From: Matthew 13:54-58

No One is a Prophet in His Own Country

[54] And coming to His (Jesus’) own country He taught them in their
synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this
Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? [55] Is this not the
carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His
brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? [56] And are not
all His sisters with us? Where then did this Man get all this?” [57]
And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet
is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
[58] And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their
unbelief.

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Commentary:

53-58. The Nazarenes’ surprise is partly due to people’s difficulty in
recognizing anything exceptional and supernatural in those with whom
they have been on familiar terms. Hence the saying, “No one is a
prophet in his own country.” These old neighbors were also jealous
of Jesus. Where did He acquire this wisdom? Why Him rather than
us? They were unaware of the mystery of Jesus’ conception; surprise
and jealousy cause them to be shocked, to look down on Jesus and
not to believe in Him: “He came to His own home, and His own people
received Him not” (John 1:11).

“The carpenter’s son”: this is the only reference in the Gospel to St.
Joseph’s occupation (in Mark 6:3 Jesus Himself is described as a
“carpenter”). Probably in a town like Nazareth the carpenter was a
general tradesman who could turn his hand to jobs ranging from
metalwork to making furniture or agricultural implements.

For an explanation of Jesus’ “brethren”, see the note on Matthew
12:46-47.

[The note of Matthew 12:46-47 states:

46-47. “Brethren”: ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had
no special words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found
in more modern languages. In general, all those belonging to the same
family, clan and even tribe were “brethren”.

In the particular case we have here, we should bear in mind that Jesus
had different kinds of relatives, in two groups—some on His mother’s
side, others on St. Joseph’s. Matthew 13:55-56 mentions, as living in
Nazareth, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas (”His brethren”) and
elsewhere there is reference to Jesus’ “sisters” (cf. Matthew 6:3). But
in Matthew 27:56 we are told that James and Joseph were sons of a
Mary distinct from the Blessed Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were
not brothers of James and Joseph, but seemingly children of a brother
of St. Joseph.

Jesus, on the other hand, was known to everyone as “the son of Mary”
(Mark 6:3) or “the carpenter’s son” (Matthew 13:55).

The Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had
no brothers or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma
that Mary was ever-Virgin (cf. note on Matthew 1:25).]

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Leviticus 23:1 - 37 ©
The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: “These are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day. “The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work. “When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath. “From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation. “But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work. “These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day.”’

First reading

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said:
‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:
“These are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.
“The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of
Unleavened Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.
“When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath.
“From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation.
“But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord.
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.
“These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day.”’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 80

Gospel	Matthew 13:54 - 58 ©
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.

Gospel

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.