Looking around...

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”
~ Mark 6:4
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This morning as I prepare to head down to Galveston to speak at Westminster Presbyterian Church, I keep thinking about today's text.

Jesus returns home after time away, calling disciples, performing miracles, and teaching about the kingdom of God. The people are amazed at the knowledge that he now possesses and they wonder where this hometown boy has learned all of this. Additionally, Jesus struggles among these folk who remember him as a "carpenter" and "son of Mary."

Going home is not always easy for most people. There will always be those who will have a story about you. The "remember when's" can sometime overcome who you are currently.

I haven't been home in many years. It's not that I don't have a sense of home, although only my sister remains remotely close to where we grew up, I guess it is just that I recognize that I am very different than the kid that spent most of his childhood on a farm. The lessons I learned as a child have helped me to foster a sense of who I am today, but as I shared with someone about eight years ago after an attempt to return home and find that "inner child" I seemed to have lost, all I found was an "aging middle-aged man," instead.

Jesus knew who he was and what people thought of him. Referring to him as "Mary's son," without mention of a father proved to place him in a category of those persons without a father. A scandalous statement.

I think we all will admit that this was unkind, and that even though his wisdom was great, the faith of those he grew up around was simply limited.

I always was told, "If you just want to be reminded of who you are, go home."

Like Jesus, we all struggle at times with our past. I'm grateful for Jesus and his reminder that grace and mercy are always following after us, and that no matter where we have been, or who we think we may be, God always sees beyond that and knows who we are now and who we will be.

Stay in God's grip!

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2018