Daily Reading 11/4

Today's Gospel lesson is again from Matthew (the Daily Office, in case you weren't sure, usually has fairly sequential readings). It's a pretty short passage, so I'll cite the whole thing for you below:

"When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" They got their noses all out of joint.

But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference. " (Matthew 13:53-58, The Message)

The Message presents the passage in a pretty different way here (I think), but the gist is basically the same. Jesus went back to his home town, preached, and everyone wondered where he got his ability from and didn't listen to him because he was just Mary's son, not a big deal.

Now, I'll admit that when I read this at first I'm somewhat indignant on Jesus's behalf, as I'm guessing the disciples likely were. The people in this town had known Jesus for a long time, but somehow they still didn't believe him. How could they?! But then I get honest with myself for a moment and think about what I would think if someone I'd grown up with did the same kind of thing. If a high school classmate showed up one day and was teaching about my future salvation (and, I'm assuming, claiming that he/she was the next Messiah), I would probably remember what they were like in high school and not want to listen either. The point is that previous association with someone creates an image of that person in our minds, be it good or bad, and that image gets in the way of how we may percieve a person or their message later on. The people in Jesus's hometown couldn't get past their preconceptions about Jesus, based on knowing him as he grew up.

The question that comes to mind for me, and Matthew's gospel doesn't tell us, is just what Jesus was saying when he taught. What got people so up in arms? Was it similar to the teachings we've been seeing in Matthew up to this point or was it different? What was he saying? I guess I won't know the answer to that one anytime soon...

So what do we take from this passage? Well, I think it calls us to examine the way we approach people. Jesus can speak to us in many different ways, and often the Holy Spirit moves through our interactions with those around us. How are our own prejudices getting in the way of hearing what the Spirit is saying to us? Are we too blinded by how we've known someone previously (or think we've known someone) to let what they're trying to tell us really reach our hearts and minds? Are we being like the people in Jesus's home town?

It's something to think about.