Pentecost 6B

Mark 6:1-13

¹Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ²On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! ³Is 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. ⁴Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." ⁵And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. ⁶And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. ⁷He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; ⁹but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. ¹⁰He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. ¹¹If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."

¹²So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. ¹³They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

So far in Mark

So far in Mark, the shortest of the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) that view Jesus with a similar perspective, we've heard the opening announcement of Good News – "Gospel" – followed by Jesus' preparation for public ministry by receiving John's baptism of repentance, spending a time of solitary prayer and temptation, and then ministries of healing, exorcism (casting out demons, evil spirits, and what we might consider mental or psychological illnesses), calling followers or disciples, demonstrating the inclusive reign of God by eating with all comers, teaching theology with parables or comparisons, demonstrating his lordship of all creation by taming a storm, *even* restoring life to a young girl "at the point of death."


Today's Gospel Reading

Jesus returns to his hometown and his disciples follow him. He's on his own turf, with his own people—both family and friends. His teaching on the Sabbath in his home synagogue causes friends and family (not religious experts this time) to wonder about the source of his authority; after all, this Jesus is a regular person like everyone else. We also need to remember Jesus and his siblings would have grown up learning scripture, probably memorizing long passages. Any Jew in that time and place would have been scripturally and theologically literate. It wasn't unusual for a regular person like Jesus to read and teach in the Sabbath assembly; as in synagogues today, they had a custom of inviting congregants to read Torah on Sabbath.


Models for Ministry

We could say a lot about Jesus' friends and relatives not "getting" who he was, about how it feels when people don't understand us, the loneliness of not belonging; of being rejected or simply not welcome. Those can be important discussions in light of scripture. But for today, we hear about Jesus sending disciples to do the same ministry he has done. Jesus doesn't wait until their understanding and actions all are perfect; Jesus trusts and sends them as they are. They go out as sent people (apostles) because Jesus has authorized them.

At this particular time, Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs of two. He instructs them to go with only basics: sandals to protect their feet, a walking stick to help trudging over rough terrain—maybe to chase away snakes and vermin. He tells them not to take food or money! By the way, this is far from the only model for ministry and reaching-out evangelism, yet many follow the two by two, minimal supplies example.


Guests and Hosts: Where We Live

verse 10: Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place (locale).

Preaching, teaching, and healing are important aspects of twenty-first century Christian ministry for individuals and for larger entities like congregations, schools, and hospitals. All in all, we love to host other people. Every city has at least a dozen church-related food ministries and several housing/shelter services. Why not count ministries of music, visual arts, and dance in ways we host others, whether they're in the audience or we're instructing them? We're still the hosts-givers; they're our guests-recipients. And most of us strongly tend to do things in ways we'd appreciate, in a manner that resonates with our own background.

But here Jesus tells his disciples to let other people host them! Enjoy their hospitality; let them give to you. He tells them to make themselves at home among strangers.

Especially as cities and towns have become more culturally diverse, we've been aware of the need to contextualize our offerings to relate well to others' cultures and experience, that they'd consider welcoming rather than puzzling or offensive. How can we learn to host in ways they relate to… maybe by letting them host us?! We can learn about their food (eating it and preparing it), their table manners, their music, their traditions, geography and features in their countries of origin. We can learn basic words and phrases in their native languages.

If because of COVID, room capacity, and other concerns activities can't happen in a family's home, when protocols permit we can invite them to offer a meal or other activity in our church building. I'll add in here it feels absolutely okay to offer to help offset the cost of cooking or other supplies. Cash gifts can be tough to take, but we currently have a valid reason of almost everyone being at least somewhat financially challenged.