The townspeople of Nazareth regarded Jesus as an 'ordinary bloke'. Matthew describes how Jesus returned to His hometown, where the people were astonished to hear Him teaching in the local synagogue. They asked 'where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?' However, they remained unimpressed. To them He was simply the carpenter's son, they knew who His mother and other relatives were, and they didn't accept Him. In the Gospel Matthew gives us one of Jesus' famous sayings, 'A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house'. He then tells us that Jesus did not work many miracles there because of the people's lack of faith.

This is an example of a failure to recognize the extraordinary in ordinary people. In our own families also we tend to overlook the wonderful contributions to family life and well-being that each one of us makes. Perhaps it is time to take a really good look at what we do and thank God every day for all the extraordinary gifts He has given us. We should never take each other for granted but should try to look for the extraordinary in all persons. We are, after all, made in the image and likeness of God.