
return with Jesus to His native place, thinking that His own
townspeople would be overjoyed to see Jesus again because of the
many stories of His miracles and authoritative teaching. But the
disciples were soon to have quite a surprise.
After arriving in Nazareth, Jesus entered the Synagogue to teach,
and He taught with an authority and wisdom that confounded the
locals. They said among themselves, “Where did this man get all
this? What kind of wisdom has been given him?” They were confused
because they knew Jesus. He was the local carpenter who worked for
years with His father who was a carpenter. He was Mary’s son, and
they knew His other relatives by name.
The primary difficulty Jesus’ townspeople had was their familiarity
with Jesus. They knew Him. They knew where He lived. They knew Him
as He grew up. They knew His family. They knew all about Him.
Therefore, they wondered how Jesus could be anything special. How
could He now teach with authority? How could He now do miracles?
Thus, the townspeople were astonished, and they allowed that
astonishment to turn into doubt, judgment and criticism.
The same temptation is something we all deal with more than we may
realize. It is often easier to admire a stranger from afar than one
whom we know well. When we hear of someone for the first time who
is doing something admirable, it’s easy to join in that admiration.
But when we hear good news about someone we know well, we can
easily be tempted to jealousy or envy and to be skeptical and even
critical. But the truth is that every saint has a family. And every
family potentially has brothers and sisters, cousins and other
relatives through whom God will do great things. This should not
surprise us—it should inspire us! And we should rejoice when those
close to us and with whom we are familiar are used powerfully by
our good God.
Reflect, today, upon those whom you are familiar with in life,
especially your own family. Examine whether or not you struggle
with an ability to see beyond the surface and accept that God
dwells within everyone. We must constantly seek to discover the
presence of God all around us, especially in the lives of those
whom we know very well.
My ever-present Lord, thank You for the countless ways in which
You are present in the lives of those all around me. Give me the
grace to see You and to love You in the lives of those closest to
me. As I discover Your glorious presence in their lives, fill me
with deep gratitude and help me to acknowledge Your love that comes
forth from their lives. Jesus, I trust in You.
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Featured image above: Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue
By James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
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