He Could Work No Mighty Deed There…

Last weekend’s Gospel (Mk 6:1-6) told the story of Jesus’ first visit to Nazareth after His ministry began so successfully in Capernaum. It was in Capernaum that Jesus cast out demons and healed many sick people. And the people of that town recognized Jesus as someone who taught with authority.

But His hometown folks treated Him badly.  They insulted Him.  They misjudged Him.  They didn’t give Him a chance to be the person that the Father called “His Beloved Son” at His Baptism.  They jumped to rash unflattering conclusions.  In the face of all that, “He could work no mighty deed there.” What a sad story!

It was a rejection of Jesus by a community.  It wasn’t some personal misunderstanding.  It was a judgment by the people He had grown up with…people whom He loved. That hurt.

One insult was particularly ugly.  It was the remark that He was ‘the son of Mary’. Mary Healy in her book The Gospel of Mark suggests that those words might be “a veiled slur, alluding to the fact that Mary was not yet married at the time of Jesus’ conception.” How do you think Jesus would have felt about that?    

The antidote to misjudging people is to try to see people the way that God sees them.