Pentecost Six / Mark 6.1-13

Pentecost Six (Revised Common Lectionary) | 07.04.21 | Mark 6.1-13 | by Carl A. Voges |

The Passage

He (Jesus) went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.  And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things?  What is the wisdom given to him?  How are such mighty works done by his hands?  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And he marveled because of their unbelief.  And he went about among the villages teaching.

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.  He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in their belts – but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.  And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay with them until you depart from there.  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.”

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

[English Standard Version]

“But he (the Lord God) said to me (Paul), ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.“                        [2 Corinthians 12.9]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

With the way our monthly calendars unfold, there will be days when a Pentecost Sunday lands squarely on a national holiday!  This creates a situation for those who preside and preach in the Church’s liturgies.  Do we work intently with the Sunday and the holiday to create a wholeness?  Or do we focus on the Sunday and work the holiday into the Church’s prayers?  Or do we…?  This Sunday’s effort will attempt to answer the middle question.  The Fourth of July is probably the country’s 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’s liturgies.

Consequently, from the perspective of the Church, this holiday weekend is shot through with the Lord’s Life swarming his people from the Scriptures and the Sacraments of Baptism, Forgiveness and Eucharist.  This perspective is much more vital because our lives, left to themselves, are always stumbling around and struggling with the world’s realities.  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.

Thankfully, when we turn into today’s Gospel we not only see the Lord’s significant actions, we also see a guide for the ministries of his parish communities.  The first part of this passage (verses 1-7) is shaped by three words in it – astounded, scandalized, amazed.

Jesus has left the northeastern region of Palestine and comes to his hometown, followed by his disciples.  He begins to teach in a synagogue on the Sabbath and many who hear him are astounded:  Where did he get all this?  What is the wisdom given to him?  What powerful deeds has he been doing (the deeds come from the healing, forgiving and teaching in the preceding chapters of Mark’s Gospel)?

Then notice how the hearers go on:  Isn’t he a carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon?  Aren’t his sisters present too?  Mark informs us that they take offense at him (in the Greek language the word means to be “scandalized”). Experiencing their reaction, Jesus comments that prophets are honored except in their hometown, among their relatives and in their own homes!  Mark observes that Jesus cannot do any powerful deeds there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and cure them.  Jesus, in turn, is amazed at the unbelief of these people.

Notice then that, first, the people in Jesus’ hometown are astounded; then they are scandalized; and then, finally, Jesus himself is amazed!  What is going on here?  The understandings and expectations of these persons are clashing with the Lord’s Life / ways!

How do all these reactions work out today among the Lord’s people!  Keep in mind that Jesus is always coming to us from his Scriptures and Sacraments.  Do those appearances astound us?  Yes, they do!  They should astound us, unless we’re too drowsy from centering on ourselves and the gods of this world!

Do Jesus’ appearances scandalize us?  No, they don’t, but they should!  How is that?

Consider how our lives stand in relation to those four holy places – are they bumping up against the Lord’s Life in them on a steady basis?  If not, isn’t it because our Lord’s Life is scandalizing us?  There’s a reason for that – we are born to have our lives revolving around ourselves.  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!  Our born life may look fairly good, it’s what we’re used to, but we forget how deadly it is or can be.  The truth is that our Lord does scandalize us.  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.

From his four holy places the Lord continually steps into our lives while drawing us into the mysteries of his Life.  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.  We’re 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.  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.  We crave contact with his real Life; we are not about to let anything prevent us from being exposed to his real Life!

That’s why in the second part of today’s 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).  He also gives them authority over the unclean spirits (the Life of his Baptism is beginning to overwhelm the world’s born life).

Notice his instructions to them: Take nothing extra for the journey (verses 8-9); stay only at one place (verse 10); if rejected, don’t hang around (verse 11).

This matter of dust being shaken off one’s feet is hard to understand: Is it an expression of disgust?  Does it recall the Lord’s breath going into the dust of humanity, giving them his Life?  Does it mean that we pull the Scriptures and Sacraments away from those who do not want to be drawn into the Lord’s Life?

Why these instructions?  So the apostles can be fully aware of their dependence on him.  So they do not let their commitment to him be distracted by other concerns.  So they can

concentrate on their task, to not wring their hands if people are not listening.  Consequently, the six pairs of apostles stride out into the world, carrying into it the Life of their Lord.

What are they doing?  First, preaching repentance – 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.  Second, casting out devils – the born life of this world is always generating trouble and difficulty for its people through its thousands of gods.  Third, anointing sick people with oil and curing them – the real Life of the Lord God can actually transform the born life or push it to a secondary position.

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.  That’s why, when we are drawn into the Lord’s Scriptures and Sacraments, even hundreds of years later, his real Life continues to swarm all around our own.  That’s why, too, scattered throughout this world, there are still groups of persons who crave contact with the Lord’s Life and who make their way to worship him, regardless of the condition or circumstances in which they find themselves.

Such contact with the Lord’s Life enables us to concentrate less on what the world would be having us do and to concentrate more on what he is doing.  May we continually thank the Lord God for swarming his people with his rescuing, sustaining and creating activity!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our

hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord

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Pr. Carl A. Voges, Columbia, SC; carl.voges4@icloud.com