Today’s Reflection
Gospel:  Mt 13: 54-58
August 4, 2023 | Friday

Today’s Gospel

He went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all these things?” And so they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is his hometown and in his own family.” And he did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Today’s Reflection:

Jesus experienced rejection as a prophet because many of his townsfolk focused on His background rather than the relevance of His message. Today, many well-discerned people keep their mouths shut because they fear that some “demolition team” would cancel them on various social media platforms. Many people today pretend to adhere to the principle of freedom of speech yet become viciously ironic because they violate the very same freedom by destroying the reputation of others to enforce their own selfish truths. In the same way that we want to avoid becoming like Jesus’ townsfolk who canceled Jesus based on His background and without first fully hearing Him, we also need to stop this “cancel culture.” Rejection stops when we embrace others not in the value of their credentials but by their love. /Vulnerasti, 2023