Homily: February 4, 2026 Wednesday of the Fourth Week In Ordinary Time

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 “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

Jesus said something very honest today and I think it is very true.

I am your priest and I love all of you. I also truly feel loved, appreciated, and respected here at school. It is a real joy for me to celebrate Mass with you, to pray with you, and to spend time with you. I feel very blessed and am very grateful for this.

Now, let me tell you about another group of people in my life.

I have more than a dozen nieces and nephews, aging from 2 years old, right up to 18 years old. Majority of them are around your age. They have known me since they were born, so they know a lot more about me than you do. They know the nice and the ugly sides of me. Of course, they love me too but honestly, I think you respect me and listen to me more than they do.

Every time I get together with them, they would make fun of me a lot. They give me funny, and not very nice nicknames. They love to tease me all the time.

And you know what? I don’t mind at all. I actually enjoy having such rowdy time with them. It’s not a bad thing and I do feel very relaxed and comfortable with them. Because they are very familiar and comfortable with me too. They do not see me as a priest, I am simply their uncle. So very often, they don’t take me seriously.

And that is probably what Jesus is describing in the Gospel today.

When Jesus went back to His hometown, the people knew Him personally. They had known Him since young and watched Him grow up. They knew His family, His parents, what they did and how they lived. And because He was so familiar to them, they did not take Him seriously.

They said, “Isn’t this just the carpenter’s son?” They were amazed at His words because they have never expected Him to speak such wisdom, they have never thought the simple family, the humble boy would be teaching them about God, so they did not want to listen.

They did not hate Jesus. They just did not expect and could not accept anything brilliant from Him. They could not see God in Him.

And that made Jesus sad - not because He wanted praises from them, but because they were missing something very important: God was speaking to them through Him.

And that brings us to an important question for today:

👉 Who is Jesus to you?

Is He just a name you hear in prayers?

Is He just someone in Church but not in your life?

Is He only a picture on the wall or a statue in church?

Or is He your friend?

Your teacher?

Your Savior?

Here is something beautiful to remember: The people who rejected Jesus missed out on something wonderful and great - not because He didn’t speak well or performed poorly when He preached to them, but because their hearts and minds were blocked by familiarity, and they stopped listening.

Jesus too is speaking to us today, and everyday – through people you are familiar with:

• Your parents

• Your teachers

• Your priests

• Even your friends

• And classmates

Sometimes we don’t listen because the person is too familiar to us. But God often speaks through ordinary people. So keep your heart and mind open and let God speak to you in simple and humble ways. Amen.


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