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.
The bewildered amazement of Jesus' former neighbors and friends reflects the general astonishment of the world in the presence of God. Invariably the enemies of God, like the Egyptian pharaoh, cannot fathom what is happening while God's beloved are merely dumbfounded.
The Gospel of John especially develops that theme; the "world" is confused not only by Jesus but also by his disciples. You'll recall Pontius Pilate's question of Jesus. This particularly shallow politician understands nothing of the Jewish faith or messianic expectation. Put on the spot by Jesus's accusers, he seems to want a momentary break from the tension. He might be stalling for time when he asks, "Where do you come from?"
He cannot imagine that Jesus is an ambassador from Truth. That mystical place might as well be Peter Pan's "never-never land" or a hobbit's "middle earth."
To this day, truth is not a real place for many people. Avaricious for power and disciplined only by dread of punishment and rebuke, truth is the last thing they might think about. They're more concerned about what they want, what they want you to believe, or what others want to hear. Confronted by disagreeable facts they find ways to spin them to fit their bizarre understandings. If they sometimes swear by the truth, it only means less to them. They would not know the truth, as Dad used to say, if it bit them on the leg.
So Jesus's familiar people are astounded by the revelation of this young man who went down to the Jordan River, was baptized, and then spent forty days alone in the desert. He seems to come back an altogether different person. "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?" they asked one another.
They liked him on their terms; they don't much care for him on his own terms.
"And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith."
This is the challenge of faith, no more familiar to Jesus's contemporaries than it is to us. As we wait for a post-Covid 19 world to open out before us, with blessings we might anticipate but cannot expect, we pray that we will be ready to receive the Lord on his terms. None other will do.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.