It’s not hard to imagine how others stereotype us when we grow up or when they meet us so many years later when we return to their presence. They find it difficult to reconcile who we are now versus how they previously viewed us. Anyone who has attended a reunion can instantly connect to the words of Jesus. The Nazarenes can only see Jesus as the son of a carpenter, not the Messiah he had been revealed to be. What causes this inability to get past the stereotyping of people? Many experts will point to our human pride. Think about the voices you thankfully didn’t hear at the reunion, “Who does she think she is? Just because she married a fancy lawyer doesn’t change where she came from. We know who she really is!” For Jesus, a similar conversation occurred among the Nazarenes, “Can you believe this? Joseph, the carpenter’s son, thinks he’s a prophet! I know for a fact that he didn’t receive any formal religious education. Where is he getting this teaching of his? Does he really think he’s somebody great?” This type of behavior should concern us and probably put the fear of God in us. Pride has an incredible ability to close our eyes to the truth. It can also harden our hearts. But most of all, it puts us at odds with the Lord, as noted in The Letter of James: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” As disciples, our daily prayer should include a reflection on these verses from Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen, amen.