Hilarious?  But I also wonder if there is not truth in that.  I am not saying that all Asian children do not have thought of their own. I am not saying that every American kid is always arrogant and self-centered. I am not saying that all Latin American children are aggressive.  I am saying that none of us, young and old, rich or poor, male or female, East or West, can be exempted from presumption, pre-understanding, pre-supposition, even prejudice.

Just because no one is exempted from presumption, as such it is not a problem.  I would even argue that without presumption there cannot be any possibility of understanding or communication.  For example, without some prior understanding or knowledge of languages, both Chinese and English (I am referring to those who are now understanding me with the help of simultaneous interpretation), I am just producing sound. The morning newspapers are random clusters of weird signs without any meaning. Without some pre-understanding we could hardly get this worship go as it should.

The problem is not presumption or pre-understanding, the problem is that we make our pre-understanding the only and final knowledge, refusing to know more, refusing to connect to others, refusing to admit any space for possibility, growth and change. Life is but an endless mathematical deduction.  Every result is nicely predicted and known because of our presumption and our knowledge.  Anything, any one outside of our calculation or formulation would be unreasonable, absurd and therefore unacceptable.

“He’s just a carpenter-Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid.  We know his brothers James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters.  Who does he think he is?” (6:3)

“He is good and marvelous.  Yes indeed, no doubt about that.  But a carpenter’s son can and will only be another carpenter.  We just know that, no matter what he does and speaks.  We just know and will know.”  People in Nazareth said assertively.  People in Nazareth lived safely on their logic and calculation. But a life in lack of faith does not allow anything to happen, not even miracle.

“Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there-he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all.  He couldn’t get over their stubbornness.” (6:4~6)