By Colleen O’Sullivan
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,
accompanied by his disciples. When the
sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were
astonished. They said, “Where did this
man get all this? What kind of wisdom
has been given him? What mighty deeds
are wrought by his hands! 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. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without
honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own
house.” So he was not able to perform
any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands
on them. He was amazed at their lack of
faith. (Mark 6:1-6)
Piety
Open my
eyes, Lord
I want to
see your face
Open my
eyes, Lord
Help me to
see
(from “Open My Eyes, Lord,” Jesse Manibusan)
Study
Five years ago, a middle-aged, frumpy looking woman
from a village in Scotland came out on stage on “Britain’s Got Talent.” The rude sounds from the audience and the
expressions on the judges’ faces said it all.
They expected nothing much based on her appearance. Were they ever shocked when Susan Boyle began
to sing and out came a beautiful mezzo-soprano rendition of “I’ve Got a Dream”
from “Les Misérables!” Those who moments
earlier “knew” what they were going to get, in reality, had no idea at all.
The same thing happens to Jesus. His family and friends don’t expect much when
he returns to his village and speaks at the local synagogue on the Sabbath. After all, they know Jesus, or they assume
they do. He’s just one of them, a
carpenter by trade. But when Jesus opens
his mouth and words begin to flow, they are amazed. Who does he think he is, spouting all this
wisdom, talking about mighty deeds done in his Father’s name? This guy’s gotten uppity since he’s been gone
and they’re offended by that. They’re
sure they know the real Jesus, but the irony is that the hometown crowd doesn’t
know him at all. Their hearts are
closed. The Lord finds he can perform no
great deeds at home. There’s no faith
found in his little village, and the reading ends on a sad note.
Action
It’s
just as much a shame when you and I make false assumptions in our faith
lives. Isn’t it tragic, for example,
when we expect condemnation for our sins and, thus, miss seeing Christ before
us, arms wide open, waiting to embrace and forgive us? Isn’t it a pity when we’re so attuned to the
sounds of our self-loathing that we miss hearing God call us his beloved son or
daughter? Isn’t it a shame when we spend
so much time treasuring our possessions, expecting them to fulfill our every
need, that we don’t even hear Jesus’ invitation to set it all aside and follow
him to eternal life?
When
you pray today, ask God to open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to the
reality of his love and mercy.
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