“Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor *except in his own town*, among his relatives and in his own home.”” Mark 6:4

In the physical world we live in, familiarity offers many advantages including assistance to one another. However, familiarity could also breed contempt and represent an obstacle to us especially when it comes to the spiritual or accomplishment world. If you have any doubt about this, please ask Master Jesus.

The passage of Luke 4:16-30 shows an interesting discussion between Jesus and Nazarenes. The analysis of the discussion reveals that the people in Nazareth were accusing Jesus of performing miracles outside Nazareth and rarely in Nazareth. Jesus was then explaining to them that that situation had nothing to do with Him but had everything to do with them. Jesus went further providing evidence of what he was saying.

Jesus brought to their remembrance (Luke 4:27) the situation of Naaman, the Syrian. He was the only man with leprosy to have been healed by the prophet Elisha even though there were many people with leprosy in Israel. Then Jesus concluded: A prophet has no honor in his own country (Luke 4:24, John 4:44, Mark 6:4, Matthew 13:57). Even though Jesus did not provide the reason why no prophet is honored in his country, it is easy to understand from the context that there is no other reason but familiarity.

Indeed, familiarity here came from the fact that Jesus, who was claiming to be the son of God, was born among them, from simple parents such as Mary and Joseph. He also grew up among them. Like any child during that period, he probably played with most children of his age. As human being they saw him in his moments of weakness. All these prevented them from realizing that Jesus was the savior and that he could heal or save them.

Many of us cannot find solutions to our problems because of the familiarity we end up having with our spiritual fathers, our elders, our brothers, or our supervisors at work. The amount of time we spend with them, the weaknesses we have discovered in them breed contempt in us and become powerful obstacles for us approaching them as people with authority over us. We thus fail to receive the solutions God entrusted to them for us.

May the Lord keep us away from the spirit of contempt stemming from the spirit of familiarity.