The saying goes that ‘familiarity breeds contempt.’ Initially, familiarity with one another is what deepens our love and deepens our connection. If we continue to honor each other, familiarity leads to even deeper respect and love. But as we become more and more familiar with someone, there is also a temptation to let pride set in. And once pride sets in, pride erodes familiarity into contempt. And we lose respect for the person or thing that we have come to know so well. In Mark 6, Jesus comes to His hometown with the best news that humankind has ever heard, that God has come as one of us to save us from sin and judgement. And so far that message has been well received in all the towns He has been in. When Jesus demonstrates His authority in other towns, people ask, “Who is this?” But when He comes to Nazareth, they don’t ask that question; they assume they know who He is and they ask questions that reveal their bruised sense of pride at being called to repent by one of their own.
