Be Still And Know

Matthew 13.54-55 NLT Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son.” I suspect that we have all known the hurt of being put down by somebody, and it hurts. Even if it happened many years ago, I suspect that you can still remember exactly where you were, and every word that was said. People’s cruel words often disfigure a person’s life. This may not have been the intention of the person who spoke them, but the words live on and continue to do damage. This is especially true if the words were spoken by parents, siblings or partners. Jesus had to withstand many put downs. In our reading today people were so amazed by his teaching and miracles that they couldn’t believe that he could have been a local boy, and the son of a carpenter. They knew the family and it all seemed incredible. If he had been the son of a religious leader in Jeru