Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
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? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and
his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?" 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." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because
of their lack of faith.
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Reflection:
Let us imagine ourselves experiencing rejection. How would we feel about
that rejection done to us? We will surely feel bad.
Jesus was rejected and belittled when He returned to Nazareth: His native
place. Jesus did not do anything offensive, He even taught at their synagogue.
Yet He was rejected and the sole reason for His rejection is they knew Him only
as the son of a carpenter. His town mates were too familiar with Him and His
family.
They can’t accept the fact that He had an extra-ordinary wisdom and
power. For these reasons they rejected Him. But why reject when they could have
welcomed Him with open arms? They rejected Jesus because they were envious of
Him. Envious of His gift of healing, intelligence and the adulation given to
Him by the people. So, they rejected someone who could have helped them.
We will not get anything good if we have envy in our hearts. We are in fact
closing our hearts to the many blessings that Jesus wants to shower us. Instead
of being envious, why not simply be happy with our fellow men and women’s
success? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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