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St. Andrew's Church
An Anglican Church • Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Preached by
Stuart Pike
Rector
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Proper 14 B - Honouring the Prophet
Sunday, 9th July 2006
St. Andrew's Church, Grimsby
Mark 6 : 1-13
Jesus wasn't the first nor the last person to be treated differently at home. Despite all of the good that Jesus had done elsewhere, despite the degree of fame that his works of healing had given him, despite the recognition that Jesus was receiving for his wisdom in preaching: in the town of Nazareth, he was simply Jesus, Joseph's son, the carpenter.
The people there knew his brothers and sisters, and they knew his history. They had seen him grow up.
"And just who the hell does he think he is, anyway? He must have become self-important or a snob, presuming to think that he could teach us something new."
So the story goes, that the people in Jesus' home town took offense at him. Imagine that it was actually offensive to them that Jesus should be preaching to them!
I remember once when I was meeting an old friend of the family. I never remember having seen her before - I had been too young in the days when my parents knew her, and my family had spent the years moving every second year or so - hither and yon. I had recently completed my studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. I was just awaiting my orders as I had joined the Canadian Forces. I was a young adult meeting a contemporary of my parents who had known me more than twenty years before. We hadn't got much further than the re-introduction stage when this remarkable not to mention formidable woman said to me, with a huge grin, "You really have changed - I remember changing your diapers."
I'm afraid that I didn't really know how to respond to that. I believe I grinned rather sheepishly back at her. I had thought that I should perhaps be apologetic and that I should promise her that she would never have to do it again.
When I think back about it, I believe that was not the first time someone told me that they had changed my diapers. I don't know if there was anything especially memorable about my diapers - I hope not. Perhaps this is a common conversation starter among older people being reintroduced to those for whom they provided such a service.
I definitely think, though, that this woman had a decided advantage over me for the rest of the evening. How could I possibly share my wisdom about anything with this woman, should we wish to discuss anything intelligent?
Perhaps the people to whom Jesus was preaching in his home town remember when he used to be a kid running raggamuffin with the other kids in town. Maybe they remember when he went crying home to mom with a scraped knee. Some of them might remember changing his diapers! Perhaps they remembered him as a young adult working as a simple carpenter.
In any case, they were simply not going to be impressed with him. It wouldn't matter what Jesus could do, they had already made up their minds about him. "Familiarity breeds contempt", so the saying goes and, yes, they were contemptuous. And guess what: indeed, he didn't (the scripture says couldn't) do any great deeds of power there.
So many times we hear Jesus saying the words, "Your faith has made you well." after Jesus has laid hands on someone and healed them. And it appears to be true: Jesus' power is miraculous, if we have faith. And we don't even have to have great faith: if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, God will do a great work in our life.
The next part of the story is really remarkable. Jesus leaves his hometown, but he doesn't let the rejection by his own people stop his mission: he greatly increases it by sending out his disciples, two by two, to do even more than he has done. Jesus responds to the ridicule of his townsfolk by sending out disciples: a rag-tag collection of fishermen and tax collectors, revolutionaries and sinners to show how God works in common, ordinary people.
Perhaps this was the problem all along: that Jesus, being one of them, showed them that if he could do God's work, then they could too. Perhaps they were too afraid of where they would end up if they answered God's call to them. If Jesus, who grew up among them could teach and heal and live a grace-filled life, then they could be the agents of such grace too.
Listen to a quote from Marrianne Williamson's book, "Return to Love" (1992)
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
For me, the most important lesson in this Gospel reading is that Jesus works through human hands. God calls each one of us to go, in many different ways, to work for the kingdom - to teach, to heal, to serve, and to shine God's light.
Let's always honour the prophet - whether they be from far away, or from right next door. Let's remember that God might be working through our neighbour, or our spouse or even through ourselves. Do we dare consider going to where God leads us?
I leave you with a quote from Meister Eckhart:
"A pear seed grows into a pear tree, and a hazelnut seed grows into a hazelnut tree and a seed of God grows into God. God does not ask anything else of you but to let yourself go and let God be God. in you." Amen.
