The Wizard Within

Where does our power come from?

When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place. He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief. - Matthew 13:53-58

Did Jesus lose power because they didn't believe, or did he just choose not to use his power because they chose not to believe.

When you stand up to authority and refuse to flinch in its presence, you effectively diminsh its power over you.

That's what we tell people to do in the presence of a bully, right?

Jesus is always telling the people who are cured of their diseases that it was their faith that made them well, so there is some truth to the idea that power comes from the believer.

And maybe that is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn about ourselves and our own power.

We can do anything, if we believe in ourselves and in the power of God.

Some people who saw what Jesus did, copied him, and his disciples came and told him, expecting him to put a stop to the practice.  But Jesus didn't do that.

In fact, he wanted them to continue.

Power, therefore, is universal.  We all have it.  But like Harry Potter, we have to learn how to use it, how to become masters of it.

A few voices can use their words to create a movement, as we are seeing today, and as Pilate saw in Jesus' day.

Each of us has a wizard within us, capable of using our magic to make the world around us change.

But we have to believe.

Faith begins within us, and grows from there.

More to come...