JAMES



himself, and this carpenter will prove a worker
of signs."
   Jesus knew this feeling. He had felt through-
 out the days of His sojourn among us the im-
 possibility of His performing any worthy work
 in His own town; for lack of faith forbade a
 truly spiritual result, and He would not mani-
 fest His mighty power to satisfy curiosity. He
 said:
   "No prophet is accepted in his own country.
There were many widows in Israel in the days
of Elijah, but unto none of them did he go, but
to a widow in the land of Sidon. There were
many lepers living near to Elisha who were not
healed, but a man who had faith enough to
cause him to travel from Damascus was healed."
  Then the people in the synagogue rose in
wrath, and dragged Him out of the pulpit,
and buffeted Him and cuffed Him and pushed
Him to the outside of the village, and to the
brow of the Nazareth hill. But when they got
Him there, no one had quite courage to push
Him over. He turned and faced them all, and
calmly walked through the crowd, and returned
to Capernaum.
  It grieves me to remember that the first buf-
fetings He received were from his old neigh-
bours, and that His first outspoken critics were
the friends who had known Him longest; and
                   141