Prophets and home towns

Gospel July 8th 2012: I'm sure we can all relate to this Gospel as we imagine the scene of Jesus returning to his family, friends, those whom he grew up with, played with as a child, worked for. The local boy returns after his travels and tell all gathered in the synagogue (or local pub) of all his successes, how well he is doing abroad, how much he has changed and so on. And the response is still the same: “Who does that fella think he is?” “He is an idealist now?” “Today’s story of Jesus visiting Nazareth is well known and probably well related to for many people. There is that saying that the Irish do well abroad… try arriving home to tell the people down the local of your success and you won’t be popular for long. Jesus is having such an experience in today’s gospel as the people of his hometown simply won’t accept him. He may have achieved wonderful things, only last week we heard of the mircales he worked. But the time has come to return home to the home country and to teach there. People simply do not see him in the same way. We can sympathise with Jesus in this story, or perhaps recognise ourselves in those who refuse to accept that the local carpenter is now calling himself the son of God. Locals question him – his authority. He is unable to be a prophet in his own country. Jesus can’t work miracles there because miracles require faith. The Nazarenes are unable to see God working through someone who they knew well. How many times has Jesus been sent to us in the form of someone we knew well but we could not see Him?