Who God is Gonna Use
Read Mark 6:1-13.
I clearly remember the first time I was invited to preach at my home church. To say it was a strange experience is an understatement. These people, many of them anyway, knew me from childhood. We had been part of Rossville United Methodist Church for as long as I could remember. I had been in and later led children's choirs there, played the organ for worship and organized "talent" shows. I had listened to countless sermons preached from that pulpit, but to stand in that place and deliver the word of God was a whole different experience. I mean—these people knew me! They had seen the stupid stuff I had done as a kid. And more than that, they knew my parents. I was able to leave town after the worship, but if I said or did something stupid while preaching, my parents would have to hear about it! It's strange to go back home.
And it had to be that way for Jesus, once again in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. As Mark tells it, Jesus sort of takes the initiative in preaching and teaching in this place (though other Gospels tell us he was asked to read the Scripture and speak), and as he's doing so, the mumbling begins. "Who does he think he is? We know him. That's Joe and Mary's kid. Why does he think he's some sort of spiritual expert now? Remember when he broke that window with the baseball? Remember when he and his brother were out late causing a ruckus after graduation?" And so it goes...because, as Jesus says, "A prophet is without honor in his hometown."
That says something to us about where we expect a word from God to come from. Not from someone we know. We can write them off. Not from someone we're related to. We can ignore them. Not from someone who messed up in the past and we know about it. Their word is no longer any good. Where do we expect to hear the word of the Lord? From perfect people? There was no one more perfect than the one teaching in the Nazareth synagogue that day—and they still found ways to ignore him. We (again) don't know what Jesus was preaching on that day, but we may surmise it challenged those who were listening. It challenged them enough that they found reasons to discount it. Their "lack of faith" kept them from hearing that day what God wanted to say to them.
May it never be so with us! May we be open to the word of God coming to us, from whatever source. Of course, as always, we have to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) and be sure the word presented to us squares with Scripture and is consistent with who God is. And we need to listen with a heart trained in wisdom and prayer. But we must not discount the message just because of the source. You see, if God can use Balaam's donkey (see Numbers 22) to speak a word, he might even use someone you already know so well.
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| The 1st century road from Nazareth to Capernaum |
And it had to be that way for Jesus, once again in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. As Mark tells it, Jesus sort of takes the initiative in preaching and teaching in this place (though other Gospels tell us he was asked to read the Scripture and speak), and as he's doing so, the mumbling begins. "Who does he think he is? We know him. That's Joe and Mary's kid. Why does he think he's some sort of spiritual expert now? Remember when he broke that window with the baseball? Remember when he and his brother were out late causing a ruckus after graduation?" And so it goes...because, as Jesus says, "A prophet is without honor in his hometown."
That says something to us about where we expect a word from God to come from. Not from someone we know. We can write them off. Not from someone we're related to. We can ignore them. Not from someone who messed up in the past and we know about it. Their word is no longer any good. Where do we expect to hear the word of the Lord? From perfect people? There was no one more perfect than the one teaching in the Nazareth synagogue that day—and they still found ways to ignore him. We (again) don't know what Jesus was preaching on that day, but we may surmise it challenged those who were listening. It challenged them enough that they found reasons to discount it. Their "lack of faith" kept them from hearing that day what God wanted to say to them.
May it never be so with us! May we be open to the word of God coming to us, from whatever source. Of course, as always, we have to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) and be sure the word presented to us squares with Scripture and is consistent with who God is. And we need to listen with a heart trained in wisdom and prayer. But we must not discount the message just because of the source. You see, if God can use Balaam's donkey (see Numbers 22) to speak a word, he might even use someone you already know so well.
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