2 Sam. 24:2, 9-17 | Ps. 32:1-2, 5-7 | Mk. 6:1-6

David is punished for his sin of unfaithfulness to God.  He realizes that he is the one who has committed the sin and asks God for forgiveness.

Jesus goes home to Nazareth and teaches in the synagogue.  He is rejected by the leaders because he is a native Nazarene and the son of a carpenter.  Therefore, it is impossible for him to be able to give them any inspirations, etc.  Jesus’ response: “The prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house,” rings true today as it did two thousand years ago.  We continue to refuse to listen to those who are close to us, those we grew up with, and those with whom we presently work.  Why?  Does this rejection stem from familiarity or from jealousy?  Do we want to compete for attention and thus not want the attention to go to someone else?    Jesus does not address this issue as such.  He does walk away and go elsewhere because of the rejection.  One cannot but wonder how much the people of Nazareth missed because of narrow mindedness.