Daily Gospel Reflection for January 20, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 3:20-21

How sad and conflicting it must have felt to Jesus to go home and be welcomed by strangers but not his family.

There He was giving all He had to neighbors and folks who may have been barely familiar to Him, people that opened themselves up to His gifts, trusted His goodness, believed in Him. Yet His family would not accept that He was not who they thought He was and accused Him of insanity for doing things they didn’t understand—as if their expectations were the truth.

It can be hard to go home when we know we’ll probably be rejected or even scorned for who we are, what goodness we have to share, and possibly even what we believe.

There are those who see us for who we are now, or knew us “when,” and rejoice in how we’ve changed and how our gifts from God have grown. In contrast to those folks who accept our newness, there are family and relatives who are threatened by how different we are from them.

Jesus understands that conflicting sense of wanting to go home and knowing it’s not going to feel all warm and fuzzy. But we, like Him, can be no less than who we are meant to be and must rely on our heavenly Father to guide us through whatever situations occur.

Ponder:

When you feel like a stranger among family, what do you do to remain centered in Christ?

Pray:

My beloved Lord, stay with me when my desire for family falls short because they fear my difference. Let Your Holy Spirit guide my actions to always reflect You.

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There are those who see us for who we are now, or knew us “when,” and rejoice in how we’ve changed and how our gifts from God have grown. #DailyGospel

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