"'Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?' And they took offense at him." Mark 6:3
Have you ever been a situation where you haven't seen an old friend or coworker, maybe for many years, and then when you reunite, you think, "boy, he or she has changed!" The same can be said for a young adult returning from college, or someone returning after a long deployment in the military. When you first saw them, you may have judged first by appearance, then by what they said in sharing what's been going on in their life since your last encounter. At times it can be disturbing to you. After all, that's not how you remembered them.
In Mark's Gospel this weekend, Jesus returns to His hometown, seemingly to be welcomed by His former community. Many remembered Jesus as the son of Mary and Joseph, the carpenter. But Jesus had been gone awhile. He'd grown up.
We read that Jesus goes to the synagogue to teach, and that those who heard Him were astonished. They become indignant, asking "How could the son of a carpenter have this kind of knowledge? What gives him the authority or right to say such things?" In essence, the people of Jesus' hometown question His authority and all that He was doing. How could those Jesus grew up with not accept Him now?
This account is meant for us to examine ourselves. How often are we quick to judge others, to pigeon-hole them based on nationality, color of skin or creed? Today more than ever, it seems we are not open to the opinion of others, so much so that we do not even listen to the other side.
Our Lord shows us the way to the Father, yet often we want to do things our way instead of His. We pick and choose what we want to believe versus God's truth. Have the courage today not to pass judgment on others based on what we have seen in the past, but what has been revealed to us as truth.
Today's Reflection is by:
Bishop Gregory Parkes
Did you know...
Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes is the fifth Bishop of St. Petersburg. Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando on June 26, 1999. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa's banking industry.
