The Rejection at Nazareth

Today's Reflections

The Rejection at Nazareth 

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Mk 6:1-6

¹[Jesus] came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. ²When 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! ³Is 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. ⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” ⁵So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. ⁶He was amazed at their lack of faith.

He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching.

Reflection:

He was amazed at their lack of faith. In Jesus who is amazed at the Nazarenes’ lack of faith and does not perform many mighty deeds among them, the Gospel tells us what God wants from us: God desires our faith. Having faith is believing in God, trusting God, and relying on God. With faith we can see the mighty deeds and healing miracles that God does in us and for us. As Jesus tells his disciples in another occasion, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt 17:20).

Many at the synagogue of Nazareth are astonished to hear Jesus. They question his family background and doubt his teachings. They cannot accept that someone they know—a carpenter whose mother and relatives are still their neighbors—can have the kind of wisdom and power that Jesus displays. And they take offense at Jesus.

God does not look at our family or social background. God will always believe in us and trust our goodness, competence, and commitment. After all, we belong to one family, with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother. If our aim in life is to make God’s will our will, God’s plan our plan, and God’s ways our ways, then we are brothers and sisters to Jesus. And that is how God sees us, his children in his Son Jesus.

Have you rejected people

because of their family and social background?