“Familiarity Breeds Contempt” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“Familiarity Breeds Contempt” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

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 6:4-6)

Piety

Lord, help me always to look for You in those I encounter.

Study

Albrecht Dürer,
Christ Taking Leave of his Mother,
1507, Public Domain,
Wikimedia Commons

In Luke’s Gospel, after a family visit to Jerusalem at Passover, we see Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12, asking and answering questions way beyond his years.  Then we hear nothing more about him until he leaves his home and mother at around the age of 30 to go out and do his Father’s will.

During St. Ignatius’ 30-day Spiritual Exercises, retreatants are allowed to imagine Jesus’ “hidden life” and how it looked up close.  In my mind, Jesus probably stood out like a sore thumb as a single person in first-century Nazareth.  Why didn’t he get married like all the other men?  Didn’t he want to have a family to carry on his name?  Who knows, Mary may have wished for a daughter-in-law and grandchildren to fill her household.  Jesus for many years had supported the two of them by maintaining the carpentry business Joseph had established years before.

We can only guess at the conversations between Mary and Jesus as he prepared to close up the carpentry shop and leave home to do what his Father was asking him to do.  Like any mother, Mary must have worried about her son.  What was Jesus getting himself into?  What he proposed to do sounded so dangerous.  There were thieves and robbers outside the village.  Where would he find food and shelter?  What if he fell ill?  And Mary knew the religious authorities of the day wouldn’t take kindly to anyone, least of all a nobody from a tiny nowhere village, stepping on their toes or infringing on their area of expertise.  I’m sure Mary uttered many a prayer as she kissed her son farewell. 

In Mark’s Gospel, before today’s reading, Jesus had already accomplished a great deal.  He had gathered a group of disciples, cast out demons, healed the sick, and forgiven sinners.  He’d aroused the ire of the Pharisees by putting the good of individuals before the heavy burden of the 600+ laws (in contrast to the Law) in existence in his time.

Jesus’ family, at one point, tried to step in and bring him home.  They claimed he was out of his mind.  But nothing kept Jesus from doing his Father’s will.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola,
Peter Paul Rubens, 1600s,
Norton Simon Museum, Public Domain,
Wikimedia Commons

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is home for a few days and speaks at the local synagogue on the Sabbath.  His family and friends are in the congregation, as we would expect.  They turn against him when he’s done, because, in their minds, he is a nobody, just the carpenter’s son.  How could he possibly speak with such wisdom?  Ironically, while they acknowledge that he has performed mighty deeds, Jesus can do nothing in their midst because they have no faith.  The hometown folk don’t see the Son of God, just one of them who’s risen above his station.

It’s a story repeated in every generation.  People harbor preconceived notions and have difficulty getting past them.   For example, when people looked at Ignatius of Loyola, they didn’t see someone who would begin a religious order, compose the Spiritual Exercises still in use centuries later, or become a saint.  No, they made fun of him.  What adult goes to school with little kids to learn Latin?  He looked silly all bunched up in a kid’s desk.  At the University of Alcalá, he began to explain the Gospels to fellow students and taught them how to pray.  Was he looked upon as a godly person?  No, he was suspected of heresy and imprisoned for 42 days by the Inquisition.  This was not his only imprisonment, either.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes when she

Bernadette Soubirous, c. 1866,
Public Domain,
Wikimedia Commons

was just a young girl.  In these apparitions, Mary asked that a chapel be built at the nearby grotto.  Because Bernadette was young, not well educated, from an impoverished family, and suffered from ill health, no one took her claims seriously.  Why would the Mother of God appear to someone like that?  The tales Bernadette told were seen as unbelievable.   At the time, no one could foresee that this peasant girl would be canonized, that countless miraculous healings would take place over the centuries at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes or that it would become one of the most frequently visited Christian pilgrimage sites of all time.

Action

We all have prejudices and biases and tend to label people accordingly.  But who are we to limit whom God can use for great works?  St. Ignatius was neither properly educated nor ordained at one point, so in some people’s minds, he couldn’t possibly have anything worth contributing to the spiritual welfare of others.  St. Bernadette was poor, sickly and not well educated, so what would she know about Mary, the Mother of God?

According to the hometown people, Jesus was a nobody, getting above himself.  Look how that turned out!

One of the takeaways from this Scripture reading is to dig deeper than your inborn prejudices when it comes to judging someone.  Remember, Jesus was fond of the poor, the outcast, sinners and tax collectors.

The other takeaway has to do with how people see and treat you.  When people misunderstand you and do not take you seriously, always turn to the Lord. It’s too bad that others are missing what you have to offer, but God is the only One you have to satisfy in the end.