July 31 Gospel Matthew 13:54-58 A prophet is only despised in his own country Coming to his home town, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?’ And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith. **Reflection** A familiar setting can blind us to the extraordinary. Jesus returns to his hometown, not with fanfare, but with the ordinaryness of a carpenter among neighbors who think they know him already. Because of their familiarity, they overlook the wisdom and power standing before them. The miracle isn’t wit...