REJECTION

August 1, 2025 First Friday of the Month Matthew 13:54-58 There’s a quiet heartbreak in today’s Gospel: Jesus returns to His hometown, not with grandeur, but with grace, and He is met not with welcome, but with rejection. The people who knew Him best—who watched Him grow, who perhaps even played with Him as a child—couldn’t accept that something divine could come from someone so ordinary. Their hearts were closed not because of what He taught, but because they couldn’t let go of who they thought He was. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” They couldn’t believe that holiness could wear a familiar face. This story speaks to every one of us who has ever been doubted, dismissed, or underestimated by those closest to us. It reminds us that even Jesus, the Son of God, was not immune to rejection. And yet, He didn’t allow their unbelief to define His mission. He kept moving forward, teaching, healing, and loving—knowing that the truth doesn’t lose its power just because some refuse to see it. Sometimes the people who know our past can’t accept our growth. But God sees what others overlook, and His call remains firm, even through the pain of being misunderstood. Ultimately, this Gospel is an invitation to open our eyes to the sacred hiding in the ordinary. How often do we miss God’s presence because it doesn’t come in the way we expect? Let us not fall into the same trap as those in Nazareth. Let us believe that God still speaks—through ordinary people, in familiar places, and often in the most unexpected ways. When we choose faith over familiarity, miracles can happen. Christ is always passing by—may we have the eyes to recognize Him and the heart to receive Him. Blessings Fr. Jhack