“He’s back in town!” the excited shouts of the little
children could be heard in the streets as they told their friends of his
arrival. They were always excited to see Him. He lovingly would engage them and
ask them “fun” theology questions. He was always concerned with God, and the
kingdom, and heaven. And they always enjoyed it when an adult would pay them
the attention that He did.
As He trotted down the dirt path, He passed a heavy-set, old
man slouching on a hand-carved bench in front of a white-washed house. “So he
comes back to town, and he brings a crowd,” the old man said matter-of-factly.
Looking at the group of followers, he offered up, “Old-man Joseph’s boy sure
can make a plough! I bet he never told you gentlemen that he could make a mean
yoke. Whew! Best carver in town!” Truth be told, in Nazareth, population of a
couple hundred, that wasn’t too big of a complement. “Matter of fact, this here
bench, whittled down by that fella’ there,” at this he gestured in the general
direction of the crowd, not really distinguishing which one, though all of them
knew.
Jesus just passed on by.
As the Master followed the familiar path down the main
street to the house of His childhood, the interactions with those around Him
were all very similar. People welcoming Him home. Others bragging of how He had
fixed their door, or their gate, or their cart, or their whatever. Nazareth was
different than all the other towns. Everybody was just a bit more familiar with
Jesus. Perhaps they were too familiar.
Mary had heard all of the commotion and was waiting at the
door, beaming with a smile that seemed to say, “I am so glad you are here,” but
with a look in her eyes that said, “I still know you are my Special one.” She
always looked at Him like that. She never forgot the angels, the shepherds and
the magi.
The townsfolk filtered in all night, sharing with Him their
sprained knee, or the scarred hand, the hearing problem, or the sore tooth. One
after the other, He graciously touched them and healed them. But they wouldn’t
hear His message.
This visit home would be His last though. The people there
didn’t see Him as Lord. They saw Him as anything but Lord. They would not
listen to His message, instead they told Him what He needed to do for them.
Sadly, they beheld the face of God, heard His voice, walked with Him, but
didn’t even see Him.
Food For Thought: It has been said that “familiarity breeds
contempt.” Why do you think that the people in Nazareth had such a hard time
listening to Jesus’ message?
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