The Passage<\/p>\n
He (Jesus) went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.\u00a0 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, \u201cWhere did this man get these things?\u00a0 What is the wisdom given to him?\u00a0 How are such mighty works done by his hands?\u00a0 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?\u00a0 And are not his sisters here with us?\u201d And they took offense at him.\u00a0 And Jesus said to them, \u201cA prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.\u00a0 And he marveled because of their unbelief.\u00a0 And he went about among the villages teaching.<\/p>\n
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.\u00a0 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff \u2013 no bread, no bag, no money in their belts \u2013 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.\u00a0 And he said to them, \u201cWhenever you enter a house, stay with them until you depart from there.\u00a0 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.\u00a0 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.<\/p>\n
[English Standard Version]<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he (the Lord God) said to me (Paul), \u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u2019\u00a0 Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\u201c\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 12.9]<\/p>\n
In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord<\/p>\n
With the way our monthly calendars unfold, there will be days when a Pentecost Sunday lands squarely on a national holiday!\u00a0 This creates a situation for those who preside and preach in the Church\u2019s liturgies.\u00a0 Do we work intently with the Sunday and the holiday to create a wholeness?\u00a0 Or do we focus on the Sunday and work the holiday into the Church\u2019s prayers?\u00a0 Or do we\u2026?\u00a0 This Sunday\u2019s effort will attempt to answer the middle question.\u00a0 The Fourth of July is probably the country\u2019s most important holiday, giving everyone opportunities to review its founding documents and history while enjoying a three-day weekend, gatherings with family members and friends, traveling, relaxing while participating in the Church\u2019s liturgies.<\/p>\n
Consequently, from the perspective of the Church, this holiday weekend is shot through with the Lord\u2019s Life swarming his people from the Scriptures and the Sacraments of Baptism, Forgiveness and Eucharist.\u00a0 This perspective is much more vital because our lives, left to themselves, are always stumbling around and struggling with the world\u2019s realities.\u00a0 These realities include the uncertainties surrounding our political and economic lives, the stresses on our families and parishes, and the daily struggles in dealing with the sins that keep roiling our lives.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, when we turn into today\u2019s Gospel we not only see the Lord\u2019s significant actions, we also see a guide for the ministries of his parish communities.\u00a0 The first part of this passage (verses 1-7) is shaped by three words in it \u2013 astounded, scandalized, amazed.<\/p>\n
Jesus has left the northeastern region of Palestine and comes to his hometown, followed by his disciples.\u00a0 He begins to teach in a synagogue on the Sabbath and many who hear him are astounded:\u00a0 Where did he get all this?\u00a0 What is the wisdom given to him?\u00a0 What powerful deeds has he been doing (the deeds come from the healing, forgiving and teaching in the preceding chapters of Mark\u2019s Gospel)?<\/p>\n
Then notice how the hearers go on:\u00a0 Isn\u2019t he a carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t his sisters present too?\u00a0 Mark informs us that they take offense at him (in the Greek language the word means to be \u201cscandalized\u201d). Experiencing their reaction, Jesus comments that prophets are honored except in their hometown, among their relatives and in their own homes!\u00a0 Mark observes that Jesus cannot do any powerful deeds there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and cure them.\u00a0 Jesus, in turn, is amazed at the unbelief of these people.<\/p>\n
Notice then that, first, the people in Jesus\u2019 hometown are astounded; then they are scandalized; and then, finally, Jesus himself is amazed!\u00a0 What is going on here?\u00a0 The understandings and expectations of these persons are clashing with the Lord\u2019s Life \/ ways!<\/p>\n
How do all these reactions work out today among the Lord\u2019s people!\u00a0 Keep in mind that Jesus is always coming to us from his Scriptures and Sacraments.\u00a0 Do those appearances astound us?\u00a0 Yes, they do!\u00a0 They should astound us, unless we\u2019re too drowsy from centering on ourselves and the gods of this world!<\/p>\n
Do Jesus\u2019 appearances scandalize us?\u00a0 No, they don\u2019t, but they should!\u00a0 How is that?<\/p>\n
Consider how our lives stand in relation to those four holy places \u2013 are they bumping up against the Lord\u2019s Life in them on a steady basis?\u00a0 If not, isn\u2019t it because our Lord\u2019s Life is scandalizing us?\u00a0 There\u2019s a reason for that \u2013 we are born to have our lives revolving around ourselves.\u00a0 When our Lord baptizes us, saying that we now have a new center, our born life is not happy with that arrangement and rebels against it!\u00a0 Our born life may look fairly good, it\u2019s what we\u2019re used to, but we forget how deadly it is or can be.\u00a0 The truth is that our Lord does scandalize us.\u00a0 His Life and ways clash with own; so he challenges us to recognize the born life for what it is while he works to loosen our grip on it.<\/p>\n
From his four holy places the Lord continually steps into our lives while drawing us into the mysteries of his Life.\u00a0 However, because of the ways in which we casually react to him, our Lord no doubt continues to be amazed at our lack of trust and confidence in him.\u00a0 We\u2019re so busy trying to build up trust and confidence in ourselves that we dangerously lose sight of the Life given us by our Lord in Baptism.\u00a0 In spite of all the mis-direction being hurled at us by the world, however, we still make our way Sunday after Sunday to worship the Lord God.\u00a0 We crave contact with his real Life; we are not about to let anything prevent us from being exposed to his real Life!<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why in the second part of today\u2019s Gospel Jesus summons the twelve apostles to him and begins to send them out in pairs (he is beginning to surface the Life he is bringing to this world).\u00a0 He also gives them authority over the unclean spirits (the Life of his Baptism is beginning to overwhelm the world\u2019s born life).<\/p>\n
Notice his instructions to them: Take nothing extra for the journey (verses 8-9); stay only at one place (verse 10); if rejected, don\u2019t hang around (verse 11).<\/p>\n
This matter of dust being shaken off one\u2019s feet is hard to understand: Is it an expression of disgust?\u00a0 Does it recall the Lord\u2019s breath going into the dust of humanity, giving them his Life?\u00a0 Does it mean that we pull the Scriptures and Sacraments away from those who do not want to be drawn into the Lord\u2019s Life?<\/p>\n
Why these instructions?\u00a0 So the apostles can be fully aware of their dependence on him.\u00a0 So they do not let their commitment to him be distracted by other concerns.\u00a0 So they can<\/p>\n
concentrate on their task, to not wring their hands if people are not listening.\u00a0 Consequently, the six pairs of apostles stride out into the world, carrying into it the Life of their Lord.<\/p>\n
What are they doing?\u00a0 First, preaching repentance \u2013 the people who are caught up in their own lives have to wake up and draw back so they can see the real Life being offered them by the Lord God.\u00a0 Second, casting out devils \u2013 the born life of this world is always generating trouble and difficulty for its people through its thousands of gods.\u00a0 Third, anointing sick people with oil and curing them \u2013 the real Life of the Lord God can actually transform the born life or push it to a secondary position.<\/p>\n
Through their proclaiming and teaching, these six pairs of apostles not only surfaced the real Life their Lord is bringing to this world, they also made it possible for that real Life to continue surfacing to this day.\u00a0 That\u2019s why, when we are drawn into the Lord\u2019s Scriptures and Sacraments, even hundreds of years later, his real Life continues to swarm all around our own.\u00a0 That\u2019s why, too, scattered throughout this world, there are still groups of persons who crave contact with the Lord\u2019s Life and who make their way to worship him, regardless of the condition or circumstances in which they find themselves.<\/p>\n
Such contact with the Lord\u2019s Life enables us to concentrate less on what the world would be having us do and to concentrate more on what he is doing.\u00a0 May we continually thank the Lord God for swarming his people with his rescuing, sustaining and creating activity!<\/p>\n
Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our<\/p>\n
hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n