When Jesus came to Nazareth, he put himself in a very difficult test. We know for a fact that people who have known us since childhood can be the harshest critic we might encounter. And, this particular visit of Jesus wasn’t really meant to be a private visit because he went to his hometown together with his disciples. He was there not as Jesus the Carpenter, but as Jesus the Rabbi. As what we heard from the Gospel, he went to the synagogue and taught there. But his teachings were not received so well; in fact, he was received with contempt. They could not fathom and believe that a man like Jesus, whose background they knew well, could be better than them. They just could not accept that. This is an example of familiarity breeding contempt.
Jesus was rejected by his own people because they thought that they knew him so well. Even though they were amazed initially by the words that came from Jesus, they could not pass the thought that he could be more than what they thought of him. It was as if they were saying about Jesus: I knew this guy, I knew where he came from, he’s just an ordinary guy like me, how come he’s preaching that way to us? They were stuck in their image or their caricature of Jesus. At times, we can be stuck with our own image of who God is or what the church should be. The problem with this is not so much that the image that we have of God or the Church is wrong, but rather, it closes our minds and hearts to the variety of ways in which the Spirit works in us. One can be like the Nazarenes who were totally convinced that Jesus was only a carpenter and nothing more (not that a carpenter is not a noble profession), but they closed their minds to the many possibilities in which God reveals himself to them. In the life of the Church, our understanding of God and our relationship with him continues to evolve and develop in time. This doesn’t mean, though, that our fundamental teachings will change, but rather it proves that the Spirit is alive and vibrant and continues to move us in different directions in order to comprehend more and more who God is and his will for us. One has to be open to the new ways of the Spirit and allow ourselves to be surprised and to be stunned with what God has in store for us. Christian life is about being awed by the ever-dynamic movement of the Holy Spirit because God’s truth and love are inexhaustible. We are always discovering something new and fresh. Am I open to the new ways that God
reveals himself to me?
We were told in the Gospel that because Jesus was not received at his own place, he didn’t perform any miracles there. God doesn’t force himself to us. He doesn’t coerce us to receive and love him. One theologian refers to this as the scandal of God’s love. He loves us so much to the point that he allows us to even offend him. But, to be outside of “God’s zone” is to lose oneself, where true joy and happiness are elusive.
Even though Jesus didn’t push himself to be accepted by his own people, he invited them first to the truth by teaching them in their synagogue. Though God doesn’t push himself to us, he invites us to receive him anew. As Jesus visited his own people, he comes and visits us every single day, every single moment. We have the choice, to open the door of our hearts to him or to slam the door in his face. Slamming the door in his face is when one chooses what is contrary to the Gospel. Once we let him in, he will want to stay there forever. Once he is there, we can’t help ourselves but to be transformed and share him to others. Are you willing to let him in? And, if he is already there, are we willing to make him stay forever? – Fr. Cary