Faith in the Familiar

Today's readings: Psalms 54, 146; Isaiah 48:12-22; Galatians 1:18-2:10; Mark 6:1-13

Can you imagine any of your childhood friends becoming the Messiah? Neither could the people of Jesus’ hometown. When we know someone from before the time they were toilet-trained, or endure their period of adolescent moodiness, or witness other personal (all too humanizing!) traits, our ability to see her or him as truly extraordinary can evaporate. Executive washrooms are exclusive for a reason. Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it doesn’t often promote respect.

When Jesus tried to teach in Nazareth, people took offense at his attempt. They asked: “Isn’t he just that carpenter? You know, Mary’s kid?”(Mark 6:3). Their unbelief amazed him, and limited his abilities (vv 5-6). Like a nightmarish high school reunion, his peers preconceptions negated all he had become. We benefit from hindsight, but how would we react if the neighbor kid started telling us we needed to rethink our concept of God?

Though none of our neighbors, children, siblings, parents or friends are likely to be the second coming of Christ, the reaction of the people of Nazareth serves as a warning. We don’t always want to hear challenging truths from someone we know well. We may brush off legitimate criticism from friends by reminding ourselves (and them) of their own faults. We might ignore good advice from Dad because “he always worries too much.” After watching our children make mistakes we warned them about, maybe we can’t learn to see them as capable adults. Companies often bring in consultants to point out obvious truths not because consultants are smarter, but because strangers lack the baggage we use to discredit our peers when we don’t want to hear them.

What damage do we cause our relationships when, even unknowingly, we dismiss people because they are familiar? Maybe we’re not preventing them from performing miracles, but how much might they accomplish if given a little faith? One way we can try to see the face of Christ in everyone is to define them by their potential, and not by their shortcomings. Sometimes they may let us down, but how we can rejoice when they lift us up!

Evening readings: Psalms 28, 99