Fourth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

Familiarity with someone can sometimes blind us to the good and the bad within them and it is no different with Jesus. The people of his native place doubt him, his wisdom, and his works. We can do the same to those around us who make a change in their lives, especially one which forces us to look at them in a new light. We have a tendency to put others into boxes after a while and when they do something outside that box we wonder what is wrong with them. Some of these changes are for the better, others for the worse and it is up to us to put aside our former ways of thinking about the person in order to recognize which it is. If it is good we should encourage it, if bad we should convince them to stop it.

Who are the people we doubt? Are we being fair to them in light of the actions they have taken not just in the past, but in the present? When we see someone we know do something unexpected are we able to look at what they have done objectively and make a just judgment about it?

O Lord, help us to recognize your wisdom and works in others, especially those whom we find it most difficult to love.

Amen.