A Call to Listen - A Prophet in His Native Place

Today’s Gospel reading has always reminded me of the tendency we have to look down on a person’s words, insights, and input due to how we perceive their status.  This status could involve intelligence, wealth, or social standing among many others.  Imagine how many people in today’s Gospel completely missed who was directly in front of them because of His identity as a carpenter’s son, which was certainly not a compliment in this context. 

It is very tempting in our daily lives to dismiss people based on their status in our eyes, which is to deny the dignity given to them by God.  I have two challenges for readers this week. 

The first is for those who find themselves dismissive of others as we have described. 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”  Spend some time reflecting on the dignity of the person you may be dismissing and how, if you were present in the crowd that day, you may have dismissed Jesus Himself.  Every single person makes up the Body of Christ in our Church and every single person has something to offer. 

The second challenge is for the dismissed.  It hurts to be rejected, invalidated, and dismissed, but take heart in the fact that the same thing happened to Christ.  Do not let these dismissals become a catalyst for feeling incapable of love, respect, and validation.  Despite our being rejected, we are still adored and loved by Christ. 

This week, spend some time reflecting on the Gospel and both you and your neighbor’s dignity and value as a member of the Body of Christ.