Walking In Peace

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For the Fourth Sunday in ordinary time, we pick up after lasts week’s Gospel of the calling of the first four disciples, one day, apostles. After some teaching recognized as with authority, Jesus drives out a demon from the man with the unclean spirit and he does it with words and not with any magic or ritual. This power reinforces his teaching authority. Then in Marcan style, the word spreads about Jesus all over the region. 

All of this from the itinerate preacher from Nazareth. Someone from Nazareth would have been looked down on because they were from a very small town and probably not well educated. In John’s Gospel, Nathanael questioned whether anything good can come from Nazareth!

Nazareth is revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus and the Holy Family. Jesus not only picked up his religious practices there but his carpentry skills along with other skills in the building trades. He made friends and celebrated with family in this small town. It is a well known town now, but then it did not have much to brag about until…

What about your hometown shaped you in the way that Jesus was shaped?