“And he said, ‘Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.’ When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.” (Luke 2:24-30 NABRE)

The people of Nazareth, who watched Jesus grow up and who knew He and His family best, rejected Jesus. They did not believe that a boy who had been in their midst for so long could possibly be the expected Messiah.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus called out the people of His native place for their lack of faith. The people, however, believed that Jesus was committing the sin of blasphemy and grew angry in response to His words. They drove Him out of the town, led Him up a hill, and intended to throw Jesus off the cliff in order to cleanse the people of this so-called sinner.

Yet, though Jesus faced a raging and furious crowd that desired to end His life, once they reached the top of the hill, Jesus miraculously walked right back down the hill, through the crowd, and went on His way.

Sometimes we might feel like Jesus when the people who are closest to us in our lives, seem to be the ones who reject us the most, or don’t understand us or our faith. However, sometimes, we may even be the ones who reject or judge our family members for trying to do God’s will in their lives. Rather than supporting our friends and family and praying for them, we may respond to their spiritual goals with a “well, good luck with that” kind of attitude.

It’s easy to point fingers and question why the people of Nazareth didn’t recognize the Messiah in their midst, however, how often do we overlook the Lord in our own lives? Have we grown so familiar with Jesus and the stories of the Gospels that they have become dull to us? May we never overlook the Lord’s glorious presence in our lives, like the people of His native town did.

Lord Jesus, when the ones we love reject us, help us to carry on like You did. Help us to support, love, and pray for those in our lives whom we have been tempted to reject. And most importantly, Lord, help us to always recognize Your glorious presence in our lives, and never allow our familiarity with You to cause us to overlook, reject, or ignore You Lord. Amen.