Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
I know it's a cliche to say this passage came across my path just when I needed it (I gag just hearing myself say such a Christianese thing...), but it's true. I was comforted by this passage tonight and I'm glad I happened to open to it.
Today has been one of those nobody-likes-me-everybody-hates-me-I'm-gonna-go-eat-worms kind of days where I just realize, gee, I'm pretty lonely and most of my friends are to busy to even reply to my text messages, much less get together for a good talk. I've made so much of an effort to be a good friend throughout my life, but haven't gotten much in return. Most of my friendships have been pretty one-sided, either because the other person is busy, emotionally unavailable, or even unwilling for who knows what reason. It gets really frustrating, especially when you see everyone else boasting about how #blessed they are to have such wonderful friends and how much they love their friends and you wonder why nobody wants to love you.
When I read this passage, I realized that Jesus knows what it's like to experience rejection too. This spoke to a very broken and hurt-y part of my soul because a deep-seated hurt of mine is the many rejections I have faced over the years, whether from friends who just aren't interested, men who don't return my affections, the many organizations and ministries I've tried to be a part of or jobs I've applied to, the ministries of my own I've tried to start that never took off. I sometimes to wonder if all this rejection means there's something wrong with me that people just don't like. But I guess there wasn't anything wrong with Jesus that caused people to reject him; in fact, the issue was more that there was something right with him.
So at the risk of sounding self-glorifying, I find comfort in knowing that even Jesus faced rejection by his very own hometown. His home fries. The people who are supposed to put up signs at the gas stations saying how proud they are when you win the Olympics. The people who are supposed to crowd the airport to welcome you back from conquering the world. Why didn't Jesus' peeps celebrate that someone had made it out of their dinky little down and made a name for himself? They ridiculed and resented his success. They had no faith in his potential, in his message, in his talent even though they witnessed it themselves. Were they jealous? Were they upset that he had gotten above his station?
Again, I find comfort (wish I could now find another word to use...) in knowing that the most famous man in human history experienced a hurt not dissimilar from my own, in spite of my being a tiny little nobody who will be a mere blip on the radar of history. I had a close friend for about three years who projected a very hot/cold, passive-aggressive attitude towards me; I could never tell if we were best friends or worst enemies. Such is the nature of female friendship at times...ha! Anyways, I always felt like she resented any successes or accomplishments I achieved, which hurt me a lot because I was looking for support and encouragement from my friends, not underhanded digs and calculated coldness. Sometimes we had fun together, but other times she had the potential to leave me frustrated and confused beyond belief or even bawling on the phone to my mother, unable to contain my hurt.
When our paths parted because of circumstances, I decided to stop keeping up with her because it just seemed healthier for me that way. Apparently the feeling was mutual because I haven't heard from her in probably nine months. For the most part I've moved on, but occasionally I remember her patronizing, pasted-on smile and pointed comments and desperately wonder, "What on earth did I do to make her hate me? I tried so hard to be her friend and make her feel welcome!" I'm sure many others know what it's like to have a friend of family member who you just can't please; who cuts you down when you are looking for affirmation. We can find encouragement in the glimpse this passage gives into a unique view of his humanity: he was rejected. In fact, the rejection, opposition, and hate Jesus faced is almost as focused on in the gospels as the popularity he experienced, and oftentimes the popularity was distasteful to him because it was insincere; people just wanted to see him perform miracles, not listen to the message or experience true healing of their soul.
So I guess I'm learning that you can't blame yourself for others' lack of faith, particularly when you're trying to serve God and minister to others. And just because others don't acknowledge you or they cut you down, it's typically a problem on their end, such as a lack of self-confidence, previous dysfunctional relationships, etc., that makes them behave so unkindly. Of course, we should be on our guard against doing this to other people ourselves. I know I'm sometimes guilty of taking my problems out on others.
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