The Gospel of Mark 6:1-13 Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Let us Pray: God of grace and powerful weakness, at times your projects were ignored, rejected, belittled, and unwelcome. Trusting that we, too, are called to be prophets, Let us with your Spirit, and support us by your gentle hands, that we may persevere in speaking your word and living our faith. Amen.
One of the chief virtues of our society was tolerance. The ability for our society to be tolerant these days seems to have evaporated. We still judge people by their heritage, and we suppress them even though they have immense potential. Our culture teaches us that we need to be more tolerate to all people and all ideas. In one sense, tolerance is good and necessary. In a pluralistic society like ours, with great diversity of ethnic groups, value systems, languages, cultures, and religions, we must learn how to live with people who’re different than us. We must be tolerant. Using the language of the Bible, we must “love our neighbor.” Unfortunately, we are rapidly losing that “love our neighbor” commandment. That feeling goes all the way to Jesus’s time as we can see in this Gospel lesson. Jesus knew well the pain of rejection, the sting of unjust criticism, and the hate of intolerance.
One would think that they would have celebrated, even exaggerated, the success of a hometown person who had made it big. So why did they turn against Jesus? Did they wonder if Jesus was ‘crazy smart,’ and then decide that he was simply crazy? Jesus’ own family had come to get him because they thought he had “gone out of his mind.” Do we reject Jesus as the people of Nazareth did? Do we think of the things He did and what he preached as the words of a crazy man as his family did? The people asked, “Where did this man get all this?” The people of Nazareth couldn’t tolerate someone who was from among them and yet was so different from them. They didn’t know what to do with his authoritative teaching. So, they rejected him. Jesus became a victim of intolerance. They decided, like the scribes had, that he got it all from a demonic source not from His Father. And they took offense at him.As we look at the second part of this Gospel, there are new thoughts as Jesus sends his disciples out. Jesus’ instructions called for the disciples to focus on mission rather than personal comfort. Jesus called them to a great purpose, and they were not to be distracted by details. That emphasis is timeless. The disciples go where Christ sends them and do what Christ tells them to do. They were ordinary men, that accomplished great things in Christ’s name. As we go out it’s a good idea to look at the principles behind a particular instruction as a way of helping us determine whether and how to apply that instruction to ourselves in our day. The wisdom of Jesus was not just a statement. He lived it. His way of life was sharing this love by healing, consoling, and telling his stories. It is our choice to open our minds and hearts and cherish the abundant gifts that Jesus blesses us with, or to always want more than the riches we already have! Our happiness depends on our choice. It is true that our lives are not perfect. However, we are abundantly blessed! Jesus is at work in our lives! People found the love of God in him. He called them and also calls us to believe with joy that all of us are brothers and sisters. Jesus treated people with love, and they knew it. Jesus said that what marks us as his true disciples is that we love one another. Now there’s an instruction that means exactly the same thing today as it did when it was first given. Wouldn’t it be great if we gave that one more attention?
Final note: This Gospel invites us to reflect on our own faith, humility, and openness to God’s surprising work.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, You humbly identified with humanity. Keep us from developing biases. Guide us into all truth and help us recognize You as the Savior who paid the price for our sins. This we pray in the name of our diligent and loving Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 