Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever misunderstood someone via text because you ‘heard’ the text with a tone that the sender did not intend? This experience comes to mind as I pray with the gospel today. “Where did this man get all of this? What kind of wisdom has been given him?” The questions themselves aren’t bad questions. They could have been asked with wonder and awe, “Wow! He’s one of us! Isn’t it amazing that we are seeing this new side of him? Isn’t it wonderful how he’s grown into the man before us?”
Given Jesus’ response, it’s clear that’s not the tone these questions were asked in. The NAB says that the people of his hometown “took offense” at him; other translations say they “stumbled.” Perhaps we can identify with the hometown crowd. They thought they knew Jesus; he grew up there. The community formed him in many ways. And now, Jesus is the one teaching and forming them. His wisdom somehow seems deeper than they’ve encountered in him before he left, his love wider. It’s like they are encountering Christ for the first time. Perhaps some took offense, maybe others stumbled as they tried to understand the person in front of them, whom they thought they knew.
The people in Jesus’ hometown are skeptical and dismissive. It’s easier to resist the depth of compassion and mercy, which often feels impractical. It’s easier not to move toward hope. Hope is risky. Sometimes, it’s easier to be skeptical or even dismiss the possibility of living the gospel as deeply and widely as we are called to do.
We have prophets in our hometown, too. People who call us to speak and act on behalf of God’s love. In fact, we are baptized priest, prophet, and king. By God’s grace, we are baptized prophets! As we encounter those among us who are growing in this gift, whose love and commitment to justice in this moment is deepening and widening, we are called to meet them not with skepticism or dismissal, but with wonder and awe at what God is doing in them. What God wants to do in us together, a community of prophets. May we allow our hearts to be moved, to dare to hope alongside one another, and to respond together with our hands and feet.
It’s also true that as we grow in our own role as prophets, we must be willing to face skepticism and dismissal, even from those we love. Sometimes, what we fear does not materialize when we step out in faith. And sometimes, it’s true that we are dismissed. However, that is not the end of the story. Notice that the gospel does say, while Jesus didn’t perform a mighty deed there, he still worked some miracles, curing a few sick people. He remained for a bit, listening and responding to the needs. Then, we know, he moved on and performed mighty deeds as he continued his journey. God’s grace will surround us always.
—Kelly Adamson