Full service can be viewed HERE.
Pentecost 6B
July 4, 2021
Mark 6:1-13
INTRODUCTION
I have a friend who has four kids. One of their family mottos is, “We can do hard things.” I think this is a good motto to get us through today’s readings. In Ezekiel, we’ll hear that prophet’s call story. Basically, God will say, “I’m sending you to a particular difficult group of people, and they’ve been difficult for generations.” They will be unwilling to hear the message, God says, but of course, God also equips Ezekiel to do the job – he can do hard things. In Corinthians, Paul talks about a “thorn in his side” that keeps him humble, and he frames this annoyance as a spiritual gift, a reminder that God’s grace is sufficient for him, that “power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul can do hard things. And finally in Mark, we will see that sometimes the hardest place of all to do God’s will is right in our hometown, where this story takes place. These hometown folks reject Jesus, and consequently Jesus has less power there. But Jesus, too, can do hard things, and so can his followers – he sends them out in twos to share the good news, commanding them to depend entirely upon the generosity of strangers, and when they are rejected (and they will be), Jesus’ advice is basically: get over it. Move on. You can do hard things.
As you listen, think of some of the hard things you have had to do, and the ways God has been with you in and through them. And hear what encouragement God is giving you today. Let’s listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
As many of you know, my husband serves in the NY State Guard. His roles, which are in both recruiting and public affairs, both have a lot of overlap with the Guard’s technology needs – and technology happens to be his civilian job, but it is also someone’s military job. When he encounters that overlap, he worries about overstepping into this other role, because in the military, he says, it is really important that you follow the proper protocols, don’t do someone else’s job, respect the structure – in short, there is an expectation that you stay in your lane.
Reading today’s Gospel reading, we can see that expecting people to stay in their lane is not unique to the military, nor to our time and place. Here’s the scenario: After what has already been an impressive ministry of healing and miracles, Jesus visits his hometown. At first, the townspeople are impressed. “Astounded,” Mark says, by his wisdom and his deeds of power. But then, something changes, and they start to get suspicious. “Wait a minute… isn’t this guy a carpenter? He’s no better than any of us!” They mention his mother, Mary, but no father – thus implying that Jesus is of questionable parentage, another way to discredit him. They mention his brothers, and his sisters – implying that he should be making a living and supporting especially these sisters, not showing off in the synagogue! “You’ve gotten too big for your britches,” they seem to be saying. “You’re a commoner like the rest of us. You’re a carpenter, with responsibilities, and not all that special. You’re just showing off. Stay in your lane, Jesus.”
Consequently, Mark tells us, Jesus is not able to do the deeds of power in that place that he normally would. The people are set in their expectations about who Jesus is and in what lane he belongs, and so they cannot receive his power. Remember last week, the hemorrhaging women believed so fully that even just touching Jesus’ clothes would heal her, and Jesus in turn tells her that her faith is what made her well? Yeah, it seems that faith is pretty important for being able to receive Jesus’ power! And these hometown folks just don’t have it. They expect Jesus to stay in his lane, and be who they assume and expect him to be.
I’d like to think I’m more like the hemorrhaging woman, but the truth is, I wonder if I am more like these hometown folks. Truthfully, I wonder if many of us are: we have some idea in our head about what exactly Jesus can or should be or do for us; we believe, in theory, that he can do anything, but in our heart of hearts we have our doubts; we want Jesus there for us when we want him, but we’d rather he keep his nose out of our other business; or, we pick and choose the parts of Jesus we like and can get on board with, but prefer to ignore the parts that challenge our status quo or beliefs, that make us uncomfortable, that would urge us to look into our hearts and realize, “Oh… something here needs to change.” To be honest, I’d often much rather Jesus just “stay in his lane,” you know? And let me just live the life I’m comfortable with! I’m a pretty good person, after all! I pay my taxes and love my country, I say my prayers and go to church, I do good work, I greet my neighbors with a smile, I am kind to others, I’m a good mom. I’m living a pretty good life, so just let me be, Jesus. Stay in your lane, and I’ll stay in mine, and I’ll let you know when I need you.
That is all very safe.
But at what cost?
What happens when we live this way, when we put God in a certain box, a certain lane, and expect God to stay there? What experiences of the sacred do we miss? What deeply felt joy do we miss? What patterns or behaviors are keeping us bound, keeping us from experiencing life in the fullest, when we sequester God only to certain places and certain ways of being? Are we, in our effort to stay where it’s comfortable and keep our status quo, missing the ways that God is challenging us and calling us into a different way, a way of love, life, hope, and joy?
In this story of Jesus visiting his hometown, Jesus offends people. He offends them! This is not the Jesus we normally think of, all meek and mild and there for us when we seek comfort. Here, he makes people uncomfortable. Turns out, he does that quite a lot! Something I know is true about myself and I think is likely pretty universal, is when I am offended by something, it is often because it triggers something in me that I know is true but that I am not yet ready to face. That is, it often has more to do with me than with the offender. When this happens, it is much, much easier to go on the attack, seeking perhaps to defend myself but also to reveal the offender’s weakness. “Who do you think you are? Aren’t you only … a carpenter, born out of wedlock, some commoner who should be doing his duty and not acting like a hot shot in the synagogue?” In truth, what needs to happen when we feel this way is not to attack, but to look inward, to look at what has been poked and stimulated in us that has pushed us to attack in this way. What we may find is that God is revealing something sacred. It might be some new thing God is doing in and for us. It might be something that is the start of months or years of work, but that work is holy and good and will lead to life, for ourselves and those we love.
In times like that, it is a really good thing that Jesus is not one to stay in his lane! Times like that, we need him to come into our hearts despite our resistance. Good thing that’s Jesus’ M.O. After all, he didn’t stay in his lane when he healed on the sabbath. He didn’t stay in his lane when he ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. He definitely didn’t stay in his lane when he came back to life after being crucified!
Nope, once again, our Jesus is a boundary-breaker, challenging our assumptions, telling us truths we would rather not hear, pushing us to be more welcoming even of people who make us uncomfortable (and, to be willing to receive radical welcome from them), and exceeding all the limits we would put on him. This is really good news for us! Because even when we are more like the skeptical hometown folks than we are like the faithful hemorrhaging woman, even when our faith falters or is not where it could be, even when we are scared in the storms of life – Jesus still breaks down the barriers we’ve set up and comes to us, never giving up on us, and bringing new life and freedom to our captivities. Thanks be to the God who never stays in his lane!
Let us pray… Barrier-breaking God, we sometimes prefer you would mind your own business and stay in your lane. Thank you that you don’t. Thank you that you come to us, at times offending us, and always nudging and urging and drawing us into a more abundant life. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment