Of the three Gospel accounts where Jesus is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, only Luke has the people, enraged,
drive Jesus to the top of a cliff at the edge of town. Then Luke writes, Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” The low-key nature of this escape sounds so painless. Jesus simply walked away from the family and friends who rejected him — not just for the words he preached, but for who he was, his identity as God’s Son and our Savior.
There is no pain like the pain of being misunderstood, let alone rejected, by the people who are supposed to know you best. I imagine Jesus walking away from Nazareth feeling quite tender, the softness of his humanity bruised. I imagine this because this is how I felt when people I thought knew me, or could have known me, spoke ill of me, then rejected my attempts to explain and be better understood.
There’s a lot of this hurt going around.
There is no pain like the pain of being misunderstood, let alone rejected, by the people who are supposed to know you best.
In Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy emphasizes the importance of building a more socially connected future to stem the rise of loneliness, division, anger and resentment. Social connection stands out to Murthy as a largely unrecognized and underappreciated force for facing the critical problems of our society, and our larger world. Lonely, disconnected people are so preoccupied with their own emotions and their own suffering that they have little energy for empathy. Loneliness begets loneliness, and disconnection leads to deliberate detachment and further isolation. “Other people” don’t understand. In severe cases, loneliness and disconnection lead to reactivity and can trigger violence. How many stories of America’s mass shooters have at their core isolated, disconnected people who felt angry and misunderstood?
Our church must do whatever we can to reverse this dangerous trend of disconnection. We need opportunities to repair and rebuild relationships. In fact, religious communities are noted in Together as places where this healing work can be done. The connected-ness of our faith communities raises the stakes beyond our self-interests. We meet and connect with children, families and friends outside our personal circles. These connections might lead us to attend a school board meeting, even if we don’t have kids, or engage in a campaign for better public transportation if we’ve connected with friends who can’t drive.
This summer, Presbyterians had the chance to connect at our General Assembly (GA) while engaging in the work of the church. In the years since the all-virtual GA in 2020, we’ve been discussing and debating how we will gather at future assemblies. This summer, and in 2026, GA will be hybrid, with committees meeting online before gathering in (this year) Salt Lake City for plenaries. But does this format offer enough opportunities for connection and relationship building? It’s a question many have raised. It’s worth careful consideration and debate.
We exist in a culture that promotes competition and domination. Efforts to be, or stay, on top often seem more important than the health of the whole. Our culture also breeds an assumption of separation, leading us to believe the problem is “them” who don’t understand “us.”
We exist in a culture that promotes competition and domination. Efforts to be, or stay, on top often seem more important than the health of the whole.
I often witness this assumption of separation playing out in our Presbyterian community. Whether it’s “them,” the Board of Pensions, versus “us,” pastors or large churches versus small or denominational offices versus local congregations, the disconnection and division is disturbing. We are not, or should not, be in competition — not if our goal is Beloved Community. I pray we can prioritize and invest in relationship building, cultivating an understanding of ourselves as a collective “us.”
To know and be known, to understand and be understood, to be reminded of the power of community and connection — well, this is the stuff of our salvation. As Jesus slipped away from Nazareth and those who rejected him, this is the ministry to which he dedicated and sacrificed his life. Grounded in love and a faith that seeks understanding, this is our ministry as well.