Sunday, July 07, 2024
The Curse of the Familiar
People struggle with gratitude. It makes life so much better, yet it can be hard to get there-- in part because so much of what we should be grateful for is so.... familiar. We want to be grateful for the fantastic new job or an amazing new friend instead of the good job we have or the friends who are there now.
My dad was great at seeing beauty in the familiar. He did it all the time. He did see beauty in other places, of course, and sought it out, but that didn't mean he didn't see it right there in the back yard (literally).
Jesus dealt with this, as described in Mark 6:
Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
We too often equate amazing with new. What a recipe for tragedy! The amazing is already there-- Jesus is already there-- but in the things you already know so well. Open your eyes! (and then open mine).
