Sunday Service & Reflection

Would Jesus be rejected by us today? 
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Today’s Lectionary passage in Mark 6:1-6 recounts Jesus’ visit to his hometown, where he faces rejection by those who knew him growing up.

Mark 6:1-6 (NIV)
    1. Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.
    2. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?
    3. Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offence at him.
    4. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home."
    5. He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
    6. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

Ched Myers, in his influential book "Binding the Strong Man," interprets this passage within the broader socio-political context of Mark’s Gospel. Myers argues that Mark's Gospel presents Jesus as a having a radical prophetic ministry challenging the existing power structures and social norms of his day. We saw that in our analysis of last weeks passage of the healing of the marginalised women and the raising of Jairus’s daughter.   
The fact that Jesus message challenged the existing power structures and social norms of his day should not be surprising. When you follow the logic of love and begin to treat people at the bottom of society with equal dignity and respect as those at the top, this becomes a major challenge to the status quo. From this perspective, the rejection that Jesus faces in his hometown can be seen as a consequence of the of his radical message of love, in which all people are honoured as having equal dignity and where the lowest in society are empowered and lifted up.

In this regard, Jesus identifies himself with the tradition of prophets who were often without honour in their own communities. We see this in Ezekiel 2:2-5 where we read of Ezekiel’s calling in which he hears the voice of God telling him: 
     Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
    rebels who have rebelled against me;
    they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
The implication is clear, that Ezekiel must not expect his message to be well received. He must expect to be rejected by a rebellious people who do not know the ways of God’s love.  

Getting back to Mark’s Gospel, The townspeople’s lack of faith is rooted in their inability to transcend their familiarity with Jesus' ordinary background. Ched Myers suggests that this lack of faith reflects the community's collective resistance to the radical Jesus' message which Jesus is sharing with them.  Their lack of faith in him is an expression of their resistance to change. It is a defence mechanism to preserve the status quo. Who does Jesus think he is upsetting the way society is ordered and challenging the ways we have always done things? 

By identifying Jesus as a carpenter and the son of Mary, the townspeople of Nazareth attempt to diminish his authority and his legitimacy. In first-century Palestine, a carpenter was considered a lower-class artisan, and the mention of Jesus as "Mary's son" implies a scandalous background.  Only illegitimate children in first Century Judaism would have been referred to as being the son of their mother.  The implication was clear, the people of his home-town were questioning his paternity and in doing so diminishing he legitimacy and his authority. 

It raises the questions for us today… if Jesus had to have been born into our country and our culture today, how many of us would genuinely feel threatened by his message? What aspects of our culture would Jesus challenge? What marginalised group might Jesus be identifying with or seeking to protect that would make us feel uncomfortable?  In what way would we seek to diminish his legitimacy and authority because we would prefer the status quo not to be challenged? Would Jesus be despised and rejected in our town, culture? 

But there is also another layer of meaning in this passage that points to ordinary human jealousy.  The people of Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus is also clearly motivated by jealousy and resentment.  They are threatened and offended by his success and popularity as a religious teacher. It seems that this is quite a common characteristic of small enclosed communities. When one person rises too high in others estimation the tendency is to want to cut that person down to size. Who does he think he is… we’ll show him.  In our interpersonal relationships, do we resent the success of other people? Or are we able to rejoice in other people’s successes? 

In this regard, there are four Sanskrit words from the Buddhist tradition that might be helpful for us in more deeply understanding the loving way of Jesus: 

In Buddhism, the Sanskrit term used to describe the quality of taking joy in someone else's good fortune is mudita. Mudita is one of the four Brahmaviharas, or "sublime states," which I believe are very descriptive of the person and the way of Jesus:

Metta (Loving-kindness): The wish for all beings to be happy.
Karuna (Compassion): The wish for all beings to be free from suffering.
Mudita (Sympathetic Joy): The feeling of joy at the success and happiness of others.
Upeksha (Equanimity): A balanced and impartial state of mind.

Mudita is specifically the ability to feel genuinely happy for the joy, success, and good fortune of others without jealousy or envy. This quality helps to cultivate positive relationships and emotional well-being, fostering a sense of interconnectedness and community.

In the town of Nazareth, the people are lacking in this quality of mudita.  Their ability to love others is limited by their resentment of others success, and in this case resentment towards Jesus. 

In what way do we, like the townsfolk of Nazareth grow jealous and resentful towards others in their success.  Can we be inspired by the love of Jesus, that we can nurture this quality of mudita that we might instead learn to feel genuinely happy for the joy, success, and good fortune of others without jealousy or envy.

Just some challenging questions for us to consider. Amen.