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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me remember that even famous people are just people - and we all have talents, famous or not! Amen.


Jesus went to Nazareth, His hometown, and tried to teach at the temple there. People who heard Him couldn't believe it. "Isn't He just a carpenter?" they said. "We know His family; He's nobody special." Jesus was sad that they didn't have faith in Him, so instead of doing any miracles, He left town.

When famous people talk about their friends and family, they often say it's important to hang around with people they have known forever - even before they were famous. Old friends treat them like regular people, not stars.

On the other hand, it can be hard for people who have known you for years to see you in a different way. Jesus encountered that problem in this week's Gospel (Mark 6:1-6).

Jesus' foster father, Joseph, was a carpenter, and Jesus had worked with him before starting to teach people about God. Neighbors who knew Jesus as a young man assumed He'd get a job as a carpenter, not become a famous preacher - and they definitely didn't expect Him to say He was the Son of God!

It must be hard for stars' long-time friends to understand that their friend is now a star. You probably wouldn't ask your friend for an autograph, but famous people are asked that all the time.

For the people from Jesus' hometown, it was hard to accept His fame - and His teachings. How could someone they knew as a boy also be the Son of God? How could the son of a carpenter be doing miracles?

The important thing - for friends of famous people, and for followers of Jesus - is to have faith in your friends. Everyone has talents, and just because you haven't seen those talents yet doesn't mean they aren't there.

Jesus didn't bother doing any miracles in His hometown. His old friends turned out not to be very good friends![[In-content Ad]]

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