This Sunday we have a gospel that we can easily relate with because the experience of discrimination  and rejection happens to us from time to time. The experience of Jesus and his response can become our model in responding to similar actuations.

We could imagine that when Jesus decided to return to his hometown after leaving it in order to start his ministry, he was full of enthusiasm and excitement. This time he would like also to proclaim the good news to his people. This we see in his preaching at the synagogue on a Sabbath. He must have been an eloquent preacher because he did impress his townmates. In fact, the latter could not believe what they heard from him so that they asked questions about his true person and identity. They could not reconcile the knowledge they have of him during his growing years and the present wisdom and authority that he was showing. He was too much for them because they only saw him based on his lowly background – a neighbor and a carpenter. What happens here is that they have not progressed in their understanding of his personhood and identity.

This is a classic example of a human behavior, namely, “familiarity breeds contempt.” This happens when our knowledge of the person creates bias and prejudice against this person. This negative attitude results to two undesirable implications.

Firstly, our biases limit the freedom of the person to become who he or she is other than what we already know about him or her. In such cases we no longer give the person the chance to reveal his hidden capacities and resources. It is sad to note that Jesus did not perform miracles in his town because of the people’s lack of faith in him.

This wrong attitude attacks our various relationships. How many relationships failed to grow because of the malice of prejudice? For example, how far are parents affected by their biases toward their children? Parenting among other things is an enabling responsibility. This means that parents must try their best not to be influenced by their biases toward their children. Instead, they must not grow tired in motivating their children to do what is good and honorable as well as to explore their talents and gifts. This attitude will empower a child to actualize his/her potentialities. On the other hand, prejudice and condemnation will only make a child close himself and become unreceptive to all pieces of advice and prodding.

Secondly, this “familiarity breeds contempt” syndrome reinforces the human tendency to assess people by their looks. Although the townmates of Jesus found something uncommon about him, they ended up judging him through external considerations; he was too familiar and ordinary to them.

Some years ago, it was a revelation for me to find out that women and men around the globe spend billions of dollars on cosmetics, voguish clothes, pieces of jewelry, face lifts and body shaping. A former classmate in the seminary used to work as training manager in Avon. His information came as a shock to me that a dealer in Davao City tops the sales of Avon products in the amount of 5 million pesos in a quarter. One can hardly believe that in the midst of poverty and suffering, people spend fortunes to appear beautiful and desirable.

What happens is that we are caught up in our vanity of wanting to look good so that we can be admired and praised. The point is not to appear miserable, but to identify the danger of losing the real values of simplicity, authenticity and sincerity. The challenge therefore for us is to accept one another not based on status and exterior appearances but based on love and respect. No wonder pretensions and hypocrisies  arise just to avoid seething discrimination and rejection.

Jesus continues to reveal himself to us through the ordinary people we encounter each day – our parents, our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, especially the poor and the needy. Jesus chooses to reveal himself in the ordinary because it inspires us to greater love and care.

Fr. Raul Caga, SVD
DWS, Tagaytay City
The Word in Other Words