2/4/2026 (Wednesday) Today’s Gospel reading: Mark 6:1-6

1 Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
2 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!
3 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.
4 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.”
5 So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

2/4/2026 (Wednesday) Today’s Gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Mark 6:1-6

Familiarity can be both a comfort and a barrier. In Mark 6, Jesus returns to the place where He grew up, among people who knew His background, His family, and His ordinary beginnings. Instead of welcoming what God was doing through Him, many struggled to see beyond what they thought they already knew. Their assumptions became walls, and those walls limited what could happen in their midst.

This story speaks powerfully to our own time. We often struggle to accept that God can work through people who feel “too close” to us such as a family member, a longtime friend, a colleague we have known for years. We label them based on past versions of themselves: who they were, what mistakes they made, or how ordinary they seemed. When we do this, we may miss how God has been shaping them quietly, faithfully, and purposefully.

The people in Jesus’ hometown were not hostile at first; they were puzzled. Their problem was not lack of information but lack of openness. They allowed familiarity to harden into doubt. Today, we do something similar when we dismiss wisdom because it comes from unexpected places including a young person, a newcomer, or someone without impressive credentials. God often chooses humble channels so that faith, not prestige, becomes the doorway to transformation.

Another striking truth in this passage is how unbelief restricts receptivity. God’s power is not absent, but its impact is limited where trust is absent. In modern life, this can look like closing our hearts before giving God room to act. We pray but secretly decide what outcomes are acceptable. We attend worship yet resist being changed. Faith requires more than presence; it requires surrender.

Jesus responds to rejection not with anger but with movement. He continues His mission elsewhere, teaching, healing, and planting seeds in open hearts. This is a reminder that God’s work does not stop because of resistance. It simply moves forward. For us, this can be deeply reassuring. Missed opportunities do not cancel God’s purpose, but they do invite reflection. Are we creating space for growth, or are we stuck in old expectations?

There is also a personal challenge here. We are not only the hometown crowd; at times, we are the ones being limited by others’ doubts. When people define us by our past or underestimate what God is doing in us, it can be discouraging. Yet Jesus shows that rejection does not determine calling. Faithfulness does. We are called to keep walking, keep serving, and keep trusting God’s direction even when affirmation is absent.

This Gospel passage invites us to examine our hearts. Are we truly open to God’s work, even when it challenges our assumptions? Can we honor what God is doing through familiar people and ordinary settings? The greatest tragedy is not rejection itself but the loss of faith that prevents us from receiving God’s grace.

God still works in simple places, through familiar faces, and within ordinary lives. The question is not whether God is present but whether we are willing to believe, receive, and respond. When we choose openness over familiarity and faith over doubt, we make room for God to do more than we ever expected.

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