Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop (Optional Memorial)

Where did this man get such wisdom? 

The people of Nazareth knew Jesus. How could they not? He had grown up right in front of them. But when he returned there to preach and heal, his neighbors’ memories clashed with what they saw and heard. Who did Jesus think he was? He was just a carpenter, not a religious leader! Jesus was so familiar to them that they stopped seeing him.

Who are the people most familiar to you? Your immediate family? Spouses, parents, children, brothers, sisters—these are the people God has given us to love. And yet we can sometimes find it easier to treat strangers better than our own family.

Familiar people like family aren’t new and exciting, so we may not give them the close attention they deserve. As a result, we stop seeing them. We lose sight of all the unique and special characteristics that make them so lovable—and we lose sight of all the ways they reveal the love and presence of God.

Remember that your family members, even the ones you have a hard time loving, are made in God’s image. He has planted his goodness and truth in them. So when you focus on their positive, God-given talents and characteristics and not just their faults, you’ll be better able to see Christ in them.

Jesus has told us, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Sometimes “the least” are also the most familiar, the ones we spend “the least” time considering. But when we take the time to see them, the Holy Spirit will open our hearts as well as our eyes. He may even show us a few things about them that may surprise us.

When the people of Nazareth heard Jesus preach, they asked, “Where did this man get such wisdom?” (Matthew 13:54). Maybe, if they had been paying attention while he was growing up around them, they wouldn’t have had to ask that question. The same is true for us. The more we see Christ in the people closest to us, the more open we will be to hearing him speaking to us through them. Just imagine how good that will be!

“Jesus, open my eyes so that I can see you in my closest family members!”

Jeremiah 26:1-9
Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14
Matthew 13:54-58