God sends prophets to tell us about God’s word and teachings and to help us live lives pleasing to God. We have prophets in our time: our parents who instil in us Christian values and morals; our pastors and priests who bring us good news about the Kingdom of God; and our friends who, by their love, motivate us to show others.
In this text, the presence and message of the Prophet, the Word of God incarnate, Jesus Christ, is unwelcome and rejected. The saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is accurate in this Gospel account. They identified Jesus as a village boy, the son of a carpenter, not as a prophet sent to them by God. God’s representative or prophet cannot be a poor carpenter village boy. They were sceptical and had preconceived ideas about God and how God is supposed to act, and they thought they knew
Jesus. We see Jesus not being able to perform any mighty deeds there.
This Gospel challenges us today to examine ourselves, our preconceived ideas about God, how we expect God to show up in our lives, and whether we recognise the people God sends to us as prophets. When we reject the people God sends to us, we also reject the message and gifts God might be bringing to us.
You are invited to ask the Lord for the grace to be more open to receiving God’s teachings and messages without judging the messenger. Ask the Lord for the grace to be a faithful prophet to your ministry.
Reflections by Morongoa Selepe
