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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me listen when someone knows a lot about a subject -- and help me get others to listen to my interests! 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.

Every kid has something they're really into. If you love dinosaurs, for example, you probably know instantly whether a picture is of a stegosaurus or a T. Rex -- and you know which dinosaurs were carnivores and which were herbivores, too. It amazes some adults that a kid could know so much about one subject!

In this week's Gospel (Mark 6:1-6), Jesus has that experience. He goes to teach in the temple (like your church), and people who knew Him as a kid can't believe it: Wasn't Jesus trained as a carpenter? How did He learn all this stuff about religion and God? Besides, Jesus was saying things they'd never heard before, so where did He get all those ideas?

People who think a kid can't possibly know a lot about dinosaurs or Minecraft or cooking obviously don't understand kids. If you find something you're passionate about, you probably dive in and learn everything you can, whether it's types of tropical fish or karate moves!

Jesus, of course, was the Son of God, so He didn't need to study how to teach people about God. He learned from His foster father, Joseph, how to be a carpenter, but that wasn't His life's work.

Adults shouldn't ignore kids' knowledge about interesting subjects -- and the people Jesus tried to teach in His hometown shouldn't have ignored Him. Sometimes, kids or adults know more than you think. It's worth listening to them. Look at all the people who missed out on the chance to learn about God straight from Jesus![[In-content Ad]]

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