There’s something about the familiar. The routine. The expected. The way it’s always been.

From the feel of your favorite jeans to the singing along with your go-to jam. From the taste of the dish just the way Mom made it to the view of the place you grew up that brings back memories.

There is nothing wrong with the familiar.

Jesus goes back home in Mark 6. His ministry and acclaim have grown. He’s performed previously unimagined miracles. He’s taught with confounding authority all the while confronting the religious powers that be. He’s a spectacle unlike the Ancient Near East has ever known. And now he’s home to teach in his local synagogue.

The folks were amazed at his teaching (Mark 6:2). But then they begin to wonder. Where’d he get this stuff? And this power? He’s Mary’s son; the carpenter. We know his family. His sisters are right here. He can’t be all that! Their amazement turns to offense (Mark 6:3). The familiar. A trap.

There is nothing wrong with the familiar. Unless we allow it to confine us from the possible. Familiarity can become a trap.

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.”

— Mark 6:5-6a

It is not that Jesus did not have the power to do any miracles. He did heal some. It is that he chose to limit his power because they could not imagine him as powerful. Jesus doesn’t need to prove himself to anyone. Jesus exercises his power in response to faith. This to grow greater faith in those who experience his power.

But here. In his hometown. Jesus is amazed. He wondered. He marveled. He was astounded. At. Their. Lack. Of. Faith. Why? Because they already knew him.

As we in the church world look forward to returning to in person worship since our isolation due to COVID-19, I wonder if we are longing so much for the familiar that we will miss Jesus. Will me miss the opportunity to try new things? Will we miss the chance for new experiences of worship? Will we miss the power of Jesus because we are so ready for normal?

But what if that normal we left is gone never to return the same way? What if God intends to use this experience to bring a new day for His church? What if He intends to deepen our relationships and strengthen our faith like never before? What if God is giving us this time in isolation to draw use closer to Him in our homes, on our own, even now? And we miss it. All because we’ve fallen into the familiarity trap.