13\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.<\/p>\nGrace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n
In our gospel lesson today, St. Mark tells us about a time when Jesus returned to His own hometown, going into the synagogue on the Sabbath to offer the sermon. And wouldn\u2019t you expect the red carpet to be rolled out, with a warm welcome offered by all, because this seems to be, so far, a story of \u201clocal boy makes good!\u201d By this time, Jesus was a teacher with disciples. He was a rabbi with followers who traveled with Him daily, learning from Jesus, the will of God. And more than that, Jesus had already been preaching and teaching and healing. Just prior to His return home to Nazareth, Jesus had stilled the storm, cast the legion of demons out of the Gerasene Demoniac, healed the woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage, restored life to Jairus\u2019 dead daughter. Even without internet and social media, word of these kinds of things spread quickly, generating a buzz\u2014so much so that Jesus found it hard to enter some towns and villages, because so many had heard of him and were eager to be close to this man who was different because He spoke, not as the scribes and Pharisees, but with God\u2019s own authority and power. So that, returning home, you would think the people in His home church, so to speak, would\u2019ve been overjoyed, proud to have Jesus home again, telling their friends and neighbors, \u201cSee, this is Jesus\u2014we knew Him when He was just a boy!\u201d<\/p>\n
But that was problem, wasn\u2019t it? \u201cFamiliarity breeds contempt\u201d, as the saying goes. Knowing Jesus personally, kept his hometown folk from believing in Him and accepting His spiritual authority. They knew his father, Joseph the carpenter. They probably had business dealings with Joseph or Jesus. They might\u2019ve had run-ins with Mary, or James or Joses or Judas or Simon, as happens in a small village. This is why a pastor today is expected to leave home and family\u2014to leave past behind when called to speak God\u2019s Word and minister with Christ\u2019s own authority. And that\u2019s the way it was for Jesus, as well. That\u2019s what this passage tells us about Jesus. It\u2019s about how Jesus was rejected. It\u2019s about the nature of Jesus\u2019 mission and ministry in the world\u2014not just then, but now\u2014and how even now, there are those who will not receive Jesus, and indeed, will reject Him!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite telling that St. Mark reports, \u201cJesus could do no deed of power there\u2014in His hometown.\u201d The Church Father, Gregory of Nazianzen, writing in the fourth century, said, \u201cWhat does \u2018could not\u2019 mean in God\u2019s case?\u201d In other words, what does it mean that Jesus, Son of the Living God, Savior of the world\u2014the Eternal Word\u2014could do no deed of power there? How could Jesus\u2014not do something\u2014anything He wished? Gregory says, \u201cOne meaning is simply the limits of human will. Take, for example, the point that Christ could not fulfill any signs in Nazareth\u2014it was due to disbelief on the part of the Nazarenes, something essential for healing is required on both sides\u2014faith on the part of the patients, power on that of the healer. As this can be seen in medical care, it can also be seen here,\u201d writes Gregory of Nazianzen.<\/p>\n
So, Jesus could do no deed of power in Nazareth because the people in Nazareth refused it. With only a few exceptions, the Nazarenes chose to reject Jesus and His will and power. And Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. And\u2014where does that now leave us, practically speaking? What is the point, in all of this, for us, as we hear this gospel lesson and seek to apply it to life, to our lives, to our discipleship?<\/p>\n
The application comes in the second half of our gospel reading, where we see Jesus calling the twelve and sending them out two by two. For those first twelve, that mission meant going to towns and villages, from place to place, proclaiming the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons. Their apostolic mission was to spread the good news of the nearness of the kingdom, calling people to repent and believe in the Gospel. Some of us, still, share that apostolic mission, as Christians are sent around the world in Jesus\u2019 name. And to those missionaries, Jesus\u2019 words are clear\u2014travel light and travel with a sense of urgency: take nothing except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money\u2014wear sandals, but don\u2019t bother with a change of clothes. Some of us, God continues to send out in mission to the world.<\/p>\n
Most of us? You and me? We are those called, historically, \u201chome missioners!\u201d Most of us are on missions closer to home. Most of us are missionaries to people and places much nearer\u2014like\u2014our homes, our families, our neighbors. We are sent to call brothers and sisters and sons and daughters to repent and believe in the Gospel. We are sent to bring God\u2019s healing power to mothers and fathers who are struggling with cancer, or Alzheimer\u2019s disease, or end-of-life issues. We are sent to help children and youth be set free from the demons of drug and alcohol abuse, lack of self-confidence and poor self-image, the effects of physical or sexual abuse. We are sent to bring back the lost, the lonely, the errant\u2014to invite them back to God, where they can be healed and restored and made whole and made new\u2014in Christ, through Christ\u2019s power at work among us.<\/p>\n
And this mission work is just as valid and just as valuable\u2014but also, just as difficult, as the mission of the twelve apostles and the work of global missionaries today, because we are trying to work among our own kin and often, in our own hometown! And, as Gregory of Nazianzen reminds us of the limits of human will\u2014we realize that while some will choose Jesus, others will choose, by their own free will, to refuse Christ and His mission and the good news of His death and resurrection. Jesus tells the twelve and us, that if any refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. The Lord God says to Ezekial in our first reading, \u201cWhether they hear or refuse to hear\u2014they shall know that there has been a prophet among them\u2014they shall know that God has sent someone to them, to bring them the good news!\u201d That is the mission of Jesus\u2014and that is the mission we share with those first twelve disciples\u2014that people will know, whether they hear the Gospel, or refuse to hear the Gospel\u2014they will know that God has sent someone to bring them good news! As we hope and pray and trust that God will bring that good news, to fruition, in their lives!<\/p>\n
And so, as we go forth today, we are asking God to give us opportunities, even one opportunity, to share good news today\u2014this week, with someone who needs good news, with someone, anyone, who needs to the light, the freedom, the peace, that comes with the good news of Jesus\u2019 saving death and resurrection\u2014that the power of God\u2019s Word may work through us in the lives of others\u2014to bring new life and new hope and new joy\u2014because of Jesus in their lives! May God cause these others to hear and receive Jesus, through our words, through our actions, through the witness of our lives!<\/p>\n
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\u00a9David M. Wendel<\/p>\n
d.wendel@grace43081.org<\/p>\n
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church<\/p>\n
Westerville, Ohio USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIN HIS OWN HOMETOWN!\u201d | The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost | 07 July 2024 | Mark 6:1-13 | David M. Wendel | First reading: Ezekiel 2:1-5 Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 Gospel: St. Mark 6:1-13 English Standard Version Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles (Jesus) went away from there and came tohis hometown, and his disciples […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,440,157,853,108,629,110,683,349,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-20069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-markus","category-6-so-n-trinitatis","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-david-m-wendel","category-engl","category-kapitel-6-chapter-6-markus","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20070,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069\/revisions\/20070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=20069"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=20069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}