A reading from the gospel according to Matthew 13:54-58
54 Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
55 Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
56 Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?”
57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”
58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
Reflection: Finding God in the ordinary
Good News: God is doing mighty deeds in our life.
In the gospel, Jesus’ own kinsmen do not recognize Him as the Messiah or a prophet. Though they were astonished by His wisdom and mighty deeds, they considered Him as an ordinary person because they knew Him from birth. To them, Jesus was just a carpenter’s son and nothing more.
People have biases and prejudices. They tend to look down on other people they consider inferior or ordinary. Like the town folks of Jesus, these kind of people would condescendingly ask, “Who is he?” or “Who are you?” To them, ordinary people do not have special gifts or they remain ordinary all their life. It does not occur to them that some people grow in wisdom and knowledge and that they too can develop skills to do great things in life.
There is an old saying that says familiarity breeds contempt. The more people know you, the more stories they have to tell others. It is therefore a worldly wisdom to choose whom to tell your secrets or better not to divulge them at all. But it should not be the case especially in our relationship with God. The more we know Him, the deeper should be our relationship with Him. The more we know Him, the deeper our wisdom and the stronger our faith should be.
It takes wisdom and faith to see that God is indeed doing mighty deeds in our life. It takes humility to recognize the presence of God in others especially those we consider ordinary.
See also: Cross Reference Mark 6:1-6
