Imagine a high school student who was struggling with his math homework. His father was in a high-tech machine occupation in which he worked with much complicated math. He sat down at the table to help the student with the math homework. Unfortunately, the father was not a good instructor because he lacked patience in trying to help the student out who was not too savvy with numbers and figures. The child could not relate to his father as an instructor or teacher. He was the dad who worked around the house with outdoor chores, went to work to earn a living, and liked to take the family to area sports events. He was not a teacher by any stretch of the imagination. The student was frustrated and told the father he would seek help elsewhere with a tutor or another student whom he knew to be skilled at high school mathematics. The father was otherwise very good with the use of math where he worked. However, at home, his mathematics abilities made him a prophet without honor.
In the same community, a young man had been working for an area manufacturer, and one day decided he did not want to work in this factory or its office anymore. He felt called to become an ordained Christian pastor. He went through all of the denomination’s requirements, attended their seminary and then decided he wished to return home to interview for a pastoral vacancy in the area. The interview went well, but the congregation decided to call a retired armed forces chaplain instead. They told the young man that while they knew him and his family background, they could not see him as their “pastor-per se,” he would always be associated as an employee at the major manufacturer in town. Welcome to the world of Jesus in our Mark 6 lesson today.
The story of Jesus being rejected in his home town of Nazareth is also cited in Matthew 13 and Luke 4. This means it was well known by all of the synoptic gospel writers. In Luke’s gospel, the home town crowd expects some special consideration in terms of more ministry, miracles and feeding since he was the son of the community. In Luke, Jesus refused to limit his ministry to his place of birth, but saw himself as a missionary who sought and saved the lost in all communities in the area (Luke 19:10 RSV). In Mark’s gospel, Jesus was rejected simply because he was from the family of a carpenter or tradesman. He was identified as Mary’s son, implying that Joseph his father was dead, or there remains some suspicion surrounding his birth from a virgin mother. Other family issues of the text have included whether Jesus has any biological brothers and sisters from his mother Mary. Suffice it to say, that Jesus was not being groomed from a priestly family to become a priestly temple authority or prophet in his time. It is similar to man who used to work in the manufacturing company, attending seminary, then wishing to become a pastor in that same community.
This raises the point today of whether or not familiarity breeds discontentment. This was a saying by the Greek storyteller Aesop and later Mark Twain, who used the phrase then added “and children.” How many of us have worked in a place and observed that if certain changes were made or if a new piece of equipment was added, things would run much smoother? This person is often ignored. Later, the employer may hire an expensive expert or specialist in the field to come in, who provides the identical solution that the employee has been suggesting for years — but was ignored. This is the prophet without honor.
In this Pentecost season, we as a church are called to explore ways to do ministry in our community as we use the tools, wisdom, and ideas that are within our midst. However, today’s text is a sober reminder that it all depends on who is providing the wisdom. If we do not have faith in the person, then they are perceived as less able to do much help and service to the community.
In Season 3 of Little House on the Prairie, the episode titled “Little Lost Girl,” the little sister Carrie tagged along for a school assignment, but Mary and Laura failed to keep a close eye on her. Their little sister wandered off and fell into an underground mine shaft. The only hope they had of retrieving the little girl was from a drunken mining engineer who knew the coal mines quite well. But his character remained suspect throughout the episode until the little girl was rescued. Quite often until a traumatic event occurs, we might overlook those people within our community who do have abilities to further the mission of our church. Walnut Grove, the little town in the story, did not have faith in the drunken engineer’s abilities to save the little girl. However, he later was able to rescue her, which resulted in a happy ending. The town had new faith in this alcoholic mining engineer.
What does faith in Jesus Christ mean for us today? Is Jesus’ death and resurrection from the grave enough for us to not only become baptized/converted, but to grow as his disciples? In Mark’s gospel, Jesus inaugurates the kingdom of God. To follow him is to be a part of this kingdom. Some commentators observe that possibly his home town of Nazareth wanted a more glorious, visibly supernatural disclosure from God, rather than a regular human such as themselves, whose name is Jesus of Nazareth. For Mark, Jesus became the Messiah as he suffered real human weaknesses, similar to the suffering servant of Isaiah 52-53. What happens if this suffering servant narrative is not enough? What happens if the home town is expecting a “bigger show?” Some churches might struggle with this even today. Are churches trying to attract people to worship with modern technology tools, and then later informing them that this religion is actually about suffering, sacrifice, and giving oneself up for the benefit of other people as Jesus said in his mission statement in Mark 10:45? (“For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mark 10:45 (RSV). Is any given congregation willing to live with the possibility that people hear the message of a suffering servant Messiah and respond, “Thanks but no thanks… we want something a bit more flashy and glorious?”
This is a question that Saint Mark’s gospel brings to the table in this lectionary cycle.
Are there more people out there than we realize who really do not want a “human Jesus who suffers” and will therefore resist being his disciples who are called to do the same? This might be a Pentecost season question people of the Christian faith reflect upon. The mission of the church continues in Mark’s gospel (Mark 10:45).
Jesus did not allow the rejection of his home town to dissuade him from his mission. He moved onto the commission of his twelve disciples split them into teams of two to carry on a mission to have authority over unclean spirits. He had them travel light. They were not permanent resident priests or clergy. This brought up the idea that a missionary was a temporary presence who was a different ministry than resident pastor, who in that day would be the resident rabbi of the community.
They were to stay at the accommodations offered to them by hosts. They were not to seek a nice hotel or a fancy bed and breakfast with more choices for food and possibly a pool or other accommodations. They were to do their mission and then move on. Most commentators agree that one message the disciples were to preach at this point was to repent, as John the Baptizer also preached (Mark 1:4 RSV). If they were refused, then they were to move on and shake the dust off their feet. This tradition came from a practice of traveling to Gentile lands, then shaking the Gentile dust off their feet before entrance into the Holy Land. It was as if Jesus almost anticipated that his disciples would be rejected just as he was by his home town of Nazareth.
There is some good news for all of us here in church today. Sometimes we can do so much, or at least our very best to help, counsel, suggest, and yes maybe even “preach” a little bit to those whom we love. They may ignore us. Rather than get discouraged, we are called to move on and continue on with the mission God calls us. There are people that even Jesus Christ himself could not reach with his message. Possibly we can view this as a “seed planted,” and somebody else must nurture it in other ways.
In the opening illustration, the high school student did take advantage of their school’s tutoring services. These are professionals who are extremely patient with slower learners. The math grades did go up significantly! The father was able to take some boys out to his machine shop and show them some operations to build projects on the machine. The pastoral candidate moved onto the next state and was very successful at ministering to people who had similar backgrounds to his family. The other good news here is that God’s hand still works mysteriously, even amidst rejections in life. One of the recurring themes of Mark’s gospel is that the kingdom of God is a mystery. It begins small and insignificant, as mustard seed, but puts forth the greatest branches much later (Mark 4:30-32 RSV). God continues to meet us when we are rejected. He reminds us that he knows the feeling of rejection — let’s take today in Nazareth for example! He points us to new life. This new life takes the form of us being encouraged to carry on because in Mark’s gospel the Spirit immediately moves us onto the next chapter of our mission in this season of Pentecost.
Amen.
1. Hugh Anderson, The New Century Bible: The Gospel of Mark, (London, UK: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1976).
2. Morna D. Hooker, Black’s New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to Mark, 2nd Edition, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997).