2024 Sun July 7

I. Theme –  The Struggle of Prophecy – God’s presence turns weakness into strength.

"Appearence on the Mountain in Galilee"  – Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308-11)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm – Psalm 123
Epistle –2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Gospel – Mark 6:1-13  

The message in today’s scripture readings is that God works through the flesh, all human frailty and weakness notwithstanding. Ours is an incarnational faith, and if we could but grasp the dynamic implications of this reality, each professing Christian could become a powerhouse of God’s activity in the world.

The prophets who became spokespersons for God all felt inadequate to the call and protested their incompetence before God. In one way or another, God stood them on their feet. Ezekiel said, “The spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet.” Paul’s very weakness served the purpose of allowing the Holy Spirit to be the power that made him God’s messenger.

Jesus, in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelt, emptied himself to become fully human. As faithful people of God, we have also found that as we empty ourselves, the Holy Spirit fills us and dwells in us. Our lives become channels of God’s grace and power. However, self-emptying is neither a popular nor a well-understood idea. The buzzwords of our time are self-fulfillment and self-attainment, and self-seeking impulses often dominate our activities. Few realize that the spiritual world also abhors a vacuum, and that God, bidden to do so, will fill any offered space with the heavenly grace, life and power to work miracles of redemption in our lives.

Even so, we are not to expect all to understand or to be receptive to our incarnational experience. Jesus fared no better than the prophets before him. Their descendants jeered and suspected him. Satan is always present, throwing up barriers to faith. Even in the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus to doubt his calling: “If you are the Son of God…”

Likewise, the devil sabotages faith in Nazareth. Jesus came to his own home and his own people said, “Who does he think he is?” God’s enemy pulls the same trick on us when we are about to dare something for the lord. Satan whispers in our ears, “Who do you think you are?” After all, people know where we come from too, and our credentials are not all that great. So our adventure for the lord is too often aborted by our lack of trust in God’s sufficiency.

The Nazarene villagers knew Jesus as a working man, a carpenter, and gave no credence to his authority on religious matters. We, on the other hand, are inclined to regard him as a religious teacher, doubting his relevance to the modern world of business, politics and international affairs. When we hesitate to apply his teachings to practical issues, we forfeit the experience of his sufficiency to work wonders through us.

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Duccio di Buoninsegna “Appearance on the Mountain in Galilee” (1308-1310). Christ sending out the disciples

July 2024 in the Gospel of Mark is all about discipleship and what disciples do (mission) and how they do it. For Sun, July 7. Mark 6:1-13- Jesus is rejected in his hometown after teaching in the synagogue, and he sends out the disciples two by two to spread the good news.

Here we find the family again: his mother, sisters, and brothers, James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, figures who later became prominent in the church. “And they took offense at him” Jesus was seen only as a carpenter. They were acting as a restraining force

Theologian William Loader describes the issue about Jesus going out on his own “Family was important. Households were the basis of the economy and usually the main source of income through agriculture or crafts and therefore of support for all family members, the young and the elderly. Firstborn sons, especially, had a duty once they reached marriageable age, around 30 those days, to marry and have children. That was the norm. Stability was important. Families were a key element in holding society together, keeping things the way they had always been, keeping the rich, rich, and the poor, poor. The family acted as one would have expected any responsible family to act.”

Jesus just left with his sense of mission. Keeping things the way they were was not part of it. We are not privy to the discussion he may have had with his family. Mark simply says “And he could do no deed of power there.”

According to Mark’s account, he sent his disciples out to do what he was doing (6:7-13). Bring healing, and liberate people from the powers that oppress them. Bring hope and restoration.

He offered suggestions on how to this -Travel light, be a guest, bring healing and shake off rejection. Travel light – focus on the mission as the church. Be a guest -Keep the message simple, listen and not just impose our solutions. Bring healing to those you encounter. Be an example from your experience. He learned to shake off rejection and he instructed the disciples to do the same. Move on – there is another town to get to! “The kingdom of God is at hand.”