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Jesus came to his native place
and taught the people in their synagogue. They
were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and
mighty deeds? Is he not the
carpenter’s
son? Is not his mother named Mary and
his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Are
not his sisters all with us? Where did this
man get all this?” And they took
offense at him. But
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his
native place
and in his own house.” And he did not
work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
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"I
know a girl, she puts the color inside of my world. But
she’s just like a maze where all of the
walls all continually change, and I’ve done all I can to stand on
her steps
with my heart in my hands. Now, I’m
starting to see maybe it’s got nothing to do with me. Fathers, be good to your daughters, daughters
will love like you do. Girls become
lovers who turn into mothers; so mothers, be good to your daughters too. You see that skin? It’s
the same she’s been standing in. Since
the day she saw him walking away, now
she’s left cleaning up the mess he made."
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John
Mayer’s song "Daughters" is one of the
strongest statements in modern
music about the importance of parents. The father of his
girlfriend had left her and her family, and as he
sings, "Now she’s left cleaning up the
mess." Parents and what they do probably have more effect on
the growing child
than any other factor in our environment.
And so families are important—the personalities that make up the individual members, how the members interact with one another, what they do with each other, and so forth. Sometimes the families that we live in are healthy and promote reasonable and sound growing experiences. Sometimes families are not what they should be, and generate anxiety and illness. But, whatever the situation of families, the family and how people grow are forces that influence every person in our world. Jesus Christ was no exception. He had a family; he knew it; and more to the point, his hometown knew it. And so, they could not understand why he had all the wisdom he had. But Jesus had a mission in this life, and he told the people that he knew and that knew him that his mission went beyond what they thought about him. Jesus’ thought is of high importance for people in our world, especially people who do not have the family background that they wish they had. There comes a time when people must face who they are, stop blaming where they came from, stop any complaining about their past, and begin their adult lives. Our families have a tremendous influence on us, to be sure, but we can accept them—their strengths and their limitations—and move on with our own missions. Our world awaits what we can do. We cannot dwell on the past; we have to move into the future. |
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THOUGHT
What
are the strengths of your own family?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, your Son had a human family whom he loved and worked
with. But he knew his mission was from You, his heavenly Father who
directed
him
toward our redemption. May we honor and
respect our families, and then be willing to do the best we can in our
own
individual lives. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |