In today's gospel (Mark 6:1-6) Jesus goes home to Nazareth and preaches in the town synagogue. Here the place is filled with people who know him. People who watched him grow up and people who grew up with him. He wowed them!
Yet, they are so caught up caught up with the fact that he was the skinny little kid who grew up down the street!
They only knew one side of Jesus! As a result Jesus could not work any miracles.
We can never know everything about Jesus. It takes a lifetime to know who he is and how he can help us.
I remember years ago our diocese sponsored a faith sharing program called "Why Catholic?". It was a program designed for people who already practice their faith to deepen their faith. It was also intended for those who have fallen away from the faith to get them into practicing it again.
An interesting thing happened. There were some people who were not interested in taking part in the program. These were people who were regular church goers. What was their reason? "I went to Catholic schools my whole life. I also studied the Baltimore Catechism. We already know why we are Catholic. We don't need to be a part of this group!"
This is the similar attitude to the friends and relatives in the synagogue who thought they had Jesus all figured out. If you we don't take advantage of the opportunities to learn more about our faith our faith will not grow. Just like a lot happened between the time Jesus left Nazareth to begin his ministry and then returned to preach in the local Synagogue a lot has happened since we fist learned about Jesus when we were children and we became adults. Biblical scholarship has changed. The catechism has changed. Theology has changed. Time has changed. WE have changed. Therefore our ability to relate to Jesus and how Jesus relates to our world has changed.
Take the time to read more books and
articles about the latest developments in biblical scholarship. Take advantage of faith sharing programs offered by your parish or diocese. Read the gospels and reflect on how they are relevant today.
When we do these we begin to see a different side of our Messiah, we deepen our relationship with Him and see the amazing things he does for us.