He Came From The Other Side Of The Tracks
- Msgr. Ching Encinares
- Jan 5, 2018
- 1 min read
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
My dear encountered couples:
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” That was the remark Nathanael made about Jesus. We hope it was just a joke. Many times, though, what is said about some people is not meant as a joke. There are people who really believe that on the other side of the tracks exists nothing of any worth.
If people are not of their kind, not of their social standing, education, religion, nationality, or race, they consider them to be without quality. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” is a similar opinion some people have today about others.
Maybe we all think that way about some classes of people, at least a little. It didn’t take Nathanael long to change his opinion about at least one person from Nazareth. He became the apostle we know as Bartholomew and followed Jesus around like a worshiping puppy dog.
This is an example that we must take people on a one-to-one basis to discover who and what they really are. Where they come from, who their family is, what school they went to, and who their friends are do not paint a true picture of them.
Nazareth was considered to be the home of the poor, the uneducated, and the uncouth. Jesus sure changed that picture, didn’t he? But only for those who really let themselves get to know him.
Do we ever make the same mistake Nathanael made?
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