Mark 6:1-6 NRSVue
1He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.” 5And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.
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Reflection on Mark 6:1-6
Inspiration from 2025-02-05 Daily Prayer
Most likely, this was the last time Jesus set foot in his home village after they took offence at him out of jealousy or hardness of heart. He had brought the treasure of the Good News to them, and no doubt he had hoped for a welcome from them and that he would cure the sick. In my own blindness, do I thwart God’s plans to give himself to me?
The surprise of his former fellow villagers at this ‘new’ Jesus speaks volumes about how ordinary his growing up in Nazareth as the son of the carpenter had been. For most of us, our lives will be ordinary, but in God’s eyes, each one is precious and unique. We thank him for the wonder of our being.
Further reflection
Francois Mauriac wrote in his life of Jesus: /It is baffling to record that, for a period of thirty years, the Son of Man did not appear to be anything other than a man./ Those who lived with him thought they knew him. He fixed their tables and chairs. They ate and drank with his extended family. When he stepped outside the role they had fixed for him, they put him down as just a workman.
Lord, there are depths in each of us, even those we think we know well, that only you can glimpse. A put-down tells more about the speaker than about the victim. Save me, Lord, from such folly.
Opposition never stopped Jesus. Even when they resisted his message and gave out about his family, he went ahead, going to other small villages, the wandering teacher. His message possessed him.
The wisdom of Jesus came from heaven and earth. He had a calm way of seeing the meaning in things and events. This was born of earth and of his divine origin in heaven.
People couldn't accept the ordinariness of Jesus - that he grew up in a normal family which was named and well-known in Nazareth. Sometimes we find it hard to see the grace of God near to us, under our noses as it were. In the ordinariness of life and of love, of misunderstanding and hurt, of care and compassion, the grace of God and the love of God are active and alive.