"A prophet is always honored... except by the people closest to them"
As we continue to learn from Christ about the divine path through the wilderness of life, we're reading Mark 6-7 this weekend. Here we find Jesus perplexed and frustrated by those he encounters - and his perspective on this reality gives us a better understanding of how we, too, must transcend the pettiness and meanness of people in our circles.
Jesus finds that when he arrives in his hometown, among people that know him and his family well, instead of being celebrated for the miracles and teachings he has delivered throughout the land he is instead treated with mockery and suspicion. In this same place, he and his disciples are soon criticized by some of the 'upstanding' religious leaders, for apparently not following the right rules.
In both cases, Christ's journey reveals what we know to be true in our own lives as well: that people around us are sometimes playing games or trying to get a leg up on one another... and to participate in those games is decidedly not the path of God toward the promised land. Jesus shows us instead that when confronted with these distractions, the choice to rise above the fray and keep eyes on what really matters is a core principle of the faithful life.
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20 сен 2024
