6th Sunday after Pentecost
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10 Mark 6:1-13
“And Jesus said, ‘Prophets are not without honor except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house’.....and he was amazed at their unbelief.” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Where is “home” for you? Is it your hometown, the place where you were born? Or raised? When were you last there? Was it a place dotted with family farms or ranches? Was it in the mountains, near water, or in a valley setting? Was it a big city filled with skyscrapers that reached to the stars? Why do so many of us “yearn for home?”
I think these sorts of questions are “trick questions.” Over time I’ve learned that “home” isn’t a “place.” Rather, “home” is where we experience being in a relationship with others. As many of you know, I was born and raised in Sacramento; Sacramento was my home. I grew up with friends from the neighborhood, my church, school, college, and with folks from the beginning of my professional career. Sacramento was where I met and married Julie, where our boys were born and where we began our life together. As much as Sacramento was referred to as a “cow town”, I was still very protective of her because all the important people in my life lived there. The image of my hometown of my youth and early adulthood was greatly altered when I last visited. Gone were the stores and shops we frequented. While not yet closed, my hometown church was a shell of her former self. Hundreds of new housing units,strip malls, and big-box stores replaced the thousands of acres of rice and tomato fields. I’ve lost touch with all but a few of my friends who still reside there. If it weren’t for my mother still living there, in the same house my sister and I grew up in,
Sacramento would be but a distant memory. Spokane is now “my home.” (and North Idaho!)
In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, the Evangelist tells us that Jesus and his disciples returned to Nazareth, his hometown. Not surprisingly, Mark does not tell us “why” he returned home, but I’m going to speculate it’s for the same reason we all return home now and then. I’m guessing he wanted to see his friends and family again, to spend time at the synagogue, and to maybe get a little rest from all that he’s been through. From the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has been busy teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, being a thorn in the side of the religious elite, constantly being followed by great crowds of people, and most recently, raising a little girl from the dead. Who wouldn’t want to take a break and spend time at home?
Can you imagine what it must have been like the day Jesus returned home? The stories of all that he has said and done must have preceded his arrival. I can envision quite the scene as “The Local Boy Makes Good” and his disciples arrive in town. I suspect the synagogue was packed as Jesus expounded on the writings and teachings of the Torah. Mark writes that many who heard Jesus at the synagogue were “astounded” or “astonished” We generally have positive reactions to these two verbs such as “surprised” or “wow.” The Greek word used is ekplesso, which does mean “astounded” or “astonished” but has yet another meaning, that of being “cast away by a blow” or to “drive out.” A great word in today’s vernacular would be “incredulous.” They could not believe what they were hearing. Again, Mark doesn’t provide the reason for their angry response but obviously something struck a chord. And their response is not surprising when one doesn’t like what one is hearing; you question the speaker's authority. Where did this guy get all this wisdom (i.e. where did he get his theological training?). The training he does have was that of a carpenter, not a teacher of Torah! Look at his family! He’s the “son of Mary” and don’t we know the rest of his brothers and sisters? Who does he think he is? To add a little detail of this story from Luke’s Gospel, we read that the townsfolk wanted to run him out of town by throwing him off a
cliff. Further, Mark tells us that Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. The Greek word used here for amazed is thaumazo, to marvel, an astonishment that contains little doubt but that “knocks your socks off.” Is it any wonder that Jesus could do no deeds of power there other than to cure a few that were sick in light of how he was being viewed by the townsfolk? Maybe Author Thomas Wolff had it right with the title of his 1940 novel, You Can Never Go Home Again.
So what did Jesus do when home was no longer home? He started a new one! Jesus takes his twelve disciples, commissions them, provides some ground rules, and sends them out on their mission of evangelism. Jesus has armed them with power to heal the sick and cast out demons. They go as sheep among wolves but he’s equipped them with how to deal with rejection and threats. “Home” now becomes embodied through relationships built with people as they travel the countryside proclaiming the good news of the coming kingdom of God. This kingdom is built on love, compassion, joy, reciprocity, goodwill, and a new way of living. He’s also given them the freedom to “let it go” if their message is not received well, knowing that the seeds of the kingdom have been planted and to move on to others who need to hear of this good news.
Jesus has commissioned us for this task as well. I am so thankful that those first disciples were ordinary, really ordinary folks. There wasn’t an academic degree among them. They weren’t wealthy (OK, Matthew probably was doing alright for himself). Despite their continuing to be confused by much of what Jesus meant by his actions and words, they nonetheless persevered in following him. They were loyal and willing to undertake this most important assignment of proclaiming a different way of living that offered a “home” built on a relationship with Jesus that includes freedom, joy, peace, hope, and wholeness.
Dear friends, there are so many “homeless” all around us. Whether they have a roof over their head or not, many are “relationship deprived.” They are homeless in terms of having relationships that undergird their lives, let alone the true home built on the foundation found in Jesus Christ. We can do our part to reduce, and God willing, eliminate the homeless many experience as we seek to build relationships with them.
St Francis of Assisi put it this way: “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” Preach the Gospel of love with actions of mercy, compassion, patience, and offer the hope of a better tomorrow. We are the people that can help build new “homes” in this ever enlarging kingdom of God. We do not need to have unique skills or talents, just a willingness to extend ourselves and with God’s grace build one new relationship at a time. Jesus sends us because we’re disciples, not because of our faith in him, but because of his faith in us and in what his love can do working through us.
I leave you with these two stanzas from the prolific liturgical composer, Marty Haugen, in his hymn All Are Welcome:
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive; Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace; Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, All are welcome, All are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone, To heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known; Where the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face,
Let us bring and end to fear and danger,
All are welcome, All are welcome, All are welcome in this place.