| First Reading |
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
Ezekiel 2:1–5 |
Psalm 123 |
2 Corinthians 12:2–10 |
Mark 6:1–13 |
Gospel passages like the one today reveal the ridiculousness of many of the assumptions in books like the DaVinci Code. Virtually everyone in the small village of Nazareth knew Jesus and his family. There was no conspiracy of a secret bloodline. The Gospels never hide behind deceit or obscurity. Jesus comes among us openly, without pretense, revealing God’s grace in very ordinary, everyday circumstances. It is a testimony to the truthfulness of the Gospel accounts that they do not conceal Jesus’ humble origins or the embarrassment of being rejected by those closest to him. There is no hint of ego-enhancement played out in the Biblical accounts. Jesus’ frustration, astonishment, and disappointment are all recorded without embellishment or excuse. This in itself caused people to reject the Gospel. Jesus was just too open, plain and ordinary. He lacked the power and the great expectations of the world.
It was obvious, however, that Jesus returned to Nazareth different from the youngster who grew up there. Perhaps memories of the past crowded out the message of fresh hope Jesus offered. Certainly, like all great teachers and prophets, Jesus presented a change and insisted that people’s hearts grow. In Jesus there was the paradox of familiarity and discontinuity, a paradox that is always both troubling and difficult to overcome.
Nonetheless, Jesus does not turn bitter or resentful. The incident at Nazareth is told with bittersweet sadness and regret. After his rejection in Nazareth, Jesus does not issue threats or predictions of punishment. Nor does Jesus abandon his mission of healing. His message continues to be one of compassion rather than one of condemnation. Jesus keeps plugging on. He sends the first disciples out to the same villages and people that he himself goes, knowing that they and he will have similar experiences and reactions from the people.
Jesus never told the disciples that if they brought in ten more followers, they were dong a good job, and if they brought in five they were doing a fair job, and if they brought in none, they were worthless. God’s call never measures that type of success that the world loves to brag about and which often leads to conceit or oppression. God calls us to share an authentic word of healing, love, reconciliation, and life. We don’t have to fear the consequences, for God will take care of the church. The Holy Spirit is no slouch if we give it a chance to breathe.
We at St. John’s, Ithaca have the opportunity to welcome visitors from far and near on any given Sunday. We just never know who will come here. That’s one of the wonderful things about being in a town like Ithaca. In the next few weeks, a new crop of students will arrive. Some will stop here. We don’t know them, and some will have very different expectations of what the church should be. Some will return, and some will not. We are called to feed them all, for in some way they, like all of us, are hungry. A first step is simply by talking to them and engaging them in conversation.
We don’t have to fear failure; we don’t worship the false god of quick and easy success. Jesus wanted to reach people’s hearts, not play a numbers game. Discipleship implies acknowledgement of the presence of fatal contradictions in the approach the world urges us to take. The Gospel always presents in some way a discontinuity from the past and present; not necessarily a complete rejection, but at least modifications of some consequence. That proves difficult for us all. That is why the fruits of the spirit: gentleness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, rather than success and easy acceptance, are far better signs of the Good News at work.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
