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A few years ago, my family briefly moved back to the town that I had grown up in. I really wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of being reaccepted in the community that had shaped me in my school years. Would I be warmly received? Would I be rejected like Jesus in Nazareth? In the end, it was neither one of these that I experienced. What greeted me was something more like indifference. I didn’t actually run into many people that I had known in my earlier life, and I guess I hadn’t done enough to distinguish myself so that my reputation would linger. I was essentially a stranger.

The same cannot be said for Jesus. The Gospel of Mark presents us today with a scene both familiar and unsettling. Jesus, having gained fame for his miracles, returns to his hometown of Nazareth. Yet, where we might expect a hero's welcome, we encounter rejection. The townspeople, instead of marvelling at his teachings, scoff, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?" (Mark 6:3).

But is Jesus surprised by this rejection? Perhaps not. In Mark 6:4, he utters a now-famous line: "A prophet is not without honour except in his own hometown, and among his own kin, and in his own house." There's a melancholic wisdom in these words. Jesus acknowledges the human tendency to dismiss what's close at hand. The extraordinary often hides in the familiar, unseen by those who fail to look beyond the surface.

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, echoes this sentiment: "We are not naturally interested in Christ. We are interested in ourselves – our little safety, our little ambitions, our little resentments. It is not to our advantage that we should be interested in Him.”

This disinterest is what prevents the people of Nazareth from recognizing Jesus' divinity. They are comfortable with their established beliefs, unwilling to entertain the possibility of something greater residing among them.

However, the passage doesn't end on a note of despair. Mark 6:5 tells us, "And he could not do any mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them." Despite the rejection, Jesus offers his healing touch. Even in the face of disbelief, he extends his compassion.

This is a needed message for us today. Just as the people of Nazareth couldn't see Jesus for who he was, we too might miss the divine at work in our own lives. We might be so focused on our troubles that we fail to recognize the miracles unfolding around us – a friend's unexpected kindness, a breathtaking sunrise, a moment of perfect peace.

Perhaps we have something to learn from the people of Nazareth. We should not allow familiarity to blind us. We should open our eyes, not just to the extraordinary, but also to the divine hidden within the ordinary.

May God grant us the wisdom to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the faith to recognize the divine presence working in our lives, even when it feels unfamiliar.