(Mk 6:1-6)
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 Joses 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.
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.
God became man because He loved mankind and He desired to save them. This is the very story of Christianity. God is too awesome for man to behold. Israel in the Old Testament once said, "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God anymore, or ever again see this great fire, I will die" (Deut 18:16). God, therefore, wanting to save His people, humbled Himself by becoming ordinary, by becoming man. In Jesus, we have a God we can see and hear, a God we can talk to face to face, a God who walks among us, indeed, a God who has visited His people (Lk 7:16).
The problem is that we still look at God as someone high on the pedestal, as someone over the clouds, as "the guy up there". This is probably why Jesus' own people did not accept Him. They were looking for a great God, an awesome God. For them, Jesus was only a carpenter, an ordinary member of their community. They, therefore, rejected their Divine Visitor.
Indeed, it is difficult to understand the humility of God. But we know that God's motive is always for us to be saved.
Sometimes, we become like Jesus' own people. We fail to see God in the ordinary and in the lowly. We don't see God in our neighbor anymore. We don't see Him in the poor, in the sick and in the marginalized. Even in ourselves, we don't see God. We think that God is only in the church.
Jesus said, "I am with you always... (Mt 28:20)". He addressed this to every one of His disciples, even to us. Therefore, we need to recognize that God is in us, that God is in our neighbor, as He also said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt 25:40).
Also, like Jesus' own people, we judge others as if we know them enough. We dictate who our neighbors are supposed to be through stereotypes. We therefore render our neighbors unable to improve, unable to be greater than who they are now. We need to admit that we don't know enough to judge our neighbors.
God, in His great love, has come down for us. Let us not look for Him in the skies, for we cannot fly there through our own efforts. Let us just accept Jesus and welcome Him in our hearts. Let us be hospitable to the God who visits us in many ways. Let us recognize His presence in the people around us, in everything we do, even in the ordinary events of our lives.
The problem is that we still look at God as someone high on the pedestal, as someone over the clouds, as "the guy up there". This is probably why Jesus' own people did not accept Him. They were looking for a great God, an awesome God. For them, Jesus was only a carpenter, an ordinary member of their community. They, therefore, rejected their Divine Visitor.
Indeed, it is difficult to understand the humility of God. But we know that God's motive is always for us to be saved.
Sometimes, we become like Jesus' own people. We fail to see God in the ordinary and in the lowly. We don't see God in our neighbor anymore. We don't see Him in the poor, in the sick and in the marginalized. Even in ourselves, we don't see God. We think that God is only in the church.
Jesus said, "I am with you always... (Mt 28:20)". He addressed this to every one of His disciples, even to us. Therefore, we need to recognize that God is in us, that God is in our neighbor, as He also said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt 25:40).
Also, like Jesus' own people, we judge others as if we know them enough. We dictate who our neighbors are supposed to be through stereotypes. We therefore render our neighbors unable to improve, unable to be greater than who they are now. We need to admit that we don't know enough to judge our neighbors.
God, in His great love, has come down for us. Let us not look for Him in the skies, for we cannot fly there through our own efforts. Let us just accept Jesus and welcome Him in our hearts. Let us be hospitable to the God who visits us in many ways. Let us recognize His presence in the people around us, in everything we do, even in the ordinary events of our lives.
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