Gospel (Mk 6:1-6)

Jesus went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.

And he went about among the villages teaching.

Commentary

It may surprise us to see that the first time Jesus returns to Nazareth with his disciples, his power to perform miracles is greatly curtailed (cf. Mk 6:5). Since Jesus is the Messiah, true God and true Man, what could prevent him from carrying out a miracle if that were his will?

The problem lies in the people’s lack of faith. Only a few persons came to Him. Most of the people reject Him because they have known Jesus as their fellow townsman and cling to their preconceived ideas about Him, refusing to accept his “new authority.”

“A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mk 6:4). Jesus remembers, in contrast, how the people in Capernaum had received Him, acclaiming his authority (cf. Mk 1:27) and bringing all the sick and possessed to Him to heal them (cf. Mk 1:32-34).

Jesus also comes into our own lives bringing so many gifts and inviting us to accept his message and follow Him. Will our Lord find in us an open and welcoming heart or will we be distrustful and reject Him? Jesus has something very great He wants to give us: “If you only knew the gift of God” (Jn 4:10).

For a person with a strong faith, a whole new range of possibilities opens up beyond what one can even imagine. The people of Nazareth never experienced this, and couldn’t, or didn’t want to, face the fact that the fault was theirs.