I have often meditated on the return of Jesus to Nazareth whilst His ministry was at its height.He spoke with authority in the synagogue and was immediately criticised on the basis of "Who does this upstart think he is? We know his family. We remember him as a kid."
The local-boy-made-good will always have envious responses such as this.
The point of the story however, is rather different. Nazareth becomes the only place where Jesus sees His powers to do miracles limited. In view of the wonders He performed in so many other places, this is quite remarkable. A lack of faith will restrict God.
In so many Churches today we are always a little puzzled when there is a miraculous outcome to prayer and clusters of miracles tend to be rare.
Can we be surprised when we consider the faith levels to be found today? The early Church it ain't!
Having had a couple of 'touches' from God in the last few weeks, including the healing of my longstanding tennis elbow after being anointed and prayed for, it struck me that Christians are seemingly happy to miss out on the abundance which God has to offer.
